Opinion: Smoking solutions

In November, Floridians decided by an overwhelming margin to ban smoking in indoor workplaces. But the smoking lobby, as it were, is huffing and puffing away. The lobbyists for bars and bowling alleys and hotels and airports and Veterans of Foreign Wars assembly halls are walking the halls of the Capitol, prying the Legislature to write a no-smoking law that applies to everyone but them.

That's clearly not what voters intended and not what the constitutional amendment says. As Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua, remarked at a recent committee meeting: If lawmakers don't pass a tough smoking ban, "I think there will be a price to pay. And there should be."

Smith is right, and the lobbyists need to take a seat. But there may also be a reason for both sides to take a deep breath in this debate. The ban will work best, and endure longest, if it is reasonably applied.

The amendment itself provides four clear exceptions: people's own homes, designated hotel rooms, "stand-alone" bars, and retail tobacco shops. In each case, the amendment sponsors, which include the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association, acknowledged that some infringements might go too far to be embraced by the public. By the same rationale, some of the sponsors' own suggestions now to the Legislature may go too far. They say tobacco shops are not exempt if they are located within a mall or airport; fully enclosed bars in hotels do not qualify as "stand-alone," and a separately sealed smoking room in an airport concourse is impermissible.

The sponsors say that any exceptions would undermine the amendment, but there is also a danger if the law becomes unworkable. Smokers who disembark from a cross-Atlantic flight and must wait two hours until the next leg are not likely to overcome their addiction while they wait. So if the smoking lounge is closed as a matter of state law and security provisions prevent them from stepping outside, they'll head to the restroom. Is that a healthier alternative for nonsmokers?

The workplace smoking ban is an important step forward for Florida's health, and one which this newspaper supported. Far too many of the hard-luck stories being paraded before the Legislature are simply attempts to undo the amendment and should be rejected as such. But there is also room for some balance. Rules that seem inconsistent or only loosely related to public health can stir backlash. That's not what Floridians need. They need to breathe cleaner air.

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