Voices : A modest proposal

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The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

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A modest proposal

Smoking has long been known to be detrimental to one's health. Warnings of lung cancer, emphysema and death resulting from smoking are everywhere around us, but, despite these known risks and warnings, people make the conscious decision every day to continue to smoke, as it is a personal liberty.

But that liberty does not necessarily extend to blowing smoke in others' faces. Carbondale Mayor Brad Cole would like to make that a less common occurrence, as shown by his proposal to waive liquor license fees to bars and restaurants in Carbondale that voluntarily go smoke free.

The rationale for banning smoking in bars is understandable, as non-smokers may rightfully argue that they should not be subjected to harmful second-hand smoke just because they wish to drink at a bar.

Under the provisions of this proposition, liquor license holders willing to ban smoking in their establishments could receive financial relief from anywhere between $1, 250 and $2, 500.

This sounds like a noble effort, but what effect will it really have? The Liquor Advisory Board couldn't make up its mind and split its votes down the middle (one member was absent) when it addressed the proposal last week. Its split recommendation will go back to the City Council, which will discuss the proposal further within a few weeks.

Here's our question: Does Mayor Cole believe in cutting down smoking dramatically in Carbondale's bars and restaurants, or is he happy with the possibility of affecting only a few establishments, if any? This proposal, while created with good intentions, appears unlikely to convince many bar or restaurant owners to change their smoking policies.

For bars located on the Strip, such as Hangar 9, there is no motive to go smoke free as their liquor licenses are already waived due to their closure during Halloween weekend. These bars won't have any reason to risk losing business from smokers.

And for those who might benefit, how much of an incentive is $2,500? Bars such as Pinch Penny, Carboz and Mugsy Maguire's will likely lose more money from losing customers than they would gain from the incentive. One restaurant owner who refused to release his name said he would lose between $20,000 and $40,000 in business if he went smoke free while all his competitors allowed it. Cole's incentive clearly wouldn't benefit him.

Restaurants like Applebee's might go for the incentive. Tim Leslie, an assistant manager there, said the restaurant could go entirely smoke-free without hurting its business. If there are other restaurants that would go smoke free, then Cole's proposal may have at least some effect.

However, the City Council has another option. It can ban smoking altogether and level the field for all the bars and restaurants in Carbondale. That way, no business that bans smoking will be at a disadvantage.

But, this would be a tough choice, as Cole maintains that he does not wish to force a ban on anyone.

Cole and the City Council should decide whether freedom should trump safety, or whether it should be the other way around.

A ban on smoking may be too heavy-handed, but Cole's proposal appears to be too modest to make a significant difference.

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