You're Toxic
The Truth
moke Busters
College-aged bar customers will often avoid a bar because of long lines or high drink prices. But Christopher Baker, Kansas City, Mo. senior has to deal with another inconvenience. "When I get around a lot of smoke, my throat gets scratchy and it itches a lot. I start to cough and my eyes water. It's unpleasant," Baker says. Baker is the fiancé of Jayplay editor, Maggie Koerth. He is allergic to dust and secondhand smoke, which makes his choices for going out on a Friday night that much more limited. "I try to avoid places like Henry's because it's so smoky," Baker says. He says that usually when the atmosphere is too smoky, he is forced to leave. "To me, it would be nice to have some of the bars smoke-free. I don't like telling a business what to do, but I personally don't like the smoky bars. I'm more pro-Bella Lounge," Baker says.
Some think because non-smokers are not directly inhaling smoke, they're not affected. The truth is that secondhand smoke is harmful. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) secondhand tobacco smoke is a carcinogen and contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds. More than 60 of these are known or suspected to cause cancer. Judy Keller, executive director of the American Lung Association Kansas and member of Clean Air Lawrence, works with the task force to provide current health information.
"We're mostly concerned about employees of bars and restaurants. Why should they be considered secondhand citizens?" Keller says. She notes that as little as 30 minutes of inhaling secondhand smoke constructs blood flow and effects the body's circulation.
"It's extremely harmful. Every health organization and even Philip Morris acknowledged the cancer causing effects of secondhand smoke." Keller says.
Non-smokers exposed to secondhand smoke absorb carcinogens such like nicotine just as smokers do. The more amount of time they are exposed to secondhand smoke, the greater the level of harmful compounds that are introduced into their bodies.
In April 2003, Lawrence Mayor David Dunfield appointed a task force to study the issue of secondhand smoke. Clean Air Lawrence consists of health professionals, business owners and bar owners. After a year of research, the citizen's task force is scheduled to meet on March 31 with the city commission. The group will present its findings including studies on the health consequences of smoking and the economics of a smoking ban on Lawrence businesses. Possible solutions to the smoking situation are:
- Allowing smoking at bars and restaurants that are already smoker-friendly.
- Creating a ban with exceptions, such as specific times when smoking is prohibited
- Creating architectural or mechanical separations
- Several more specific options that are dependant on the size and type of business, number of employees and number of patrons.
David Kingsley, a member of the task force, says that despite mixed reviews, the ban will prove to be effective. "Right now most restaurant bar owners are against it because of the loss of revenue at the beginning. It takes a year or two years for the businesses to get used to it and customers really don't mind going outside to smoke," Kingsley says.
College towns such as Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz. and Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. have passed non-smoking bans similar to the one being considered in Lawrence. Kingsley spoke with business owners in both cities and says that after time, the ban had a positive effect. "The revenue loss was true everywhere at first, but now people are settled in and it's not costing them any money," Kingsley says. "Patrons are happy and employees are happy."
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