The House Health Committee has approved and sent to another committee a bill to ban smoking in workplaces in North Carolina, including restaurants. A similar but somewhat narrower bill failed in 2005 and 2007, but it appears to have a bit of momentum this year. A column about this bill, and outgoing State Health Director Leah Devlin's 22-year campaign against the adverse effects of second-handsmoke, brought the following response from one reader:
Your op-ed article in [Sunday's] Observer was right on and I congratulate the dogged courage of Dr. Leah Devlin up to the end of her career with the state.
The issue of second-hand smoke has been covered by a ‘smokescreen’ (pun intended!) of property rights. There is no other toxin in our society that can be trumped so easily. As a matter of fact, the level of toxins in the air of an average bar or restaurant that permits smoking would ordinarily evoke the ‘Haz-Met’ team to evacuate the building, surround it with yellow tape and Wolf Blitzer would be circling overhead in the CNN helicopter.
Not only in this economy, but even in times of abundance, the employees and customers of smoking establishments are subjected to toxic air that can eventually cause serious illness and even death. These are not choices that need to be made. Employees, especially, do not have easy options to find another job.
Thank goodness, it appears that the NC House is coming into the 21st century with an attitude of protection of the citizens and visitors of our state. Already large cities like NYC and Chicago, and even the whole country of Ireland ban smoking in restaurants and bars.
To those who still question the propriety of this type of legislation, be sure to realize that a inordinate proportion of your health care insurance dollars are used for smoking related illnesses. And, if you are not a smoker, you are paying for those who do or have.
Thanks again for your ed.
Richard B. Reiling, M.D., FACS
Medical Director
Presbyterian Cancer Center.
