NDN Editorial So far, so good for state smoking ban

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Seven weeks into Iowa’s smoking ban, bars and restaurants across the state are healthier environments for employees and customers alike. Secondhand smoke exposure has decreased, and bars and restaurants in general are more appealing places for the average patron. No longer do people walk out of smoky locales needing a change of clothes, a shower and a tank of oxygen. In the longterm, the ban may even convince some smokers to give up cigarettes rather than continually going outside to indulge their habit while in public. If that happens, it stands to reason that Iowans would suffer less from emphysema, lung cancer and other smoking-related ailments. These are all good things. Earlier this year when the topic was first discussed, the smoking ban seemed less appealing. It sounded like big government dictating what business owners could do with their own establishments. However, the reality of the ban — smoke-free bars and restaurants — leaves us with more appealing, healthier places for the majority of the population to go and for the employees who work there. As long as all such businesses are required to obey the ban, the rule is fair. Alas, the ban is not universal. The passed version of the bill grants casinos an exception to the indoor smoking ban for gaming floors. This represents the biggest failure of Iowa’s smoking ban and defies the very logic that led to the ban in the first place. Legislators suggested the no smoking rule with particular regard to employees who work in habitually smoky environments. So why then did the state forget about employees in casinos? Is smoke somehow less harmful when it’s inhaled around card shufflers, stacks of chips and triple cherries? The casino smoking exception sends the message that the state only cares about its citizens’ health so long as it doesn’t decrease state gambling revenues. “Can’t smoke at Joe’s Tavern down the street? Come to one of Iowa’s casinos! Bring your cigarettes, too.” Ridiculous. Ask bar and restaurant owners how fair that arrangement is. Iowa should refine the smoking ban so that it no longer allows an exception for gaming areas of casinos, which is not only unfair to bar and restaurant owners, but it creates the potential for the entire ban to be thrown out in court. Next session, legislators need to stand up to the gambling lobby and amend the smoking ban to ensure casinos are smoke-free too. If we’re going to make our state smoke-free indoors, then let’s make casinos play by the rules too. Then we can all breathe easier. Editor’s Note: This editorial represents the views of the Newton Daily News Editorial Board, which consists of Publisher Dan Goetz, Editor Andy Karr, Advertising Director Mark Drudge, Circulation and Production Director Kelly Vest and Business Manager Brenda Lamb. The board will meet each week to determine a position on a topic of public interest and present an editorial, written by the editor, each Friday. This week’s Topic: Iowa’s Statewide Smoking Ban