KPC News

As the Indiana Senate works toward taking final debate and action on a proposed smoking ban, we hope the bill finally makes its way into law.

It seems the main sticking point in the Senate seems to be taking away freedoms and the ability for businesses to choose their own course of action.

Last week, a Senate committee passed the House-approved measure out of committee on an 8-2 vote. The House-approved measure includes exemptions for casinos, tobacco stores, hookah bars and private clubs. It also includes an 18-month delay before the ban takes effect in bars.

Before the full Senate, we expect the same arguments to be made against the bill, those about freedoms, the right to choose, too many exemptions or not enough exemptions. Health is no longer at dispute.

We would like to see fewer exemptions, but are pleased that the bill has made it this far. We feel if the exemptions were not palatable to the Senate, it would never have made it out of committee. And we think that Gov. Mitch Daniels throwing his weight behind the bill is a plus, too.

Democratic Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary told the Associated Press he understands that he and other supporters of a ban will have to start small and work up to a more extensive ban. Another supporter, Republican Rep. Eric Turner of Cicero, says the casino carve-out and others are needed to secure enough votes for passage.

Too often, the personal freedom argument has tipped the scales against the smoking ban, even though, as one Senator put it, you’d have to be living with your head in the sand to not understand that smoking and breathing second-hand smoke is harmful.

Kevin O’Flaherty of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids testified last week that the state must act to protect workers. Personal freedom, he said, ends when it affects the health of others. We agree.

This really isn’t that much different than other laws that are in place in Indiana and elsewhere that infringe on personal freedoms in order to protect the health or safety of others. Many of us have cars that can travel at speeds up to 120 mph or greater, but the state doesn’t allow our vehicles to be driven at those speeds. It’s a public safety issue.

The fear that business will be harmed by the eventual ban of smoking in bars is unfounded. We have seen successful, voluntary bans locally, perhaps the best example being Captain’s Cabin at Crooked Lake. Just a few years ago, one could smoke cigars in this establishment’s bar. Now there’s no smoking allowed at all, and the place still tends to be packed on Friday nights … in the dead of the winter.

Just across the border, in Coldwater, Mich., a little place called The Willows saw its business soar in 2011 when a statewide smoking ban went into effect. People started returning to the lounge/restaurant because it was no longer a smoke-filled room.

It’s time, Indiana. It’s time.