Smoking ban would eliminate freedom of choice

The House Agriculture Committee, which has traditionally opposed legislation against tobacco interests, deferred action on a number of anti-smoking bills to allow testimony against them. Supporters testified before the committee last month.

The main proposal by Gov. Phil Bredesen would ban smoking in all enclosed public places and workplaces with two or more employees, including all restaurants and bars.

Currently, at least 18 other states and the District of Columbia have enacted similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“Adopting a smoking ban takes away a business’ right of how to run his or her business,” said Mike Nelson, a retail tobacco store owner who has a smoking lounge insides his Knoxville business. “They shouldn’t be told what to do by state government.”

Kelvin Moxley of the Tennessee Conservative Union said such legislation is unnecessary because “the marketplace already has plenty of nonsmoking venues.”

“You do not need a one-size-fits-all government law to achieve this goal of having smoke-free environments,” Moxley said. “It would eliminate freedom of choice.”

However, the governor has said the blanket smoking ban is the logical next step after last year’s ban on smoking inside state buildings, including the legislative complex.

Bredesen said smoking in Tennessee adds up to $2 billion in annual health care costs, including more than $600 million for TennCare, the state’s expanded state-federal Medicare program that provides health coverage to about 1.2 million mostly low-income pregnant women, children and disabled people.

According to the National Cancer Institute, at least 38,000 nonsmokers in the United States die each year as a result of secondhand smoke. Studies show that children, the elderly and people with respiratory illnesses are especially vulnerable.

Because of such statistics and a recent Surgeon General report, the Tennessee Restaurant Association, which has been one of the most vocal opponents of banning smoking in bars and restaurants, decided this year to support a full workplace smoking ban.