Smoking Ban Hits New York
3-20-03
"I am proud that New York City will be a national leader in tackling the most pressing public health issue facing all Americans today: the devastating consequences of smoking," said Bloomberg. "No one should have to breathe poison to hold a job or frequent an indoor public space." Mayor Bloomberg, August 2002.
At a press conference announcing his proposed ban on smoking in public places, Mayor Bloomberg took a major step in making New York City a healthy place to live. Allowing people to meet inside without the danger of second-hand smoke will make the city a better place to live for everyone, including those who will continue to smoke outdoors or in their homes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarette smoking is the single most preventable cause of premature death in the United States. Cigarette smoking kills more than 400,000 Americans every year. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/research_data-/health_consequences/mortali.htm
The decision to smoke is a personal decision, and people can choose to do so if they wish. However, when this personal decision affects the lives of people around us, we must consider those effects to be part of the public domain. According to the CDC, 3,000 Americans die from second-hand smoke every year. New York City Health Commissioner (check official title) Thomas Frieden stated that there are 1,000 deaths a year in New York City. He stated at Mayor Bloomberg’s press conference, "Second-hand smoke causes more cancer deaths than asbestos, benzene, arsenic, pesticides, hazardous wastes sites, industrial chemicals, contaminated sludge, and consumer products combined.
However we argue over the number of deaths that second-hand smoke causes and its relative significance in the greater debate over environmental health, we should all be able to agree that second-hand smoke is a serious risk to the public health, especially to the health of New Yorkers who spend so much of their free time in indoor public spaces. Despite these obvious risks, many New Yorkers are opposed to the smoking ban, which passed the City Council in December 2002 and goes into effect at midnight on March 30, 2003.
The New York State Conservative Party issued a press release in October 2002 denouncing the ban. Conservative party chairman Mike Long wrote, "We urge the City Council Members to reject this ill-conceived, puritanical campaign which will ultimately drive tourist to other cities with less restrictions. The market-place should be the driving force and to the best of my knowledge, any restaurant or bar that chooses to ban smoking is free to do so. www.cpnys.org
He continued, "I have yet to see a restaurant owner grab a patron and force them to eat in their restaurant or force a customer to sit down at the bar and have a drink next to someone who is smoking. But I am aware of how much money owners have spent to keep their small business in compliance with the current laws and the effect that has had on business."
Mr. Long’s opposition to the smoking ban may be based more on a political ideology which rejects all regulation as an intrusion on the rights of citizens (best protected by market forces) than on a strong support of the rights of smokers per se. This view represents a legitimate, if overwrought, fear of government intrusion on civil liberties and a recognition of the often-evidenced efficiency gains of the market system. For example, we do not want the government of Orwell’s 1984 making us exercise through a vid screen, but it makes perfect sense to fund physical education in the school system. Healthy children actually reduce the total healthcare costs to society, much of which are borne by the public sector.
Less defensible, the New York City C.L.A.S.H. (Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment) published a website condemning the city and national government claims about the health affects of cigarette smoking as propaganda and persecution. They write, Smoking is a health risk only to those who choose to smoke. While there is no proven study which links secondhand smoke to cancer in nonsmokers there are those who may find smoke to be an annoyance. http://www.nycclash.com/main.html
While I would agree that most people find it annoying to have their clothes and hair smell like smoke after going out in the City, there are numerous studies linking second-hand smoke to negative health effects. See CDC.
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