The Health Nazis set their sights on Bolivar.

This comes from the Bolivar Herald-Free Press.

A smoky issue

By: Justin Ballard 05/26/2004

How soon could Bolivar be a smoke-free community?

The days of smoking cigarettes inside public buildings and workplaces in Bolivar may be numbered.

Following in the footsteps of larger cities (Springfield and New York) and entire countries (Ireland), which have banned smoking in public places, local advocates are close to approaching the Bolivar Board of Aldermen for a similar resolution.

"Local physicians will be asking the city council to go smoke-free citywide, hopefully in the not-too-distant future," said Jim Blaine, a Bolivar physician and member of the Mayor's Council on Health and Fitness. "Things are starting to happen. Overall we're making strides."

The push for a citywide smoking ban is supported by strong medical data that shows second-hand smoke is just as deadly to a non-smoker as a smoker, putting those who do not smoke at risk, despite their choice not to smoke.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently published an advisory notice for cardiac patients to avoid second-hand smoke completely.

The advisory is based on a study done in Montana where heart attacks dropped dramatically after a smoking ban in Helena.

"Second-hand smoking is the third leading most preventable cause of death in America," Blaine said. "There are more than 53,000 deaths annually because of it."

Health officials stress they are not trying to make smokers stop or infringe on their right to smoke, but emphasize the right of everyone to breathe clean air.

"People quit smoking to go to church for an hour or to go to a movie," said Michelle Morris, director of the Polk County Health Center. "We've started a new campaign in Buffalo and here called 'Take it Outside.' A lot of kids and adults who work in our community don't have the choice of leaving when someone is smoking. We'd like for everybody to quit, but we know it's a difficult habit to break, so we're asking people to just smoke outside in open air places, away from others who don't want to be exposed to second-hand smoke."

That request to smoke outdoors also extends to parents of children who smoke in the car or at home. Exposing children to second-hand smoke is known to cause a long list of health problems including asthma, respiratory problems, ear infections and other ailments.

Increasing awareness about the effects of second-hand smoke on children and adults is a goal of the health department and several groups in Polk County that support a smoking ban.

A 2003 study by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reported that 22.9 percent of Polk County residents smoke. In the Southwest region that number jumps to 26.7 percent, which is in line with the state average of 26.6 percent.

"We just want to breathe clean air," said Polk County Health Department health educator Sandra Zanaboni. A former smoker herself, Zanaboni knows quitting is not easy but realizes the effects smoking has on everyone's health are serious.

"The harmful effects of smoke on people with asthma or other breathing problems are well known," she said. "Now the CDC's recommendation that cardiac patients avoid second-hand smoke because it increases their risk for heart attack proves that second-hand smoke is truly a public health issue."

Rising health care costs have also given priority to smoking bans from the medical community. Billions of dollars are spent annually on smoking-related health illnesses, most of which are funded through federal or state programs. Much of the 1998 tobacco settlement money sent to Missouri was used to cover budget shortfalls instead of offsetting healthcare costs and providing educational programs to prevent or stop smoking. Missouri ranks last in money spent on prevention and cessation programs in the country despite receiving more than $249 million from the settlement. Smokers' rights issues have been at the heart of the debate over passing legislation to prohibit smoking on a citywide basis.

The Springfield City Council recently passed an ordinance that prohibits smoking in many restaurants but has a long list of stipulations that make it ineffective. Ireland legislators banned smoking in workplaces and its bars and pubs in March and New York City officials passed a ban on smoking in bars last March.

Other states have adopted similar bans on smoking and seen a positive trend in the overall health of their populations.

At the same time many restaurants that have gone smoke-free have not reported a significant drop in business.

"There are restaurants in town I would really like to eat at," Morris said. "But I won't because I don't want to walk through the smoke. That's my personal choice."

Question: If you hire a housekeeper, or a gardener, or a handyman, or a babysitter or a washing machine repairman, doesn't your own home become a place of business? And are you then banned from smoking in your own home?