Burlington (VT) to Vote on Smokefree Workplaces

Vermont's largest city will likely vote to go smokefree on Monday

The following editorial (excerpted below) by Burlington city councilor Joan Shannon appeared today in the Burlington Free Press...

Burlington Free Press, 1/31/04 -- Monday, the Burlington City Council will be voting on a resolution to ban smoking in all workplaces including cabarets and bars. Folks in opposition to this effort have raised the following points that deserve to be addressed:

Bar patrons have a choice whether or not to go to a smoky bar. This is true. Unfortunately, bar workers at these establishments do not have the same choice. The corollary to this argument is that the workers have a choice where to work. However, most people are well aware that good jobs are hard to come by and sometimes the choice is between not paying your rent and taking a job in a smoky bar. Not much of a choice really.

This is government getting in the way of business. I disagree. This is government listening to and acting on behalf of citizens. The request for this resolution came to the City Council directly from one of our Neighborhood Planning Assemblies, a group of citizens who felt that Burlington needed to step up to the plate and protect the health of all its workers. According to a statewide poll conducted by Macro International, an independent research firm, 70 percent of registered voters support a law making all indoor public places, including bars, smoke-free in order to protect the health of bar workers and patrons. Macro's research also shows strong support for this legislation in all income categories, all age ranges, and education levels. 

A smoking ban will hurt business. Statistics do not bear this out. In New York City, taxes collected from bars and restaurants went up significantly after the smoking ban took effect. From April through September of 2003 (the latest data available), New York City collected $12 million in general corporation and unincorporated business taxes from bars and restaurants, up from only $10.8 million in the same period of 2002 (prior to the smoking ban).

Business will move out of town. True some patrons might go out of town to light up. Many others will come to town to breathe. In all likelihood, we will see other Chittenden County towns and the state following Burlington's lead.

This should be dealt with at the state level. Without a doubt I wholeheartedly agree with this statement and would take it even a step further and say our federal government ought to be banning smoking in all workplaces nationally, in order to protect the health of all workers.

However, I am just a Burlington city councilor, and I will continue to work to protect the health of our workers, whether or not the state and federal government choose to do the same.

Excerpts from Smokefree.net