Assembly passes bill on smoking

The Tennessee General Assembly recently passed anti-smoking legislation that will prohibit smoking in public places effective Oct. 1.

The Senate version of the bill was among the strictest in the country, banning smoking in any enclosed public area, until the Tennessee House of Representatives added several exemptions to the ban, excusing age-restricted venues, private clubs and smoking rooms in hotels, among others.

State Sen. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, said the bill has been in the works for a few years, but it was not until Gov. Phil Bredesen supported the legislation that prohibition became a non-partisan issue and was able to pass.

Mark Jones, the director of the Knox County Health Department, said he believes the bill is “the most significant public health legislation to come through the halls of Nashville in a long time.”

Jones said one of the main purposes of the bill was to protect workers from being exposed to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke can cause all of the illnesses that affect primary smokers, he said.

“I worked in restaurants when I was a UT student and inhaled secondhand smoke,” Jones said.

Burchett said separate areas designated for “smoking” and “non-smoking” in restaurants provide insufficient ventilation to protect all patrons from fumes.

“(T)he non-smoking areas of restaurants, like non-chlorinated areas of a swimming pool, just doesn’t work,” Burchett said. “We live in a democracy where, basically, the majority rules, and it isn’t right to sit there, and if four out of 20 people are smoking, not be able to breathe because of them.”

Jones said the ban is more a matter of protecting people’s health than infringing on individual’s rights.

“It doesn’t infringe on your freedom,” he said. “You just can’t smoke where it affects other people’s health.”

Many Cumberland Avenue restaurants are preparing to adapt to the ban.

Jennifer Stubbs, the general manager of Mellow Mushroom and secretary of the Cumberland Avenue Merchant’s Association, said she and other businesses on the Strip have been keeping tabs on the bill. She predicted that for Mellow Mushroom, a restaurant that is not age-restricted, the bill will have some effects.

“There will probably be a decline in business (on the) nights and evenings we have live music,” Stubbs said, citing that customers may choose to go to another venue, such as a bar, where they will be allowed to smoke. Stubbs said for the time being, smoking will be allowed on the patio area of Mellow Mushroom.

Ryan Lacey, an employee of Mellow Mushroom for three years and a 2007 UT graduate in political science, said she sees the ban as a positive step.

“If you smoke around someone, they are basically smoking, too.” Lacey said.

Fellow employee Adam Brock, a senior in business at UT, agreed.

“At the end of the night sometimes I think I might as well smoke,” Brock said. “Why cater to people polluting our workspace?”

The Health and Labor departments will enforce the ban, Jones said. Lawmakers are still debating the penalties of violating the ban. The House bill currently classifies a violation as a Class-C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $50 to $350.

The bill authorizes any law enforcement officer to issue a citation for violation of the prohibition, but much of the burden will be placed on establishments to prevent smoking.

Stubbs said Mellow Mushroom will take away all ashtrays and put up signs, but she foresees a problem during football season, when many out-of state fans visit the Strip. The CAMA will discuss the bill July 11.