When I think of the Marlboro Man, that rugged cowboy with a cigarette angled in his mouth, I think of Texas. What a difference a few decades makes. Now the Marlboro Man is passee; he’s been replaced by cyclist Lance Armstrong, who along with the Texas Restaurant Association, leads the way in the proposed state-wide ban on smoking in Texas. The ban would outlaw smoking in bars, restaurants and all indoor public places across the state, including offices, convention centers and bus stations. It would also ban smoking in the bleachers of outdoor sporting or music events, and anywhere within 15 feet of a doorway to a public building. Smoking would still be permitted in specially marked hotel rooms, private rooms at nursing homes and outdoor patios connected to restaurants or bars.
A Texas bill wants to put an end to smoking
In Texas, 28 cities across the state are smoke-free but there’s confusion over the hodgepodge of varying local ordinanceseach city has it’s own set of rules. In Fort Worth for instance, smoking is banned in public places with exemptions including bars, restaurants with outdoor patios and private clubs. Arlington bans smoking in restaurants, hotel and motel bars and in bars that open into restaurants. Dallas bans smoking in most bars and workplaces, though it allows smoking in cigar bars and establishments that generate at least 15 percent of their revenue from tobacco products. The statewide ban would prohibit smoking in nearly all indoor public places, including bars, restaurants and offices.
The proposed ban does have its opponentslike the tobacco industry who contributed more than $112,000 to Texas lawmakers; the state’s Governor, Rick Perry, who is in favor of local control and individual rights, and civil libertarians who claim it’s inappropriate for the government to trespass on private property and circumvent personal freedoms. “A restaurant, a bar, is private property, and you the customer have the choice of whether you go in or you don’t,” said Patrick Dixon, chairman of the Texas Libertarian Party. If you’re a nonsmoker, “there are other places that will cater to you”
“Proponents of the bill say this idea of personal freedom is ridiculous,”writes Emily Ramshaw for The Dallas Morning News. “They say the 53,000 people killed by secondhand smoke every year didn’t get a choice”
I’m all for contributing to the public good, but you have to ask yourself how many smokers mow down five people on the highway after they’ve smoked a cigarette? If we’re all going to get on the politically correct bandwagon, why not ban drinking alcohol in restaurants and at sporting and music events. Drunk drivers pose a far greater threat to society than smokers because with smokers the public has a choice. There are places that cater to nonsmokers. What choice do the victims of drunk drivers have?
Even though the statewide ban garners support from key figures, one significant element that needs resolution is how the legislation would affect each city’s authority on the issue. The restaurant association claims any statewide ban should supersede stricter city ordinances, but some city officials favor the current version of the bill, which gives stricter local policies more influence. One thing is certainThe Marlboro Man is dead in Texas.