Good discussion of extending the workplace smoking ban to bars (SB 571) over at BlueOregon. Please contact your Legislators in support!

I really don’t have anything to add except that I’m someone who loves to hear good music performed live, and I haven’t heard any in years except at outdoor festivals (i.e., summer months only) because I can’t stand the smoke and my asthmatic wife can’t either. We’d love to help provide more revenue that translates into more opportunities to keep talented young people in Oregon, working, paying taxes, and putting down roots. But because of the smoke issue, what we spend on music now is 180 degrees out from what it was when I smoked — then, I enjoyed live music, supported local businesses, and local musicians, and I hardly ever bought a CD. Now, thanks to the power of the “Merchants of Death” lobby, I typically only buy prerecorded music, because it doesn’t come with a heavy dose of carcinogens.

So, Legislators, here’s the deal: wherever you have smoking bans discussed, the bar owners cry havoc and claim they will go out of business. Hasn’t happened yet. Anywhere. In fact, bars find the exact opposite: trade goes up, sales go up (people can actually taste the food!), and tax revenue from bars goes up as people like me who haven’t been able to go to a bar in years can suddenly resume doing something they really miss.

Everyone — which would include butchers, bakers, candlestick makers, chip makers, microchip makers, carpenters, lawyers, doctors, accountants, food servers, janitors, musicians, cooks, hostesses, busboys, bus drivers, you name it, everyone, even strippers, repo men, and legislators — deserves to be able to go to work at any business or organization in the state and not have to sacrifice their health in order to do so. A statewide ban means NO BUSINESS is disadvantaged. Simple, no?

Fire codes don’t exempt bars and bowling alleys, why should the health code?

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2007 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Economy, Environment, Health Care, Livability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.