Smoke-Free St. Louis: Letter to the Editor

I sent the following letter to the editor to all the major local publications this morning:

To the editor,

A recent study by the City of Houston, Texas examined the effects of its smoke-free bar and restaurant law and found the ordinance did not have a negative impact on business.

As St. Louis debates the merits of becoming smoke-free, false fears of economic loss seem to plague progress. The only unbiased, accurate means to measure economic impact is to compare sales tax receipts for years before the smoke-free law, with all quarters after the law is enacted. Houston, along with hundreds of other communities, has conducted these studies and they all show the same thing – no adverse impact on business.

St. Louis and its leaders have fallen victim to predictions of economic doom and that’s a shame. This myth originated with the tobacco industry and its public relations firms in the 1980s. David Laufer of Philip Morris said it best in 1994, “The economic arguments often used by the industry to scare off smoking ban activity were no longer working, if indeed they ever did. These arguments simply had no credibility with the public, which isn’t surprising when you consider that our dire predictions in the past rarely came true.”

Despite the fact that these declines have never come to pass in any community in the country, the opposition has not stopped trying to use this myth to divert attention away from the health-basis of smoke-free air laws.

Let’s try to keep our eye on the ball, St. Louis. For those few who didn’t know it already, the U.S. Surgeon General, numerous scientists and doctors have confirmed that secondhand smoke causes cancer, heart disease and serious lung problems. It’s a no brainer to protect all patrons and employees from the carcinogenic smoke that lurks in St. Louis bars and restaurants.

Sincerely,

Vihar Sheth

St. Louis City Resident

I haven’t been involved in the Smoke-Free St. Louis effort to the extent I would have liked but every little bit counts, right? Hopefully at least one of the publications will pick this up. I can feel the momentum building for a regionwide smoke-free law. If you would like to see St. Louis become smoke-free, send your own letter!