Alderman likes smoking ban - if cigarette sales go away as well

April 21, 2007

By ANDRE SALLES Staff Writer

AURORA -- Smoking bans are all the rage these days, it seems. While Naperville passed a local ban this week, other communities like Geneva and Batavia have voted it down.

And more widespread bans are under discussion at both the county and state levels.

Alderman Chris Beykirch, 8th Ward, thinks it's only a matter of time before the hot topic reaches Aurora, and he's already figured out what he's going to say if and when it does.

Beykirch believes that if the city wants to ban smoking in private restaurants, it should also ban the sale of cigarettes within the city's limits.

Beykirch swears he is sincere about this, and he says that any government that is so concerned with the health of its constituents that it would ban smoking should not accept any revenue from the sale of tobacco.

"It is hypocritical of government to accept money for something that is widely accepted as harmful," he said.

And as for the smokers of Aurora?

"They can get them somewhere else," he said.

A citywide smoking ban isn't up for discussion anytime soon, according to city spokesman Carie Anne Ergo. Aurora is monitoring the situation, on both the local and state levels, she said.

And while Mayor Tom Weisner believes that Beykirch's proposal is well-intentioned, Ergo said he has reservations about its affect on personal freedom.

"It's one thing to ban smoking in public places, but we would not want to put any business owner at a disadvantage by banning the sale of a legal product," she said.

But Beykirch is sticking to his smoking guns. He believes the country is headed in a smoke-free direction, and that Aurora could be a national leader when it comes to improving public health. But mostly he's concerned that his city not slip into hypocrisy.

"If government leaders want to prohibit something, they should be willing not to accept revenue from it," he said.
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