Editorial, Wisconsin State Journal, May 14, 2009
By this time next year, the hoopla over the statewide smoking ban in bars and restaurants will be building to a crescendo.
And then -- finally -- after the ban kicks in on July 5, 2010, all the controversy will quickly fade.
The ban will be no big deal.
Bars and restaurants won't go out of business in droves. Smokers will politely step outside when they want to light up. Non-smokers will be more likely to go to bars and restaurants and enjoy themselves.
And many bar and restaurant employees will breathe easier and probably experience improved health because they won't have to work long shifts in clouds of smoke anymore.
Like Gov. Jim Doyle, the State Journal would have much preferred the ban to kick in this July, rather than a year later. Nonetheless, the ban will be worth the wait.
Doyle and Democrats who control the Legislature deserve credit for finally pushing this sensible public health measure forward. Congratulations!
A good chunk of Republicans also deserve kudos for helping to make the statewide smoking ban solidly bipartisan. The ban wouldn't have cleared the state Assembly on Wednesday without support from more than a dozen GOP representatives.
With Doyle's signature, the ban will make Wisconsin the 25th state to approve a statewide prohibition on smoking inside workplaces. And Wisconsin's ban has fewer holes in it than a lot of other states.
Lawmakers wisely beat back a slew of amendments attempting to exempt certain businesses or people from the ban, including hotels and American Indian casinos.
The state can't legally stop the tribes from banning smoking in their casinos. Yet the tribes should and probably will adopt their own ban before long to meet the expectations of customers.
Lawmakers also wrote into the ban that it doesn't apply to smokers puffing outside on patios, which is reasonable and fair given how smoke dissipates in the open air.
Opponents will moan and groan about the ban for another year. But shortly after it kicks in next summer, life will go on as if this drawn-out and draining debate never happened.
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