Bill in committee attempts to turn back the clock on the workplace smoking bill

It appears that the House Regulatory Reform Committee is going to consider a bill similar to the “pay to kill” compromise on Wednesday that the Conference Committee soundly rejected back in December 2008 that that will weaken the newly passed workplace smoking ban.

Tobacco Free Michigan issued an urgent alert late this afternoon that the Committee will take up House Bill 5803, sponsored by Rep. Doug Geiss, D-Taylor, that will take us back to the unhealthy way things were prior to May 1 when the workplace smoking ban went into effect with “legal smoking rooms.”

The bill will take us back to smoking sections, as long as the space is completely enclosed and it has a “separate ventilation or air filtration system designed to remove smoke from the air in the room and prevent smoke from infiltrating into the nonsmoking areas.”

Ironically, when the very same committee was taking testimony on the workplace smoking ban back in March 2009, Dr. Greg Holzman, the medical officer from the Michigan Department of Community Health (DCH), testified that there has been no ventilation system that clears out secondhand smoke, and that there is no safe amount of secondhand smoke.

Not only that, but back in April the U.S. Navy announced that it will ban all smoking on its submarine fleet by the end of the year, saying “Recent testing has proven that, despite our atmosphere purification technology, there are unacceptable levels of secondhand smoke in the atmosphere of a submerged submarine.”

Submarines have the most sophisticated air purification system ever invented, and it banned smoking. What bar or restaurant can equal that kind of technology?

The committee will meet at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 10 in room 326 of the Anderson House Office Building, in downtown Lansing. The meetings are open to the public, so please show up to show your support for keeping the smoking ban intact.

This had to be a last minute thing because there is no agenda listed for the committee, like every other committee. This bill has little chance of becoming law. It has to pass the committee, be approved by the House and then go through the same process in the Senate.

The Senate is unlikely to take it up, because the Senate Majority Leader is taking next month off, and there is no lame duck session.Regardless, contact Geiss to let him know how anti-health the bill is. He can be reached at:
Phone: 517-373-0852
Fax: 517-373-5934
Email: douglasageiss@house.mi.gov

If you can’t make the hearing, contact the members of the Regulatory Reform Committee to tell them to reject this attempt to weaken the smoking ban:

Chair Rep. Bert Johnson
Phone: (517) 373-0144Fax: (517) 373-8929
Email: bertjohnson@house.mi.gov

Vice-Chair Rep. Harold Haugh
Phone: (517) 373-0854Fax: (517) 373-5911
Email: HaroldHaugh@house.mi.gov

Rep. Pam Byrnes
Phone: (517) 373-0828Fax: (517) 373-5783
Email: pambyrnes@house.mi.gov

Rep. Tim Melton
Phone: (517) 373-0475Fax: (517) 373-5061
Email: timmelton@house.mi.gov

Rep. Bettie Cook Scott
Phone: (517) 373-1776Fax: (517) 373-8502
Email: bettiecookscott@house.mi.gov

Rep. Woodrow Stanley
Phone: (517) 373-8808Fax: (517) 373-5997
Email: WoodrowStanley@house.mi.gov

Rep. Jon M. Switalski
Phone: (517) 373-1772Fax: (517) 373-5906
Email: JonSwitalski@house.mi.gov

Rep.Tory Rocca
Phone: (517) 373-7768
Email: ToryRocca@house.mi.gov

Rep. Hugh Crawford
Phone: (517) 373-0827
Email: HughCrawford@house.mi.gov

Rep. Rick Jones
Phone: (517) 373-0853
Email: RickJones@house.mi.gov

Rep. Jim Stamas
Phone: (517) 373-1791
Email: JimStamas@house.mi.gov

Doctors grill Dillon and Bishop on why there is no workplace smoking ban

LANSING -- On the day the House Regulatory Reform Committee reported out House Bill 4377 that bans smoking in most workplaces, including bars and restaurants, those Legislative leaders responsible for dragging their feet on this important public health issue got an earful from those who see the devastating effects of smoking and deadly secondhand smoke.

House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, were two of seven Legislatures on a panel Wednesday at the Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) Leadership Conference, and despite some pressing concerns facing physicians in the state, such as state public health dollars being cut, Medicaid reimbursement rates getting cut another 4 percent, talk of individual health care reform and Blue Cross/Blue Shield increasing and a possible “physicians tax” on the horizon, the hot topic was the smoking ban. In fact, subscription only MIRS reported the two leaders were “grilled” on the subject.

Even Dillon’s announcement that the bill had moved out of committee just minutes ago did not appease the angry physicians. According to MIRS, one speaker told the legislators that “she's tired of hearing in incremental updates about how a bill is in this chamber or committee, or whatever. She said it's been a year since legislative leaders addressed MSMS and the bottom line is that nothing has changed. Smoking is still allowed in bars, restaurants and casinos while Ohio, Wisconsin and an increasing number of states along Tobacco Road can manage a smoking ban.”

MSMS Past President Michael Sandler urged the lawmakers to just get it done with an impassioned speech, and he said there are no roadblocks or reasons not to get it done.

“This is not a partisan issue. Just get it done. You've got a study from (former Senate Majority Leader and current Public Sector Consultants analyst Ken) Sikkema that shows you don't lose money,” he said. “If you have to have an exemption or two, fine. This is something the Legislature can do that won't take budget wrangling to get done. Please. You'll look great."

Bishop has the biggest roadblock, only allowing a vote on a bill with no exceptions, and he has refused to compromise. That has been his cover to kill something 70 percent of Michigan residents support but he doesn’t.

Is the MLBA director selling booze, smokes or BS?

LANSING -- Michigan Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA) executive director Lance Binoniemi appears to be selling cigarettes instead of booze, based on his press release Wednesday after the House Regulatory Reform Committee reported out House Bill 4377 that bans smoking in some workplaces, including bars and restaurants.

“Lawmakers just took the first step toward handing pink slips to nearly 7,500 Michigan workers,” he said “Last time I checked, picking and choosing what businesses will fail in Michigan is not in our lawmakers’ job description.”

No, but what is in their job description is protecting the public health, and that’s what this issue is about. Secondhand smoke kills and causes countless health problems, and that’s the primary mover behind this: protecting the health of the 80 percent of the population who do not smoke. In fact, Article IV Section 51 of the Michigan Constitution says about the duties of the Legislature, “The public health and general welfare of the people of the state are herby declared to be matters of primary public concern.”

The MLBA has been using debunked studies to make the false claim that bars and restaurants will lose business when the smoking is enacted. That defies logic and the facts. Michigan is one of only 13 states without a smoking ban, and just this week the Tobacco Road states of North Carolina and Virginia enacted a smoking ban.

Binoniemi makes the false claim that in addition to costing jobs, the bill will reduce tobacco tax revenue by $27.5 million on a full-year basis. So once again, Mr. Binoniemi, are you selling booze or tobacco? I’m still waiting for the answer to how 20 percent of the population can have such a huge impact on the economy?

There is no creditable study that says there will be a job loss with a smoking ban.
The money saved by the state will more than make up for the loss of sales lost by s drop in the sale of cigarettes. Smoking is literally sucking the air out of Michigan’s economy. Smoking directly results in $2.65 billion in annual health care costs in Michigan, of which $881 million is born by the state Medicaid program. In fact, each household spends $597 annually in state and federal taxes due to smoking-caused government expenditures. Smoke-free worksites would eliminate these extra health care costs and would do so with virtually no implementation costs.

“It’s outrageous that our lawmakers turned their backs on Michigan’s small businesses at a time when they need it the most,” Binoniemi said. “House Bill 4377 is a job killer, plain and simple. I just hope other members of the House will be willing to protect the hundreds of businesses and thousands of Michigan workers that were forgotten today.”

No, Mr. Binoniemi, secondhand smoke is a killer and you re turning your back on employees who have to make a choice between their health and a paycheck.

Smoking bill passed put of committee

LANSING -- The House Regulatory Reform Committee reported out House Bill 4177 Wednesday that bars smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.

The bill exempts so-called cigar bars and casinos. After an entire month of testimony and two starts and stops, the Committee reported the bill out to the full House floor in less than two minutes. It’s unclear exactly what the substitute the committee approved looks like, but Chair Bert Johnson said there may be more exceptions when the bill is on the House floor. That could come as early as today or Thursday.

It’s unclear what the Senate will do. The smoking ban died last session because the Senate conferees refused to compromise on the version they passed that had no exceptions.

The vote was near unanimous, and only Rep. Jim Stamas, R-Midland, voted no, and Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, passed.

Bishop again blocks popular public health measure

The House Regulatory Reform Committee is set to vote out a workplace smoking ban on Wednesday that exempts so-called cigar bars, tobacco specialty retail stores and casinos, but subscription only Gongwer is reporting that once again Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop is blocking any realistic chance of getting any ban in place by refusing to compromise.

According to Gongwer, the only version that would be entertained by Bishop is a ban with no exceptions. Last session the Senate approved a version with no exceptions and the House approved a version with exceptions. The two versions then went to the conference committee, whose sole function is to work out a compromise to present to their respective bodies. But Bishop managed to sabotage something the majority of people want by assigning two people to the conference committee who don’t want the smoking ban and refused to compromise.

Michigan is one of only 13 states with no smoking ban.

If Bishop wants a bill with no exceptions, then act on it and get it to a conference committee that will actually try and work out a compromise. Senate Bill 114 is in the committee he chairs. Why not hold a committee hearing and pass it to the floor, or just discharge it to the floor?

The Michigan Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA) is continuing to push the false claim that a workplace smoking ban will hurt business, and they are asking for an “exemption for restaurants and bars that serve alcohol because of the projected loss of business from smokers who would stop patronizing the establishments.”

"In addition to killing jobs, this bill will reduce the state's revenue at a time when there's a $2 billion deficit projected for 2010," said Lance Binoniemi, MLBA executive director, in a press release, according to Gongwer.

There is no study that supports that claim, and, in fact, every study from every state and entire foreign countries that have already enacted a ban shows the exact opposite.

I would like Mr. Binoniemi to explain how less than the 25 percent of people who still smoke can have such an effect on the business of a bar and restaurant.

It seems that the MLBA is more interested in selling cigarettes than anything else.

The House Regulatory Reform Committee will take up the ban at noon Wednesday in Room 326 in the House Office Building, 124. N. Capitol. The meeting is open to the public.

Workplace smoking ban expected to be voted out of committee

LANSING – Behind the senses maneuvering has led to the workplace smoking ban moving forward again in the Michigan Legislature.

The House Regulatory Reform Committee will take up House Bill 4377 at its next meeting on Wednesday May 20. The bill ban smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, but it would provide exceptions for so-called cigar bars, tobacco specialty retail stores and casinos.

The ban, which has overwhelming support from both residents and lawmakers, has had numerous starts and stops since the legislative session began in January. The committee held hearings on the ban for four straight weeks in March with a plan to vote out a bill in April, but in early April, House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said the workplace smoking ban will be shelved this spring to concentrate on the budget.

An apparent reversal put the bill back on the agenda, but Committee Chair Bert Jobson, D-Detroit, tabled a vote at the last minute, saying he wanted to work out a compromise between Dillon and Bishop. Last year, the House passed a ban that had exceptions for casinos, and the Senate passed a ban with no exceptions.

The bill was killed in the conference committee called to work out the differences. The rumor in Lansing is that the leaders want to deal and get the bill to the conference committee as soon as possible. Obviously, the calls and letters from supporters turned the tide again.

The Committee will meet at noon at Wednesday in Room 326 in the House Office Building, 124. N. Capitol. The meeting is open to the public, and HB 4377 is just one of six bills the committee is considering.

Another roadblock thrown up in the quest for clean and healthy air

Just when you think you have seen everything certain members of the Legislature can do to thwart the will of the people to enact a workplace smoking ban that has the overwhelming support from both Michigan residents and lawmakers, the House Regulatory Reform Committee has found a new one.

After reversing an earlier plan to table voting out a bill until the summer, the Committee met Wednesday to vote out a flawed bill that exempted casinos, but Chair Bert Jobson, D-Detroit, pulled a fast one and tabled a vote at the last minute, saying he wants to work out a compromise between House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester.

Gee, I thought that was what a confrere committee was for.

All this does is give Bishop more cover to kill this bill. He only allowed a vote last session after intense pressure from supporters of the bill. Johnson also used the old excuse that the Legislature cannot do two things at one time, saying work can’t be done on the smoking ban because the budget is the priority. How can 148 people work on the budget deficit, and the function of committees is to work on a variety of issues.

Last session the House passed a bill that exempts casinos and the Senate passed a version with no exceptions. The conference committee could not reach - or refused to reach - a compromise between the two versions and the bill died.

According to subscription only MIRS, “Johnson said he was not told what to do by the leaders, but since the smoking ban was going to have a "negative economic impact," it was better to hold back any vote.”

Please show me any proof of "negative economic impact.” That is simply not the case, and study after study from the 35 states that have a ban prove that.

This is simply a cop out, at best. We need to pass something, no matter how flawed, to get the ball rolling and force people to act.

Workplace smoking bill is back on track

LANSING -- Despite House and Senate leaders saying earlier this month they would not address the workplace smoking ban, the House Regulatory Reform Committee is holding a hearing on the ban on Wednesday.

House Bill 4377, introduced by Rep. Rep. Lee Gonzales, D-Flint, is on the committee’s agenda that will meet at noon on April 29 in room 326 of the House Office Building in Lansing, and the meeting is open to the public. The bill, unfortunately, has exceptions for so-called "cigar bars" and casinos, but it’s a start. The committee is expected to actually take a vote on the bill.

Obviously, the pressure from the two-thirds of Michigan residents who support the ban got the bill untracked. This is the fourth hearing on the ban this session, and the last one was held on April 1.

The delay on taking up the workplace smoking ban is a smokescreen

LANSING – Its’ pretty clear Legislative leaders used a lame excuse to suspend action on the workplace smoking ban, and that fact is becoming more clear every day.

You will recall that at the start of a much-needed two-week spring break earlier this month, House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said the workplace smoking ban will be shelved this spring to concentrate on the budget. The House Regulatory Reform Committee that had held three straight weeks of testimony on the ban and nothing else has now moved on to apparently more important matters.

When they meet today, they will take testimony on House Bill 4715 introduced by the chair of the committee, Rep. Bert Johnson, that modifies investment of money in the state lottery fund. It will also consider HB 4565 introduced by Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing that requires tagging of certain beer kegs.

That is much more important than taking action on a public health hazard that kills 3,000 people a year in Michigan.

For even more important issues, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, chaired by Rep. Dudley Spade, D-Adrian, is meeting on Thursday to discuss an even more pressing issue: proposed administrative rules for unarmed combat (mixed martial arts). Now, I’m sure lottery, beer kegs and mixed martial arts are very important issues to some people, but so is protecting people from deadly secondhand smoke. The legislature can work on the budget as well as work on other issues at the same time.

The April 10 edition of “Off the Record” hosted by Capitol Correspondent Tim Skubick makes its pretty clear the decision to put off the ban is just a smokescreen.

Dillon says House can’t address more than one issue at a time

Apparently, Michigan House and Senate leaders can’t walk and chew gum at the same time.

At the start of a much-needed two-week spring break, House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, are saying the workplace smoking ban will be shelved this spring to concentrate on the budget, according to the Detroit News. How 148 people can work on a budget at the same time is beyond me, but that’s the excuse.

Although Dillon has never been stingy on allowing a vote on the smoking ban – allowing a vote twice last session - unlike his counterpart in the Senate, he is not keen on the ban. This bad news comes on the heels of three week of testimony and two field trips on the smoking ban – the last hearing being April 1 – by the House Regulatory Reform Committee.

The ban has the overwhelming support of Michigan residents. Just last month, EPIC-MRA of Lansing released a poll that showed two-thirds of Michigan voters favor a smoking ban in all workplaces, including Detroit’s casinos.

The leading proponent of the smoking ban, Sen. Ray Basham, D-Taylor, chided the leadership for their inability to address more than one issue at a time.

“I'm OK with multi-tasking," Basham told the Detroit News. "When 3,000 people are dying in Michigan every year from secondhand smoke and smoking-related diseases are costing us billions a year for health care, we should find time to deal with this."

The fact is this bill has been in the Michigan Legislature for the past 11 years. Now, you don’t have time?

The science on the damages of secondhand smoke is undisputed: secondhand smoke kills. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen containing 4,000 chemicals, including 43 cancer-causing chemicals. In Michigan alone 3,000 people die each year from secondhand smoke.

As for costs, it cost cash-strapped businesses more to delay joining the other 35 states with workplace smoking bans. Smoking directly results in more than $2.65 billion in annual health care costs in Michigan, of which more than $881 million is born by the state Medicaid program. In fact, each household spends $597 annually in state and federal taxes due to smoking-caused government expenditures. Smoke-free worksites would eliminate these extra health care costs and would do so with virtually no implementation costs.

Furthermore, by creating a smoke-free work environment, business owners can eliminate a variety of associated costs, including higher health, life, and fire insurance premiums, higher worker absenteeism, lower work productivity, and higher workers' compensation payments. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the cost savings of eliminating secondhand smoke in the workplace to be between $35 and $66 billion a year. Given the state of Michigan's economy we really can’t afford not to go smoke-free.

To his credit, Dillon has allowed vote and committee work on the workplace smoking ban. Bishop has done nothing, and he only allowed a vote on the ban with no committee hearings last May. As expected, it passed. He has been dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing by the pressure of public opinion.

People are getting restless, and talk of an expensive ballot proposal is building, especially if lawmakers continue to shirk their duty to protect the public health.

Call and write Andy Dillon and Mike Bishop and ask them to do the right thing and support what the majority of Michiganders want; now, not this summer.

Dillon can be reached at (888) 737-3455 or andydillon@house.mi.gov
Bishop can be reached at (877) 924-7467 or senmbishop@senate.michigan.gov

Indiana University study debunks myth that smoking ban will hurt Detroit casinos

Representatives from the Detroit casinos testified before the House Regulatory Reform Committee last month on the dire job losses a smoking ban in the casinos will cause with zero evidence to support that claim, and a study released last month by Indiana University Center for Health Policy called “The Economic Impact of Smoke-free Policies on Business and Health” debunks the myth that a smoking ban will cause a drop in business and job losses.

The study concludes, “although limited research has been conducted on smoke-free
laws’ economic impact on casinos and the gaming industry, the available research shows no negative revenue impact.” That includes sales and gaming receipts.

“Currently, 15 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have enacted 100 percent smoke-free laws for gaming establishments, with more anticipated in 2009. Many casino operators fear that by alienating smokers, they will lose longtime customers; they doubt that nonsmokers will be able to replace loyal patrons. However, in a 2006 study by University of Nevada, Reno researchers concluded that four out of five casino patrons are nonsmokers; casino customers do not smoke any more than the average US population smokes.”

The simple math that no opponent of this public health issue can explain is how 20-25 percent of the population can control so much money and has so much economic clout.

The report says, “news report headlines reading “Smoking ban may be to blame for Illinois casino revenue declines,” coupled with studies reporting similar findings by economist Michael Pakko and researcher Richard Thalheimer, both of whom have strong ties to the tobacco industry, have continued to fuel concerns and resistance toward smoke-free legislation. But studies finding an adverse impact on casino, bar, and restaurant revenue have been criticized regarding potential bias and questionable funding sources.”

The conclusion by bar and restaurant owners of a loss in business, revenue and job loss are based on opinion and not fact. In fact, you will not find one credible study to prove that.

The study took a wider look at the hospitality industry in general, and it reached the same conclusion as casinos. The simple fact is nonsmokers, who outnumber smokers 3 to 1, “would recover or increase any sales lost from smokers, because nonsmokers have been avoiding establishments that allow smoking.”

New York has was one of the first states to pass tough smoking laws, and in 2003 the state banned smoking in all public and private restaurants, bars, bowling facilities, taverns and bingo halls. Sales actually increased after the ban.

In 2004, “a Department of Health study found that the city's restaurants and bars prospered despite the smoking ban, demonstrating increases in liquor licenses, jobs and business tax payments. The report stated that tax receipts increased 8.7 percent from April 1, 2003, to January 1, 2004, compared to the same period in 2002–2003.

The same thing has occurred in the 35 states and numerous countries that have banned smoking in the workplace, including bars and restaurants.

It’s long passed the time that Michigan did the same and banned smoking in the workplace, including bars, restaurants and casinos.

Restaurant owners break ranks with state association and support smoking ban

LANSING – The House Regulatory Reform Committee did not vote out a workplace smoking ban bill that includes bars and restaurants Wednesday as expected, but it did take 90 minutes of testimony on the ban like it has the previous two committee meetings devoted strictly to the smoking ban.

The committee hearings have evolved into a familiar pattern, with tobacco-financed opponents of the ban offering false, anecdotal information that bars and restaurants will lose businesses if a smoking ban is put in places, and proponents offering peer-reviewed evidence that it will not hurt business, along with the medical community testifying on the deadly effects of secondhand smoke. No one has yet contradicted that fact. Also, no one has accounted or addressed how the less than 25 percent who still smoke can have such a big effect on business.

Former Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, R-Wyoming, now a Senior Policy Fellow at Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants, testified about the independent study he released last April called “Smoke-Free Workplaces: The Impact of House Bill 4163 on the Restaurant and Bar Industry in Michigan” that concluded the Michigan restaurant and bar industry will experience no net economic impact from a smoking ban. Sikkema blocked smoking ban legislation when he was the majority leader because he also falsely believed it would hurt business, but this study changed his mind.

“The Public Sector Consultants study was not based on anecdotal information," Sikkema said. “It's not based on what people thought would happen, it's based on what actually happened after states and local communities became smoke-free."

In the past, the Michigan Restaurant Association has paraded bar and restaurant owners before the committee against the ban that support the association’s position that it should be up to the individual owner, but some individual members showed up at the hearing on their own with a different take.

“I ask that you make Michigan smoke free, with no exceptions,” said Charles Roy, the owner of the Cass Café in downtown Detroit. “Unless there is an across the board ban, we will lose business to one that allows smoking.”

Ryan Colthorp, owner of Ryan’s Roadhouse in St. Johns, said in states with smoking bans in place bars and restaurants are thriving.

“I am also s member of the Michigan Restaurant Association, and I don’t agree with their stand,” he said. “I don’t see how or why Michigan is so behind other states.”

Fred Anderson, Deputy Director of the Michigan Osteopathic Association, testified in support of the bill on behalf of the 72,000 physicians the association represents. He referenced Article IV Section 51 of the Michigan Constitution that compels the Legislature to pass the bill, and it says “The public health and general welfare of the people of the state are hereby declared to be matters of primary public concern. The legislature shall pass suitable laws for the protection and promotion of the public health.”

“We respectfully request you pass a comprehensive smoking ban that protects all workers, regardless of where they work,” Anderson said. “The Michigan Constitution gives you clear direction in passing this.
“I have never seen my members so passionate about an issue,” he said.

The Committee expects to vote out House Bill 4377 when the Legislature returns from its two-week break, and the committee would meet on April 22 if its regular schedule were maintained.

Michigan Licensed Beverage Association puts out false information on workplace smoking ban

On the day before a committee vote on the workplace smoking ban, the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA) is dropping off in lawmaker’s offices a packet of cherry-picked studies that try and claim a smoking ban threatens sales and jobs in Michigan’s’ bars and restaurants.

Most of the studies are old and debunked, and they are conducted by groups like the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association. However, an independent study last April by Lansing-based Public Sector Consultants Inc. called “Smoke-Free Workplaces: The Impact of House Bill 4163 on the Restaurant and Bar Industry in Michigan” concludes that “The Michigan restaurant and bar industry will experience no net economic impact from House Bill 4163.”

No one from the tobacco industry, the Michigan Restaurant Association or the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association can explain how less than 23 percent of the population who still smoke can have such a huge effect on business. How is that even possible?

The MLBA claim an Oct. 1, 2004 study of a smoking ban in Dallas, Texas claimed restaurants saw a 9 to 50 percent drop in sales. But when researchers from the Texas Department of State Health Services reviewed the study, they concluded that the methodology was flawed, the data used from the state was either misunderstood or misapplied, and the conclusions were simply wrong.

The Michigan study included a detailed review of 43 published research articles concerning the effects of smoke-free workplace legislation on bars, restaurants, tourism and gaming; seven studies of the public health consequences of environmental tobacco smoke or secondhand smoke, and numerous data related to ETS from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Michigan study examined two Texas studies that relied on 13 years of sales data and found no negative effects of smoke-free ordinances on restaurants. That trumps a one year Dallas study.

In four separate studies of New York City showed an increase in employment and sales tax receipts from these establishments. But the study by the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association claims $71.5 million in lost sales. Wow, those smokers have a lot – I mean a lot – of disposable income.

The fact is there have been absolutely no credible studies that show a negative economic impact resulting from a state-wide or country-wide smoking ban, and the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association knows it.

The reality is that secondhand smoke kills. In fact, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has classified secondhand smoke as a Group A carcinogen containing 4,000 chemicals, including 43 cancer-causing chemicals. Thousands of people die each year from secondhand smoke.

The absolute bottom line is this is a public health issue, and the false claims of lost sales do not trump the public health aspect.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates the cost savings of eliminating secondhand smoke in the workplace to be between $35 and $66 billion a year. Given the state of Michigan’s economy we really can’t afford not to go smoke-free.

The House Regulatory Reform Committee will meet at noon tomorrow - Wednesday, April 1 - in room 326 of the House Office Building in Lansing. According to the agenda, the committee plans to vote out House Bill 4377 introduced by Representative Lee Gonzales, D-Flint Township. This bill exempts casinos and so-called “cigar bars.”

While most people could live with a ban that has a few exceptions, including me, until people realize business will not be hurt by a ban and we get a total ban, the problem is the Senate will pass a bill with no exceptions, and we will get something like what occurred in December.

Two-thirds of Michigan voters favor a smoking ban in all workplaces

A recent poll by EPIC-MRA of Lansing shows that two-thirds of Michigan voters favor a smoking ban in all workplaces, including Detroit’s casinos.

The poll was commissioned by the Campaign for Smokefree Air, and it was conducted on March 19-22 by EPIC-MRA of Lansing. It polled 600 registered voters, and 66 percent favored a workplace smoking ban.

The results of the poll comes just days before the House Regulatory Reform Committee is expected to vote out a bill to the full House floor. Committee Chair Rep. Bert Johnson, D-Detroit, said he wants to report a bill out before the Legislature goes on its two-week Spring break, and Thursday is the last day before the break.

The workplace smoking ban passed both the House and Senate last session, but the differences in the two bills killed the ban. The House version exempted Detroit casinos and so-called “cigar bars.” The Senate passed a clean version with no exceptions.

The Regulatory Reform Committee will meet at noon Wednesday, April 1 in room 326 in the House Office Building at 124 N. Capitol in Lansing to report out a smoking ban bill. The hearing is open to the public.

Negative myths about workplace smoking ban debunked at Committee hearing

LANSING -- Opponents of the workplace smoking ban, including bars and restaurants, got their supporters out at the second hearing on the smoking ban before the House Regulatory Reform Committee on Wednesday, but supporters of the ban used science and personal stories to offset the false myths.

All of the opposition came from tobacco funded lobbyist groups like the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association, the Michigan Restaurant Association and the Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association. The CEOs of MGM Grand Casino and the Motor City Casino testified about the ventilation system just a week after the Committee made a field trip to the two casinos. They also again floated the false claim that a smoking ban would cause them a drop in business of 11 to 22 percent.

Dr. Greg Holzman, the medical officer from the Michigan Department of Community Health (DCH), debunked the myth that the ventilation system will make a difference.

“There has been no ventilation system that clears out secondhand smoke,” he said. “There is no safe amount of secondhand smoke.”

Holzman said the damage caused by secondhand smoke has not been in doubt for more than 20 years.

“No one should have to make a choice between a paycheck and their health,” he said. “The science is very clear; secondhand smoke causes premature death and sickness.”

Cliff Douglas, the Executive Director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network, also debunked the casinos ventilation claim. Douglas was involved in the effort than banned smoking on commercial airliners 20 years ago.

“The ventilation systems give people a false sense of security that they will be protected, and they aren’t,” he said. “This was the same issue with the airline smoking ban, and it was put to rest 20 years ago.”

Douglas also put to rest the myth that bars and restaurants lose business when they enact a smoking ban. Study after study has proven that not to be true, including a report last spring by the Lansing research firm Public Sector Consultants Inc. called “Smokefree workplaces: The Impact of House Bill 4163 on the Restaurant and Bar Industry in Michigan.” No one addressed how less than a quarter of the population who still smokes can control so much money and have such an effect on business.

However, he did say the info on casinos is sketchy, but he cited Delaware where revenue increased 2 percent when a smoking ban was enacted.

“Every single peer-reviewed study that examines sales records and tax receipts has shown there has never been a loss of business because of a smoking ban,” he said. “Many have seen an increase in business.”

Dr, Mary Goldman, a general practitioner from Northville for 20 years, talked about a former patient who died of lung cancer after working as a cocktail waitress from age 18 to 42, even though she had never smoked a day in her life.

“She was killed by secondhand smoke, clearly,” she said.

The Regulatory Reform Committee will be taking another field trip this Friday at a so-called “cigar bar.”

They will be at La Case De La Habana in Plymouth, 3780 Jackson Rd., 48103, from 1:30 to 2 p.m. The committee will be at Smokey's Fine Cigars, 1423 E Stadium Blvd. in Ann Arbor from 2:30 to 3 p.m. All committee meetings are open to the public.

The Committee expects to meet at its regular time and place - noon at Wednesday April 1 in room 326 in the House Office Building at 124 N. Capitol in Lansing- to report out a smoking ban bill.