Left of College Station

Smoke Ban in Full Force

By Michelle Casady

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

Lighting up in a College Station bar or restaurant will now cost more than just your health.

College Station's expanded smoking ban in public places took effect Feb. 1, but law enforcement officers will begin enforcing the ban this month. Fines range from $25 to $2,000.

"We engaged in a month's worth of education so we could avoid writing those tickets," said Lt. Rodney Sigler, a spokesman for the College Station Police Department. "But if we need to write a citation, we will."

Sigler said he knew of no complaints about people violating the ban since it had been in place.

"We're not looking to write tickets; we just want compliance," he said. "And so far, it looks like we have compliance."

But city officials said a number of citations could be written in the next few weeks.

"Like other Texas cities that have implemented similar smoking ordinances, we anticipate seeing a spike in calls initially," said Hayden Migl, assistant to the city manager. "But the volume and frequency of calls should decrease as the community becomes familiar with the new regulations."

The ordinance prohibits anyone from smoking in a bar or restaurant or within 10 feet of entryways to those businesses.

To report violators, residents can call the College Station Police Department's non-emergency line at 764-3600.

Published on Sunday, March 1, 2009

Ban Clearing the Air

By Cassie Smith

From the Bryan-College Station Eagle

The College Station City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to ban smoking in bars starting Feb. 1.

About 100 residents, business owners, health care professionals, students and parents attended a public hearing on the issue. Twenty people spoke in favor of enacting tighter restrictions on smoking, and 11 said the change would amount to an attack on private businesses and an individual's right to choose.

The new ordinance, which will go into effect on Super Bowl Sunday, bans smoking in bars, restaurants and workplaces.

Last month, council members reduced the distance from entryways in which smoking was allowed from 20 feet to 10 feet to permit more smoking on business patios and bars, as well as on College Main when the street is blocked to traffic, said Hayden Migl, assistant to the city manager. The Northgate street is closed early in the mornings for the safety of people walking out of the bars that line the area.

Exceptions for smoking by actors or actresses performing in theatrical programs and in tobacco specialty shops were retained.

Council member James Massey, whose mother died from a condition caused by secondhand smoke, said he was disappointed that Bryan's city leaders didn't show up to support the ban. He said the measure was approved in the interest of protecting residents' health and safety, not to infringe on personal rights.

"Rights, as you think about it, cut both ways," he said. "We're sworn to keep those rights and protect them as part of what we do every day." But individual rights are valid only until they affect somebody else, he said.

Critics of the ban said it was a threat to American civil liberties.

"These people will no longer be able to decide what they will and will not allow in their institution," 22-year-old Brooks Macdonald said.

Smoking bans are in place in cities across the nation, and College Station should be no different, supporters of the ordinance said.

Pediatrician Mark Sicilio cited President Barack Obama's inability to smoke in the White House as an example of how the habit is accepted as a threat to public health.

"Many who work in bars might say they like and willingly work there, but some folks are passively exposed ... without really realizing the potentially profound implications," he said, adding that women who visit bars may not know they are pregnant and are unknowingly hurting their unborn children.

Brian Alg, 24, told the council that smoking rules should be left to businesses to decide.

"The thing is, businesses should be allowed to figure out what model works for them," he said.

Erin Fleener, a doctor, compared cigarettes to firearms.

"You're allowed to own a gun, but you're not allowed to walk into a bar and shoot it off," Fleener said. "I think you can smoke, but it doesn't give you the right to walk into a public place and light up."

Daniel Brightwell, the owner of Mad Hatter's, who had offered free beer to customers if the ordinance failed, said the ban would make it more difficult to be a bar owner.

He already has to keep up with Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission codes, and now he'll be forced to watch for people trying to sneak a smoke, he said.

Council member Dennis Maloney said that he appreciated the public views the issue had generated but that it was misguided to think of smoking as a civil rights issue.

"You can smoke, and I will defend to the end your right to smoke, but do it outside," the former smoker said, adding that society has accepted that cigarette smoke is harmful.

Published Friday, January 23, 2009

8:19pm: Motion carries 6-0.

Tonight the College Station City Council will vote on an amendment to a city ordinance that would ban smoking in bars and restaurants; however the amended ordinance will not affect smoking on bar patios.

Left of College Station will be live blogging during the College Station City Council meeting, and if you are unable to attend the meeting you can watch it online at the College Station Television Station, Channel 19 online.

Background Smoking Bans

Texas is one of sixteen states that have no state-wide smoking bans; there are twenty-four states that have smoking bans in public buildings, restaurants, and bars.

White states have complete smoking bans, while grey states have no smoking bans. Yellow states have banned smoking in workplaces and restaurants, while red states have only banned smoking in restaurants. South Dakota has a ban on smoking only in workplaces.

As previously noted by leftofaggieland, in the state of Texas 59% of all municipalities have some type of smoking ordinance that affects restaurants; only 19% of municipalities in Texas place restaurants under completely smoke free ordinances. However, bars in restaurants fall under some type of smoking ordinance in only 30% of municipalities. In Texas 77% of all municipalities do have a smoking ordinance that affect bars; there are only 23 out of 259 municipalities in Texas that have ordinances requiring bars to be completely smoke free.

Last year Amarillo rejected a smoking ban by 238 votes; according to an article in the Amarillo Globe-News the chairman of a local organization, Breathe Easy Amarillo, has "no plans, at this point, of taking this issue on again in the foreseeable future.”

In September of 2005 Austin banned smoking in bars, and after being struck down as unconstitutionally vague by the United States District Court it was reinstated on appeal by the United States Court of Appeals in March of last year.

Health Effects of Smoking Bans

According to a recent study, a smoking ban in Pueblo, Colorado led to a drop in heart attack hospitalizations within three years.

The southern Colorado city saw a 41 percent drop in heart attack hospitalization rates among city residents in the three years after a smoking ban took effect July 1, 2003, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Reimplementation Period: January 2002 – June 2003

Phase I: July 2003 – December 2004

Phase II: January 2005 – June 2006

From CDC Reduced Hospitalizations for Acute Myocardial Infarction After Implementation of a Smoke-Free Ordinance Report:

These findings suggest that smoke-free policies can result in reductions in AMI hospitalizations that are sustained over a 3-year period and that these policies are important in preventing morbidity and mortality associated with heart disease. This effect likely is mediated through reduced SHS exposure among nonsmokers and reduced smoking, with the former making the larger contribution.

Smoking Ban Legislation in Texas

House Bill 5, authored by Myra Crownover (R-64), was introduced in the Texas House of Representatives earlier this month; this bill, if signed into law, would ban smoking in all public places and places of employment.

Sec. 169.051. SMOKING PROHIBITED IN PUBLIC PLACES. A person may not smoke in a public place in this state.

Sec. 169.052. SMOKING PROHIBITED IN PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT. A person may not smoke in a place of employment.

Left of College Station will have continuing coverage throughout the College Station City Council Meeting.