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Texas Should Ban Smoking

We join many Texans in supporting legislation that would ban smoking cigarettes statewide in workplace environments and indoor public places where people gather. In the past, we've supported such a statewide ban for health reasons. The health risks associated with secondhand smoke cigarettes are real and harmful, especially to children and to adults with asthma or heart disease.

Medical experts tell us that there are no safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke cigarettes for any person, so it makes sense to remove that risk from the job and places where people regularly socialize, such as restaurants and bars.

But now more than ever it makes economic sense. A fiscal note in House Bill 670 by state Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, indicates the ban would save $31 million in health care costs to Texas.

That is no small matter at a time when the Legislature is looking for every dime to help fill a projected $27 billion spending gap. That shortfall represents the difference between projected revenue over the next two years and the amount the state needs to finance current services and growth.

To balance the budget without raising taxes, the Legislature is contemplating massive cuts to public and higher education and health and human services.

In the Texas Senate, Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, has again authored a similar bill, Senate Bill 355, to ban smoking cigarettes in the workplace and other indoor public places, so the effort is bipartisan. The House bill has attracted 81 co-authors from both parties, and six state senators have signed on, too. A statewide ban on smoking cigarettes in indoor public places is popular with Texans: A recent poll by Baselice & Associates indicates that 70 percent of Texas voters support such a ban.

Texans should not be fooled by those who say a statewide ban amounts to governmental intrusion on a business' property rights or an individual's right to smoke cigarettes where he or she wants.

Smoking is legal. And there is nothing in the pair of bills making their way through the Legislature that would outlaw smoking cigarettes. The bills simply would prohibit smoking cigarettes in indoor public places and on the job. It would not prevent smokers from lighting up in their homes, cigarettes shops or outdoor areas, including patios of a restaurant or bar.

The Constitution does not guarantee that a person has a right to smoke cigarettes in the workplace or in a restaurant. And a smoker's right to light up must be balanced against the rights of people to work and socialize in smoke-free environments, given the health hazards of secondhand smoke.

Secondhand smoke cigarettes is classified as a known carcinogen that is blamed for the deaths of nearly 50,000 nonsmokers in the United States who die each year from heart disease or lung cancer.

Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke cigarettes are at an increased risk of having low-birth-weight babies. And secondhand smoke cigarettes has been linked to many other diseases, such as bronchitis and pneumonia, which result in thousands of hospitalizations annually, according to the American Cancer Society. Many of those who fall ill from secondhand smoke cigarettes are exposed to it in their homes. But, as we've noted, there are no safe levels of exposure.

Numerous cities — including Austin — have reacted to those cautions by enacting smoking cigarettes bans for indoor public places. But many Texas cities and unincorporated areas don't have such protections. That is why the Legislature should finally pass the legislation. The health benefits are reason enough. But the savings in health care costs add additional heft to the cause.

A law that creates smoke-free environments on the job and in indoor public spots finally would balance the rights and concerns of both smokers and nonsmokers. And that is fair to all Texans.

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