Comprehensive anti-smoking bill approaches Ind. Senate

The state’s public places could become mostly smoke-free July 1 if a bill currently making its way through the Indiana General Assembly becomes law.

House Bill 1018 passed the state House of Representatives Jan. 24 by a 68 to 31 vote margin with amendments. Next, it faces the state Senate and, if it passes, the desk of Gov. Mitch Daniels.

The bill was sponsored by state Reps. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, Eric Turner, R-Marion, Mara Candelaria Reardon, D-Munster, and Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington.

For now, the ban would prohibit smoking in public places or enclosed areas of employment, as well as within 12 feet of their entrances.

There are a number of exceptions, including bars that only admit people 21 years old or older, tobacco stores, riverboats, horse racing facilities, tax-exempt businesses, the Indiana Veterans’ Home and private clubs.

Similar bills have failed before in the state Senate, according to a Jan. 31 press release from Brown’s office.

“By my count, this is the fifth time that my fellow representatives have followed the wishes of more than three-quarters of all Hoosiers and supported a ban on smoking in Indiana,” Brown said in the release.

State Rep. Tom Dermody, R-La Porte, said he did not vote for the bill because he believes it restricts people in a way the government should avoid.

“We can’t have the government telling businesses what to do,” he said. “I just absolutely don’t believe in it.”

Dermody said he does not think smoking is healthy. He is a cancer survivor and doesn’t allow smoking inside his business but said he feels smoking is not for the government to regulate.

He said his other concern is there is not enough public support to warrant passing the legislation.

“I don’t think there’s 100 percent support,” Dermody said.

For Bloomington residents, the ban would not change anything. The City of Bloomington has had a more comprehensive smoking ban ordinance in effect since 2001.

“On the basis of what I know, I do not see this affecting our ordinance,” said Pete Giordano, director of the Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department. “Our ordinance is as restrictive, if not more restrictive.”

Giordano said the city gradually implemented the ban’s restrictions throughout several years.

He also said the city worked with businesses and individuals that would be most affected by the ban during the writing process of the ordinance.

Ultimately, Giordano said, people in the city have grown accustomed to the smoking ordinance, even many people who initially did not support it.

Giordano recommended that the state write a more comprehensive smoking ban and that they meet with affected and concerned business owners during the process.

“It’s important to understand the reason is not to restrict businesses but to protect the public,” Giordano said.