Smoking Ban Debated

FAYETTEVILLE — Should smoking be allowed in bars?

That was the question members of the Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods discussed Thursday night.

Debate over the city’s smoking ordinance, which prohibits smoking inside restaurants and most other workplaces, was recently sparked by a proposed change to prohibit smoking in bars.

The proposal, from Adella Gray, Ward 1 alderwoman, is expected to appear before the City Council later this year.

Wade Ogle, who owns several bars in downtown Fayetteville, said the ban would further limit the rights of residents.

“I don’t think anyone is disagreeing that smoking is a health hazard,” he said. “For me, it’s a personal rights issue. I don’t think regulating something that consenting adults can legally do should be controlled by the government.”

Tyler Clark, project coordinator for the Northwest Arkansas Tobacco Free Coalition, argued in favor of the expanded ordinance. Clark said everyone deserves to be protected from the harmful effects of cigarette smoke.

“We want to help protect people from those deadly causes of disease,” he said.

Clark said the coalition recently commissioned New York-based Roswell Park Cancer Institute to do air quality tests at 28 smoking and nonsmoking bars in Fayetteville. On average, the tests revealed smoking establishments had pollutants at levels 2.5 times higher than what is recommended by Environmental Protection Agency standards, he said.

Jim Laubler of Fayetteville echoed Ogle’s stance on the issue, saying smoking is a legal right.

“I agree that if you’re going to smoke, it’s a bunch of foolishness,” he said. “But I’m a retired veteran, and almost all us have some level of PTSD. A lot of vets smoke because it’s a sedative. I think it would really be a slap in their face if you took that away.”

Laubler said allowing another amendment to the smoking ordinance would open the door to more rights being taken away.

“In the military, we called it mission creep,” he said. “You take away one right and then you start shaving and trimming until you’re done and then you move on to the next right.”

According to Clark, 4,900 people die each year from their own tobacco use in Arkansas. For every 10 smokers who die, he said, one nonsmoker dies.

“There are 510 nonsmoker deaths in Arkansas each year,” he said. “Of that total, 120 people die in Fayetteville each year because of tobacco smoke.”

Clark said a truly comprehensive smoke-free policy is the only proven way to eliminate exposure to toxic tobacco smoke. The policy would result in improved quality of life and health for Fayetteville workers and residents, he said.

Ogle argued residents 21 and older have the right to choose whether they want to enter or work at smoking establishments. He said additional changes to the ordinance would likely hurt businesses that allow smoking.

“I own several bars and voluntarily decided to make one of them smoke free because it was too small for adequate ventilation and because there’s another business above me,” he said. “I can tell you from experience that it’s had a negative impact on business.”

Since going smoke free, Ogle said business at Crown Pub on Dickson Street is down by about 20 percent during the week.

He said the ability to smoke at certain establishments, such as JR’s on Block Avenue, is crucial for business.

“It’s obvious that smoking is the center of that place,” he said. “If people couldn’t smoke there, it would probably shut down.”

Clark said the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College of Business studied other cities within Southeastern Conference schools that have adopted similar smoke-free policies. The results of the study, he said, didn’t show losses of taxable revenue. Oxford, Miss., for example, showed a higher rate of beverage and food sales at smoke-free establishments, Clark said.

“Our goal is to have these conversations with business owners,” he said. “We know it’s difficult, and we want to help as best as possible.”