IS THIS WHAT TEXAS NEEDS?A statewide ban on smoking in public places in Texas, including bars and restaurants, is moving closer to a Senate vote.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved the ban on a 5-3 vote Monday, sending it to the full Senate for consideration. The panel made a few key changes, exempting cigar bars and outdoor patios at restaurants and bars. It also excludes nursing homes.
Supporters, including the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the American Cancer Society, say a ban is needed to protect public health from secondhand smoke. Opponents call it an infringement on civil liberties and property rights.
According to the Smoke-Free Texas coalition, secondhand smoke kills 53,000 nonsmoking Americans every year and is a known cause of lung cancer, heart disease, low birth weight and chronic lung ailments.
Two dozen states have already enacted some smoke-free laws and about 14 others are considering them, the coalition says. Dozens of Texas cities already have local ordinances limiting smoking in public, but several efforts at a statewide crackdown have failed in recent years.
I'm for individual rights and liberties, but I can't get too fired up about this one, since it sure is nice to go out and have a smoke free evening.
ReplyDeleteApparently the dogooders at smoke free coalition have no problem lying to the public. It's impossible to
ReplyDeleteprove whether someone died of second hand smoke or just other carcinogens
found in everyday life.
Bar/restaurant owners' property rights be damned. If these people
are so adamant about non smoking
establishments they;re more than
welcomed to open their own.