The Kansas State House of Representatives passed House Bill 2221, a bill prohibiting indoor smoking for a majority of public places in the state, on Feb. 26.

The bill, more commonly called the Kansas Clean Indoor Air Act, states that “no person shall smoke in an enclosed area or at a public meeting including, but not limited to, public places, taxicabs and limousines, restrooms, lobbies, hallways and other common areas in public or private buildings, and any place of employment.”

Gov. Mark Parkinson is expected to sign the bill in Topeka tomorrow and perform ceremonial signings in Kansas City and Salina on Monday. In a statement released by the governor’s office, Parkinson said that he was happy the bill had passed. The law will go into effect on July 1.

“This is a victory for workers, families, businesses and future generations,” Parkinson said. “Today’s success took many years and many struggles, but thanks to a bipartisan coalition in the legislature, the tireless efforts of our state’s health advocates and the support of the Kansas people, this legislation will soon become law.”

While Emporia already has a comprehensive smoking ban in effect, the statewide ban has the final say if any discrepancies occur.

 According to Ryann Summerford, Kansas Grassroots Manager for the American Cancer Society, the ban is several years in the making.

“We at the American Cancer Society have been working towards a clean air bill for a long time,” Summerford said. “Through our Grassroots program, which works within the Kansas Congressional districts, we have sent petitions, and emails promoting Bill 2221.”

Summerford works with around 8,000 volunteers throughout the state.

“I am proud and thrilled that our legislature had the courage to pass a secure state-wide smoke-free bill. 380 people die each year due to complications brought on by second-hand smoke,” Summerford said.

According to Summerford, the bill makes Kansas the 29^th state in the union to implement a comprehensive indoor smoking ban. The bill also allows for individual cities in Kansas to pass regulations involving stricter indoor smoking bans, but the state-wide ban remains the bare minimum required of towns with no smoking ban.

         Cody Grauberger, junior English major, said he feels that the ban is restricting the rights of smokers.

         “I don’t smoke very much, a cigar here and there, but I think that any discriminatory action is immoral,” Grauberger said. “No matter how you candy coat it you are still forcing an entire group of people to abide by others regulations. My father has been a smoker for the better part of his life, and continues to this day.  Though I do not agree fully to what he does, I stand strongly for his and others right to choose their habits.”

         However, Jake Tannehill, sophomore English major, expressed that he views the smoking ban as a positive thing for the state.

         “I smoke cigars occasionally, but when I do it is always outside… I guess I don’t see the benefit of smoking indoors,” Tannehill said. “It just makes it uncomfortable for those inside who don’t smoke. So I see (the smoking ban) as a good thing, a kind of win-win situation, because I don’t see a problem with smoking outside.”

         The bill lists certain businesses that are exempt from the ban, including outdoor areas of any building, private homes or residences, which are not being used as a daycare home, up to 20 percent of the rentable rooms in a hotel or motel, the gaming floor of a gambling or racetrack facility, an area of an adult care home designated as a smoking area, tobacco shops and private clubs.

         The fine for the first violation of House Bill 2221 is up to $100. The fine for the second violation within a one year period of the first violation is up to $200. For the third violation, and all subsequent violations within a one year period of the first violation, the fine is up to $500.

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A petition to reconsider the smoking ban passed by Emporia City Commission on Dec. 3 of last year has gained enough signatures to bring the ban up for a public vote to all registered voters residing within Emporia city limits.

The petition took 762 signatures to pass and was raised by Emporia Open for Business, a group of local business owners in protest of the city-wide smoking ban.

“There is no demographic, no age limit,” said Becky Mishler, bartender at Town Royal and auxiliary member of Emporia Open for Business. “We’ve had seemingly just as many non-smokers as smokers sign it. We’ve had people who are 75 years old that saw the ad in the newspaper last week that have come in just to sign it. Ones that don’t drink (and) don’t smoke but don’t agree.”

However, gaining enough signatures to petition for a public vote is only half the battle. Clean Air Emporia is the organization that presented the original resolution to the Emporia City Commission, and they believe that second hand smoke is dangerous to everyone who is around it.

According to Clean Air Emporia’s Web site, they are “a coalition dedicated to improving human life through education and implementation of a smoke free ordinance to protect all citizens.”

Emporia Open for Business members are mostly local bar owners who are afraid that once the smoking ban passes, customers will rather drink at home, where they can smoke, instead of going out into the cold to smoke or not smoking at all.

“We’ve been told verbatim from people, ‘I will go the liquor store, get a bottle and go home’ in lieu in coming down and spending their afternoons with us and we’re going to lose a sense of our community that way,” Mishler said.

Emporia Open for Business argues that an owner of a business should have the right to choose whether or not smoking should occur within that business, but Clean Air Emporia says that the individual who works at the establishment shouldn’t be forced to work in dangerous environments.

According to the Center for Disease Control, there was an average of 392,681 annual smoking-attributed mortalities from 2000 to 2004.

For many, the public vote may be a chance to express concerns and opinions that, they feel, weren’t welcomed initially.

“No one from Clean Air ever asked me how I felt,” Mishler said. “I don’t have to work here, I choose to. I like it. I like the people, I like the environment. It might get a little smoky from time to time, but with our two-and-a-half foot exhaust fan and 14 foot ceilings, we don’t encounter that type of problem.”

Unfortunately for some local bar owners, the resolution does not take ventilation into consideration.

Clean Air Emporia’s Web site includes a three-part problem statement that says, “There are no safe levels of exposure to second hand smoke. Everyone has the right to breathe clean air in public places. Businesses allowing smoking are not protecting all human life from exposure to second hand smoke.”

Alex Pedersen/The Bulletin

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