Along with other Michigan residents, I am holding my breath.
On Dec. 18, Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a law that prohibits smoking in all Michigan bars, restaurants and workplaces including private clubs and fraternal organizations. The ban is scheduled to go into effect May 1.
I am holding my breath because there is still the chance pro-smoking groups could carry the battle into the courts to fight the new ruling. The majority of the state's citizens are hopeful that they won't press the issue.
This past fall, much attention was given to the swine flu. We are always reminded that some 35,000 people die every year from the flu. In contrast, approximately 450,000 people die annually from smoking-related illnesses.
Before I get too many smokers upset, let me confess that I used to be a smoker. I started smoking before it was known to be bad for our health. Our parents told us to wait until we were 16 to smoke or we would "stunt our growth." Athletic coaches urged their players not to smoke because they would get "winded," which would slow them down in their sport.
Cigarette companies sponsored much of the radio and television programming and children grew up hearing "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should" and "L.S.M.F.T." which is an acronym for "Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco."
When television became common in homes across America, we all met the Marlboro man. He was a rugged good-looking cowboy, riding into the sunset on his trusty quarter horse, while enjoying a smoke at the end of a hard day on the range. He was on billboards, in magazines and in newspaper ads. What young boy wouldn't have wanted to be like the Marlboro man? Unfortunately, the Marlboro man died of lung cancer.
The bottom line is that, as kids, we didn't know smoking was likely to kill you. We thought it made you look "grown up."
After decades of trying to pass a smoking ban, our legislature finally did what was right for the 80 percent of the citizens who don't smoke. In May we will be joining 37 other states that have already put a smoking ban into effect for all workplaces including bars and restaurants.
If smokers decide that they want to continue to smoke, it is their right to do so. The new law will not restrict them from smoking in their own home, backyard or vehicle. It only bans them from smoking where non-smokers are forced to breath in what the smokers exhale. Studies have shown that people who work in places where smoking is allowed have a 50 percent greater chance of succumbing to lung cancer.
For the last few years, I have been surveying opinions of employees and owners of drinking and dining establishments. I was curious how they felt such a ban would affect their business. It was clear that non-smoking employees were all in favor of a ban. Owners, on the other hand, often said that they were afraid that they would lose business if they were to ban smoking but their competition did not.
When I asked politicians the same question, they often skirted the issue by claiming that they didn't want to involve themselves in government control over free enterprise. Since when, I wondered?
Now that the smoking ban has been signed into law, I have taken my unfunded survey back to the streets. One restaurant owner who had previously expressed a fear of banning smoking in his establishment now said "Thank God" when asked about the new regulation. He mentioned that he had never smoked in his life but has been forced to inhale the noxious fumes for 12 hours daily ever since going into business.
A waitress, when asked, said she looked forward to "not smelling like the bottom of an ashtray." She said that her clothes smell like smoke, her hair smells like smoke and even her purse smells like smoke. Upon her arrival home, she would be greeted by her children with an unflattering chorus of, "Mommy, you smell!"
The majority of business owners are delighted with the new law. They don't feel jobs will be threatened or businesses closed as claimed by pro-smoking lobby groups. In fact, this will likely be a stimulus for their businesses because customers, employees, friends and relatives might actually live longer.
Three cheers for all the restaurant and bar owners who have already made their establishments smoke free in an effort to create a healthy environment for their employees and patrons.
Ed Hungness and his wife owned their cottage on Fife Lake for six years before moving there after his retirement in 2005. He can be reached at edhungness@yahoo.com. For more of Ed's columns, log on to record-eagle.com/edhungness.
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