Smoke-Free St. Louis City will be holding a rally in support
of smoke-free air in St. Louis City. You're invited to hold signs, hand out
fliers and come and show your support to make our city healthy and smoke-free!
Don't worry about lunch, we'll provide pizza for supporters who come to the
rally and testify at the hearings and we'll also have signs, T-shirts, buttons,
etc. All you have to do is show up!
ST.
LOUIS CITY PUBLIC HEARING ON SMOKE-FREE AIR
TUESDAY JUNE 30 and WEDNESDAY JULY 1
12pm
City Hall (1200 Market)
The Health and Human Services Committee of the Board of
Aldermen will be hearing public testimony on the proposed smoke-free bar and
restaurant law in St. Louis. We encourage all coalition supporters to attend,
make their voice heard and let our city's leaders know just how many people are
passionate about a smoke-free community! Only residents of St. Louis City will be
allowed to testify, but anyone can submit a written testimony. This may be our
one and only chance to make St. Louis smoke-free and we need you to help make
it happen!
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Coalition
Director Diana Benanti, diana.smokefreestl@gmail.com or
at 314 535 0114. Please pass on this information to all your friends and
contacts!
One of our favorite St. Louis blogs, UrbanReviewSTL(www.urbanreviewstl.com), is asking readers when they think the City of St. Louis will go smoke-free.
"Clayton will go smoke-free in July 2010. Regardless of your view on such laws, at what point do you think the City of St. Louis will go smoke-free, if ever?
The Clayton County Council voted 5 to 1 last night in favor of smoke-free bars and restaurants. The one "no" vote came from a council member who didn't think the bill was strong enough. The Council will hand down their final decision in July.
Clayton Smoking Ban Gets Initial OK
By Margaret Gillerman
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
CLAYTON -- Clayton officials on Tuesday took a giant step toward stamping out smoking in public places by giving initial approval to a smoking ban that would affect workplaces, stores, restaurants and hotels. They also urged other local governments to enact smoking bans so the entire region could go "smoke-free."
Clayton would become only the second among the 91 municipalities in St. Louis County to enact a ban if the aldermen and mayor approve the bill after one more reading. Ballwin is the other.
Mayor Linda Goldstein said she was willing for Clayton to lead the way and approve a ban even without similar bans by other governments but added she hoped others would follow.
"Tonight we face a big decision, one I hope will lead other municipalities to move forward on behalf of their citizens," Goldstein told the board and an audience that included many restaurant owners who opposed the ban.
"Some people have urged Clayton not to go it alone ... to wait until there is a county or statewide ban," Goldstein said. "I agree that a more widespread ban would be ideal and I promise to continue my efforts with other municipalities and St. Louis County and city to take a regional approach to this issue. If we pass this ordinance, Clayton will serve as an example to other municipalities and will give them encouragement to pass similar legislation." Alderman Michelle Harris also issued a challenge to other municipalities to join Clayton.
Final approval of the Clayton ban is mostly assured. All the six aldermen and the mayor spoke passionately about their support of a smoke-free Clayton. Alderman Alex Berger III cast the only dissenting vote and said he did so only because he wanted the ban to be stricter and extend to Clayton's parks and green space.
Clayton's ban would have some exceptions, including allowing smoking in tobacco shops, cigar bars and 20 percent of hotel rooms. In a compromise with opponents, the ban would allow smoking on businesses' outdoor patios.
The ban would not be implemented until July 2010 to allow for the economy to improve and for restaurants to prepare for the change.
Unlike recent public hearings on the smoking issue, the chamber had some empty seats and there were no rallies outside. But some restaurant owners showed up to voice their still strong concerns about the ban.
Alan Richman, owner of Sasha's Wine Bar, asked the board to consider amending the bill to "grandfather in" existing businesses until other municipalities adopt bans.
Natasha Creel, an owner of Roxane's, suggested that Clayton allow smoking for late night business at bars after the kitchens have closed. Frank Schmitz, leader of the Clayton Restaurateurs Alliance, said after the meeting that he objected to the exceptions for hotels but not for restaurants.
Anti-smoking advocates, parents, students, other residents and local doctors have turned out in force at City Hall in the last two months to champion the ban.
At the same time, the group of restaurant owners who belong to the Clayton Restaurateurs Alliance have packed meetings to denounce the proposal, saying it could force some of their businesses to close. They've told the aldermen that with the terrible economy and highway closings the timing couldn't be worse. They fear they'll be isolated with the ban and that customers will go to other nearby communities that allow smoking.
Several aldermen said they were sensitive to those concerns and favored the one-year delay in implementing the ban.
Alderman Judy Goodman, among others, said that public health was the main issue in support of the ban. "Continuing to allow smoking in Clayton seems incompatible with our priorities and our duty to protect the health and safety of this community," Goodman said.
Mayor Slay's State of the City Address Includes a Call To Action on Smoke-Free Workplaces
..."It is not unreasonable to expect the City to take the lead in progressive policies in the region - and one way you can do that is by discussing, modifying as necessary, and passing Alderwoman Lyda Krewson's smoke-free bill. Nothing quite says "regressive place to live" to young people like resisting a change already made in 29 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico."
Letter To the Editor from Alderwoman Triplett: St. Louis is Ready to be Smoke-Free St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/7/09
St. Louis is positioned to take a giant step forward in addressing the health and safety of every resident. A bill to ban smoking in public places like bars, restaurants, and casinos is being considered by the St. Louis Board of Aldermen. If St. Louis city and county both enact such a law, our region will join many others (including nearby cities such as Ballwin and Columbia, Mo.) as smoke-free.
The U.S. surgeon general's office concluded that secondhand smoke causes heart disease, emphysema and cancer in non-smokers through exposure to the same deadly carcinogens as smokers.
Creating a smoke-free city is a public health issue that city leaders cannot take lightly or ignore. Our citizens have the right to breathe clean and healthy air. Whether one is a patron at a restaurant, an employee working a minimum-wage service job or a mother protecting her family's health, this is a basic right to which we all are entitled.
Promoting a smoke-free environment is not infringing on personal rights; it's ensuring everyone can breathe clean air.
Critics point to anecdotes and inaccurate data to suggest a smoking ban would have a negative impact on businesses. This is untrue. Every independent economic study demonstrates the opposite. More often than not, smoke-free bars and restaurants benefit from increased sales and patronage.
Becoming smoke-free is an opportunity for St. Louis to gain a competitive edge. By promoting itself as forward-thinking and progressive, our city will attract employers, large companies and national conventions that only do business in cities that promote public health and clean air. By becoming smoke-free, St. Louis will reinvent itself and refocus on our most important concern: the health and welfare of its citizens.
Kacie Starr Triplett, St. Louis Alderwoman, Sixth Ward
He said, he said and lots of political positioning have been in the news regarding the latest smoke-free proposal for the City of St. Louis.
Alderwoman Lyda Krewson's Board Bill 46 would prohibit smoking in bars, restaurants, casinos and other workplaces in the City of St. Louis, but ONLY IF St. Louis County passes a similar measure. What does that mean for us?
Well, it could mean the bill passes with flying colors at the Board of Aldermen, only to sit on the shelf for months or years, with no secondhand smoke protections for anyone in St. Louis. It's promising to see a comprehensive bill be introduced, but if its implementation is delayed, what does it accomplish? Why go through the arduous task of bringing this to the fore of public consciousness, only to hit a political brickwall?
Sadly, what's been left out of the news coverage and comments on this proposal is the very reason for its existence--saving and improving lives, and making our community healthier and happier.
Too often in the smoke-free debate, the health of patrons and workers is overlooked. With 4,000 chemicals and 60 known carcinogens, secondhand smoke is dangerous to nonsmokers. Every major medical and public health organization asserts that secondhand smoke is harmful. The scientific evidence is overwhelming. The U.S. Surgeon General in 2006, stated, "the debate is over and the science is clear--secondhand smoke causes death and disease in nonsmokers."
We forget to think about bars and restaurants as workplaces. If someone walked into your office right now and lit a cigarette, you would probably look at them as if they'd grown two heads and a tail. We have the luxury of smoke-free offices, but some 13,000 bar, restaurant and casino workers in St. Louis City are not afforded that same protection. Bar and hospitality workers are among the most exposed and least protected from secondhand smoke and have a significantly greater risk of dying from lung cancer than the general population. Of the 1,100 bars and restaurants in the City, less than 10 percent are smoke-free.
Opponents often say "just get another job," but most can't. In this economy you can't just quit a job and hope to get a new one. Those who serve our meals and drinks in St. Louis need the flexible hours and good pay that working in a bar, restaurant or casino affords. No one should have to choose between their health and a paycheck, and everyone has the right to work in a safe and healthy environment.
It doesn't matter where you are employed - workers should be protected from the dangers of secondhand smoke in bars and restaurants in the same way they are in other workplaces.
