Is smoking a public health issue or a matter of individual rights? Is safeguarding its citizens from second-hand smoke - a carcinogen as deadly as asbestos - a city's responsibility? Those questions are being debated in Keene, where the city government is considering banning smoking in all restaurants. Restaurants that double as bars would have to fully separate the two areas. The Keene
Sentinel's Teal Krech reports.
THE ORDINANCE WOULD BE THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE STATE, THOUGH
CERTAINLY NOT THE NATION. CALIFORNIA, VERMONT AND MAINE HAVE ALL
BANNED SMOKING IN RESTAURANTS - NOT TO MENTION HUNDREDS OF
COMMUNITIES IN MASSACHUSETTS.
BUT IN THE LAND OF LIVE FREE OR DIE, MANY PEOPLE ARE OBJECTING TO
WHAT THEY CONSIDER A CLEAR INFRINGEMENT OF THEIR RIGHTS. THE MAJORITY
OF THE N.H. LEGISLATURE SEEMS TO AGREE; A PROPOSAL TO BAN SMOKING IN
RESTAURANTS STATEWIDE HAS STALLED.
AT LINDY'S DINER IN KEENE, WHERE THE PAPER PLACEMATS FEATURE NEARLY
EVERY PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL OF THE LAST 30 YEARS, AT ANY HOUR OF THE
DAY YOU CAN FIND A COUPLE OF REGULARS SITTING AT THE BAR, DRINKING A
CUP OF COFFEE AND SMOKING A CIGARETTE.
OWNERS ARIETTA AND GEORGE RIGOPOLOUS FEAR A LOCAL BAN ON SMOKING
WOULD DRIVE THEIR MOST LOYAL CUSTOMERS TO NEIGHBORING TOWNS, WHERE
SMOKING IS PERMITTED. THEY BELIEVE THE CITY GOVERNMENT IS TRYING TO
TAKE TOO MUCH CONTROL OF THEIR BUSINESS.
ARIETTA RIGOPOLOUS:
I DON'T THINK IT'S THAT FAIR TO TELL IT TO THE BUSINESS. THIS IS MY
OWN PLACE. PRETTY SOON THEY'RE COME THEY'RE GOING TO TELL ME I DON'T
LIKE YOUR COFFEE TAKE IF OFF THE MENU. THAT'S NOT FAIR. RIGOLPOLUS 10
SECS
JUST ACROSS THE STREET FROM LINDY'S, TIMOLEAN'S OWNER LINDY CHAKOLOS -
WHO IS GEORGE RIGOPOLOUS' BROTHER - IS ALL FOR THE BAN. FOR ONE,
HE'D SAVE MONEY ON SMOKEETERS, SMOKE-SUCKING VENTILATION MACHINES
DESIGNED TO CLEAN THE AIR.
IF THE ORDINANCE PASSES FOR EVERYONE IT'D BE GREAT. AND WE WOULDN'T
HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY ON SMOKEEATERS AND ALL
THAT. THAT'S WHAT HURTS, CAUSE YOU HAVE TO KEEP THEM CLEAN. CHAKOLOS1
10SECS
SUPPORTERS OF THE BAN HAVE A KEY ALLY: MAYOR MIKE BLASTOS,
WHO LAST YEAR BANNED SMOKING IN HIS RESTAURANT, THE PUB. BLASTOS MADE
THE DECISION AFTER LEARNING ABOUT THE HEALTH IMPACTS OF WORKING IN A SMOKE-FILLED RESTAURANT. ONE STUDY HAS FOUND??// SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE FOUND?? EMPLOYEES WHO WORK IN RESTAURANTS THAT PERMIT SMOKING HAVE A 50 TO 90 PERCENT INCREASED
RISK OF DEVELOPING LUNG CANCER.
THE MAYOR SAYS HE'S GAINED MORE CUSTOMERS THAN HE'S LOST. AND HE SAYS
HE RUNS HIS BUSINESS WITH A BETTER CONSCIENCE.
MOST PEOPLE HAVE ACCEPTED THIS OPEN HEARTEDLY. I'VE HAD A FEW PEOPLE
COMPLAIN TO ME SAYING I'VE INFRINGED ON THEIR RIGHTS. I'VE HAD A FEW
PEOPLE TELL ME THEY WON'T COME BACK BECAUSE THEY CANNOT SMOKE IN THE
PUB. BUT THE MAJORITY HAVE BEEN VERY VERY SUPPORTIVE. AND I'M VERY
GLAD THAT I DID IT. BLASTOS3 16 SECS
BUT SEVERAL MEMBERS OF THE KEENE CITY COUNCIL ARE BUCKING BLASTOS'
LEAD. COUNCILOR RANDY FILIAULT SAYS DINERS AND EMPLOYEES SHOULDN'T
HAVE THEIR OPTIONS RESTRICTED.
BASICALLY, I'M OF THE VIEWPOINT THERE ARE PLENTY OF SMOKE-FREE
RESTAURANTS OUT THERE NOW AND PEOPLE REALLY DO HAVE A CHOICE. IF I GO
OUT TO EAT WITH MY WIFE WE CHOOSE TO GO TO A NONSMOKING RESTAURANT
AND WE HAVE THAT CHOICE. I DO HAVE SOME FRIENDS THAT DO SMOKE AND
THEY PREFER TO GO TO A RESTAURANT THAT'S ALLOWS SMOKING. I THINK IT'S
A MATTER OF CHOICE.AS FAR AS EMPLOYEES WORKING, THERE'S SO MANY SMOKE-
FREE REST THAT IF AN EMPLOYEE IS GENUINELY CONCERNED FOR THEIR
HEALTH, THEY HAVE AN OPTION TO GO TO A RESTAURANT THAT IS SMOKE-FREE
AND SEEK EMPLOYMENT THERE.
DOCTORS HAVE COME OUT STRONGLY IN FAVOR OF BANNING SMOKING AT
EATERIES. SOME 40 PRESTIGIOUS MEMBERS OF THE KEENE MEDICAL COMMUNITY TURNED OUT
AT A RECENT PUBLIC HEARING. TAKING A STANCE THAT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY
USED BY ANTI-SMOKING ADVOCATES, CHESHIRE MEDICAL CENTER'S CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICE ROBERT LANGLAIS SAID BECAUSE SECOND-HAND SMOKE IS
THE 3RD HIGHEST CAUSE OF PREVENTABLE DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES,
SMOKING MUST BE TREATED AS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE - NOT A MATTER OF
RIGHTS.
THE WAY WE LOOK AT THE SITUATION, IT'S A PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY.
RESEARCH HAS SHOWN US SECOND-HAND SMOKE CAUSES CANCER, EMPHYSEMA,
HEART DISEASE, AND MULTIPLE PULMONARY ILLNESS RESULTS. IT'S LABELED
AS A CLASS A CARCINOGEN LIKE ASBESTOS. AND AS SUCH THERE ARE NO
SAFE LEVELS OF EXPOSURE TO SECOND HAND SMOKE.WE LOOK AT ENACTING THIS
ORDINANCE AS SOUND PUBLIC HEALTH POLICY. WE BELIEVE IT WILL PROVIDE A
HEALTHIER COMMUNITY.
PAUL BOURASSA IS A LINDY'S REGULAR. EVERY DAY FOR AS LONG AS HE CAN
REMEMBER, BOURASSA HAS GONE TO THE RESTAURANT TWICE A DAY - ONCE FOR
BREAKFAST, ONCE FOR LUNCH. BOURASSA SITS IN THE SMOKING SECTION, NOT
BECAUSE HE SMOKES OR BECAUSE HE LIKES SECOND-HAND SMOKE, BUT BECAUSE
HE LIKES THE WAITRESS BETTER.
BOURASSA HOPES HIS HOME AWAY FROM HOME BECOMES SMOKE-FREE.
IT'S A HEALTH ISSUE AND IT'S A BIG HEALTH ISSUE. I HAVE EMPHYSEMA.
NOT CAUSED BY SMOKING, BUT I DO HAVE IT. YEAH. I'M AGAINST IT. I'VE
SEEN WHAT EMPHYSEMA CAN DO TO PEOPLE. I HAVE COUSINS -- 3 OF THEM --
WHO'VE DIED IN THE LAST 3 YEARS AND THEY WERE HEAVY SMOKERS. MY WIFE
DIED OF LUNG CANCER 43 YEARS OF AGE. NO I DON'T LIKE SMOKING. AT ALL.
THAT'S ONE MAN'S OPINION. THAT'S ALL THAT IS. (BOURASSA 38 SECS)
OTHER COMMUNITIES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, INCLUDING NASHUA AND DOVER, ARE
CONSIDERING SIMILAR ORDINANCES.
FOR NHPR NEWS, THIS IS TEAL KRECH IN KEENE.
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