Harlingen's smoking ban reeks of hypocrisy

May 9, 2005
By Othel B. Ross

I own a 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage. Nice little car. If I maintain it properly, the auto may last 20 years or more. Maintenance costs are a bear. New auto costs are worse. The decisions involved are mine, yes?

The bank and I own a house. It is my responsibility to maintain the house in good repair and pay all bills arising from owning the house. Do I repair the roof with 20-year shingles or 40-year shingles? Or not at all? Who cares, as long as I keep up the payments?

I am an adult. I inhabit and own my body. I own the fruits of my labor. I am in charge of decision-making for and about my body. It is my responsibility to maintain my own health.

I started smoking in 1954. I quit in 1993. Both choices were mine. Cigarettes were, and are, a legal product. I worked as a certified respiratory therapist during several of my smoking years.

I choose to smoke or not. And I choose whether smoking is allowed in my car or my house. If I own a business, I decide whether and where smoking is allowed. No more. The smoking nannies have struck in Harlingen. To whit:

1) The new smoking ban prohibits "smoking in public places and places of employment except for bars, nightclubs and dog racing tracks."

2) In the case of a "bar and grill," it would be considered a bar if 51 percent of its income came from the sale of alcohol.

3) A bar is defined as "an area which is devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises and in which the serving of food is only incidental to the consumption of such beverages."

So now the city is performing a legal taking because J.J. Gonzales feels strongly about it.

A legal taking is an act by government that takes from someone any amount up to the full value of a privately owned property - and does so without compensation.

Amendment V to the U.S. Constitution says, "Nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

Gonzalez said, "We're still a business-friendly city, but this is something I feel strongly about and I'm looking out for the health of our citizens. That's what we're supposed to do as elected officials."

Oh, so this is really about the health of the citizens of Harlingen? All of us or a few? Which citizens? Is there a list of special citizens? What is wrong with the rest?

Based on what? The 1993 Environmental Protection Agency study that labeled environmental tobacco smoke a class-A carcinogen that causes about 3,000 lung-cancer deaths among adult nonsmokers per year? The same EPA study that the tobacco industry and others attacked as "junk science" and filed suit to have vacated? They won in 1998 when a North Carolina federal judge ruled that the EPA had made serious procedural errors and, worse, had "cherry-picked" its data to reach a preordained conclusion. The EPA denied the charge and appealed. They lost.

The controversy over ETS and the EPA report rages on. It has been marked by accusations of conspiracy, bias and cooked data. However, conclusions can be drawn.

One is that the most charitable view of the EPA's evidence is that ETS is carcinogenic comes perilously close to noise level - you're not sure if you're seeing a real effect or just random spikes in the data.

In a Center for Disease Control report released March 31, tobacco use no longer is decreasing among high school students. Tobacco use declined in the late '90s, but data now indicates that use in grades 6 through 12 has not changed. The CDC study of 31,774 students has 22.3 percent of high school students smoking and 8.1 percent of junior high students smoking. Use of all tobacco products is 28 percent and 11 percent, respectively. These rates are pretty much the same as a 2002 CDC study.

J.J.'s health gambit is political and counterfeit. There is no health benefit to all Harlingen citizens. There is monetary damage to those who do not mind working in a cigarette smoke-filled environment. Those who do not like cigarette or cigar smoke are demanding that the city take value from the owners of private property so that non-smokers may frequent the establishments.

I do not know whether businesses will close and go away because of this ordinance, or how many may leave the city for the county. But this ordinance does damage to us all.

There is an existing state law that forbids the sale of tobacco to people 17 and younger. The city of Harlingen does not enforce this law. Instead, it decided to force proprietors to become tobacco policeman. OK to sell tobacco, but not to use it?

What we have is a bunch of hypocrites demonstrating public worry for one group of citizens and not others similarly situated. If smoking is bad, then why permit it at the dog track, bars or anywhere else within the city? Why are you willing to permit the sale of this evil and deadly product within the city limits?

Either this is a public health problem or it is not. If it is, then ban all sales and use of any and all tobacco products within Harlingen. If not, then quit meddling in the decisions of those who make a living doing business in Harlingen.

No guts, no glory. You guys have neither. What you do have is a love of tax money. Go slink away somewhere and contemplate your navel.

Do you want to eliminate tobacco use in this city? Here is a workable suggestion. Try incentives: lower taxes for businesses that become smoke-free. Lower medical expenses for city employees who quit smoking, for weight loss, and for good driving records.

Police should enforce the existing law about minors smoking. Request schools to enforce state laws on juvenile smoking.

Prevent juvenile smoking and produce smoke-free adults. Allow free markets to work.

Ross is a resident of Harlingen.
http://www.valleystar.com/

Bingo Players Upset with Smoking Ban

March 25, 2005
Reported by Romeo Cantu

A lot of bingo players were seeing red Thursday and it wasn''t from the dabbers they''re playing with, but because they''re not going to be able to light up due to Harlingen's new smoking ban law.

Just about every night, hundreds of people pack the Skateland Bingo in Harlingen, hoping they''re lucky numbers will get picked so they can yell "bingo" and win some dough.

For many, playing the game is a fun and relaxing night out, but now some said that there fun times are coming to an end.

"If I can''t smoke when I''m here playing my bingo, then I get all nervous," Harlingen resident Helen Salazar said.

Salazar said that she''s been playing bingo for many years and enjoys going there with her friends.

But Wednesday''s vote by the city council to enact a smoking ban in public places, including bingo halls, has Salazar and many smokers upset, so much so that Thursday night they brought their own protest signs to their bingo game.

"This is like our home away from home. And if we don''t get to smoke here, then I''m sure all the other ones agree we won''t come here anymore," Salazar said.

If folks, like Salazar, pack up their bingo supplies and head elsewhere, Skateland Bingo Manager Ernie Pena said that it would do more than hurt his business -- it would also hurt the Harlingen community.

"Bingo is charitable and all proceeds from bingo are distributed back to the community, for example, numerous donations to the American Heart Association, Alzheimer''s disease and the Boys and Girls Club," Pena said.

He said that the smoking area of the bingo is closed off from the rest of facility and includes its own air conditioning and filtration system and because of that it should be exempt, like dog racing tracks, bars and nightclubs.

"I hope the city will look at the law they passed and maybe they just forgot about bingo and hopefully include us in there," Pena said.

Bingo owners said that they hope to persuade the Harlingen city council to give them an exemption before the law which takes effect in a couple of weeks.
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Harlingen A Step Closer to Smoking Ban

March 3, 2005
Reported by Romeo Cantu

Harlingen city voted in favor of a proposed non-smoking ordinance Wednesday, taking a giant step closer to becoming the first city in the Valley to have a smoking ban in place.

The ban would prohibit people from lighting up in public places, such bars and restaurants.

Los Asados in Harlingen serves up some of the best Mexican food in the city and all in a smoke-free environment.

"Customers are very satisfied because we are a family oriented restaurant and as you can see we have young kids and that''s what they like," said Roberto San Miguel, a manager at the restaurant. "And we haven''t had any problems at all."

For the past six years, the restaurant has not been letting people light up, and soon more restaurants could be turning smoke-free like Los Asados.

Harlingen city commissioners voted 3-1 in favor of a smoking-ban ordinance for all restaurants and bars, sparking some outcry from the audience.

One of those upset was Harlingen resident Frank Koehler.

"I''m trying to quit smoking for my own reasons, but it''s a personal choice," Koehler said. "It''s not a mandated act."

Koehler said that just because the ban has worked elsewhere, he doesn''t feel it will work here in the Valley.

"I don''t think the city''s looking at what the economic impacts are," Koehler said. "When they say it works in New York City this isn''t New York City. This isn''t Nevada. This isn''t Los Vegas. This isn''t Long Beach. This is Harlingen, Texas."

"It does not hurt business," said Dr. Garner Klein, chairman of the Smoke Free Harlingen Coalition.

"It''s been studied in El Paso, Texas, who put in a smoking ban about three years ago and they''ve looked at it very carefully. They''ve had a lot of sales receipts and they''ve had no negative effect whatsoever."

Klein is a cardiologist and for the past two years has helped spearhead the ordinance. He said that of the up most importance is the public''s health.

"Multiple studies have shown that second-hand smoke causes the same diseases that primary smoking does," Klein said.

The commissioners' actions on Wednesday were only the first step in passing this ordinance. In two weeks, they''ll have another meeting, and then it could become law.
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