Audio By Carbonatix
For the most part, Americans have come to accept restaurant- and workplace-smoking bans. Even in freedom-loving Texas, most residents view them less as an encroachment on individual liberty than a reasonable measure to protect the health of nonsmokers, even if their politicians don’t. The alarmed cries of nanny-statism are now reserved for Michael Bloomberg and his war on soda.
Irving, however, is still warming up to the idea. Earlier this year, the city’s health board introduced a proposal to ban smoking from the few dozen bars, restaurants, and workplaces that still allow patrons to light up.
“To do our job as a health board we have to recommend what is healthiest for the people of Irving,” chairman John Drake tells Unfair Park.
Specifically, he points to an study published by the American Heart Association in late 2012 showing that comprehensive anti-smoking laws were associated with significant drops in hospitalizations for heart attacks, strokes and respiratory diseases.
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Drake’s concerns were not shared by a solid chunk of people — elected representatives and ordinary citizens alike — who showed up at Irving’s City Council meeting last night to protest the proposed ban.
The Twitter feed of The Dallas Morning News‘ Avi Selk gives a good play-by-play of the ensuing debate:
‘ @IrvingMayor says she made the peeing in a pool metaphor back in 2006
— Avi Selk (@aviselk) September 20, 2013
Webb, for context, is an Irving City Council member. He joined with two of his colleagues in voting to kill the proposal ban. Instead, it’s being kicked back to committee.
Drake is exceedingly diplomatic about the whole thing. Asked if he expects the ban to ultimately pass, he would only say that he remains confident that the health board brought forward a “great option to consider.”
He sidestepped a question about the opposition in similar fashion..
“Irving is full of great people, and they’re not all going to be on the same side of every issue.”
And some day, they may step into the 21st century.
