(Senator Raymond Basham, a longtime Taylor resident, was elected to the State House of Representatives in 1997, and elected to the State Senate in 2002. He serves Michigan's 8th District, and is a passionate advocate for the environment and public education. Welcome Senator Basham! - promoted by wizardkitten)
 Smoking used to be everywhere. Movies on the silver screen were seen through a smokescreen, with patrons puffing away. Airline stewardesses demonstrated the proper use of oxygen masks just as the Captain flipped on the smoking sign. White-coated doctors warned patients of unhealthy habits in between drags off their cigarettes. And right here in Lansing, on the floor of the Legislature, my predecessors were actively inhaling and ashing amidst the open political debate that has unfortunately gone on hiatus for most of this summer.
It's laughable now, but people viewed it as common practice at the time, just as people view smoking in workplaces, restaurants, and bars today. But times change, especially as our understanding and appreciation for health concerns increases, and this issue isn't any different. Thirty-one states and countless countries have already changed that culture, putting the health of their citizens first and foremost.
Michigan is significantly lagging behind, and if we don't change our smoking policy and culture, we'll soon be the butt of the jokes. Workplaces, restaurants and bars are going smokefree from California to New York, and we're in a race with Indiana for last place in the Great Lakes Region, including Ontario, to take action on smokefree legislation. |
| It's even more amazing to examine the issue internationally. Ireland, known for its pub culture and revelry, was the first state or country to implement a nationwide smokefree workplace law, including pubs, bars, and restaurants. Smoking was once as much a part of French culture as berets, baguettes and café au lait. But by January 2008, the only public workplaces-including bars and restaurants-where people can smoke will be the outdoor cafés France is known for.
When I first started working on this issue in the legislature ten years ago, Michigan had the chance to be a real leader. Instead, thanks to Legislative inaction to protect Michigan families, patrons and workers, we're in danger of becoming the "Great Late State," a warning recently reiterated in an editorial by WXYZ-ABC 7 TV in Detroit.
Now I could spout off numbers and statistics that clearly illustrate the dangers of secondhand smoke, but I don't think those facts are still in dispute to anyone, on either side of the aisle. The U.S. Surgeon General has said that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, and simply put, the rights of smokers end when their smoke is inhaled by a nonsmoker. Restaurant and bar workers do not have the same freedom as patrons to choose their working environment, particularly in this difficult state economy, and I don't think secondhand smoke exposure should have to be part of their job description.
After a decade of hard work on this issue, I am pleased with the recent progress on this subject, though I wish it could be coming from our Legislative body. My colleagues in the House Commerce Committee recently voted to pass HB 4163, a bill sponsored by Representative Brenda Clack that would establish smokefree workplaces in Michigan. This was the first committee vote this issue has ever received in Michigan, and it will soon be before a full state Legislative body for the first time ever.
Too bad it couldn't be us.
Though my bills to ban smoking in Michigan have been given little reception, my colleagues in the House are forcing this issue, and it could be in the laps of the Senate before we know it.
And whether we continue not to act on my bill, SB 109, or the House version when it comes across the hall, every day that we wait is another worker's life that's unnecessarily put in danger. I hope when our chance comes, we take a stand for Michigan citizens and stamp out workplace smoking once and for all.
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