by Jessica Sabbath
The Senate Health and Education Committee passed varying levels of smoking restrictions Thursday.
One bill would prohibit smoking in many public places, excluding designated hotel rooms and areas on long-care facilities. A less restrictive bill would ban smoking only in enclosed restaurants and bars. Another simply gives localities the option to ban smoking in public places.
The bills will likely pass the Senate but will face fierce opposition in the House of Delegates.
Just released research by Federal Reserve economist Dr. Michael Pakko shows the true business costs of smoking bans. This research shows that smoking bans do hurt certain types of business. Dr. Pakko urges lawmakers not to adopt “a Pollyannaish outlook in which communities can achieve
public health benefits with no economic consequences.“
http://stlouisfed.org/publications/re/2008/a/pages/smoking-ban.html
--Bill Hannegan of St. Louis
Feb. 2, 2008 at 04:11 AM