IS IT TRUE? September 15, 2011 Special Evening Edition

IS IT TRUE? September 15, 2011 Special Evening Edition

IS IT TRUE that the Smokefree Communities of Vanderburgh County held a meeting this afternoon in the Central Library?…that the purpose of this meeting was to give candidates for office the opportunity to express their opinions with respect to the passage of stricter smokefree workplace laws in the City of Evansville when the new city government is seated in 2012?…that Democratic Candidate for Mayor Rick Davis and five (5) candidates for City Council took advantage of the opportunity to make their positions known?

IS IT TRUE that Rick Davis was the first of the candidates to speak because his schedule is getting busy these days and he had to head on to his next appearance?…that Mr. Davis shared some personal experiences that involved the dangers and consequences of smoking?…that he also told a story from his youth when he calculated just how long it would take for his family to buy a VCR with the savings that could have accrued by quitting smoking?…that Mr. Davis expressed a general distaste for being around smoking and talked some about his jogging and how Evansville should become a healthier city?…that Mr. Davis committed as Mayor to sign whatever resolution that came to him from next year’s City Council even if it is a completely comprehensive resolution that includes Casino Aztar?

IS IT TRUE that Democratic at-large candidate for City Council Jonathan Weaver who is not only an avid runner but a fast one shared his thought process as he is trying to reach a conclusion?…that Mr. Weaver finds it difficult to accept that the City Council should tell private clubs what they can and cannot do but openly acknowledges the risks associated with smoking?…that Mr. Weaver also stated that he is currently undecided but did state that tobacco is a legal product?

IS IT TRUE that perhaps the most progressive of the candidates Democratic candidate for the 3rd Ward City Council seat, Stephanie Brinkerhoff-Riley expressed support for a comprehensive smoking ban on the basis of worker’s rights?…that she furthermore is open to a less than total ban in order to make positive progress toward an eventual comprehensive ban?

IS IT TRUE that former smoker and current pipe smoker E. Lon Walters the Republican candidate for the 2nd Ward City Council seat shared his studies and personal experiences with attempts to quit smoking?…Mr. Walters told us that in his studies he had learned that tobacco addiction is harder to quit than heroin and other addictive narcotics?…Mr. Walters said he would love to quit the pipe and supports a comprehensive smoking ordinance?…that even though he would be okay with exceptions for private clubs and tobacco only purveyors that he will support the most stringent ban that can be passed?

IS IT TRUE that Republican 5th Ward candidate Brent Grafton provided a new twist in supporting a comprehensive ban not only on the grounds of good public policy but on environmental hazards that tobacco use creates?…that he gave a testimony about some research that he had done that uncovered that of all of the toxicity removal plants in this world that tobacco is the 2nd best at removing toxins from the soil?…that toxins that are taken from the soil are deposited into the leaves of the tobacco plant and from there they are made into tobacco products that deliver those toxins into the lungs of users and into the general populace as toxic particles?…that these toxic particles are then absorbed into the skin of innocent people who make contact with the surfaces that are contaminated?…that Mr. Grafton supports a comprehensive smoking ban but would accept exceptions if that is what it takes to pass a stricter ordinance?

IS IT TRUE that at-large Republican candidate Michelle Mercer is a registered nurse?…that she expressed support for a comprehensive ban on smoking based on an economic argument that had taken public health costs into consideration?…that Ms. Mercer did express a reluctance to impose a ban at Casino Aztar because of the lost revenue to the City coffers but was persuaded that even if $1 Million was lost from boat money that if a 7% saving could be seen in health insurance premiums for city workers that the payback time would be one year?…that a guest expressed that the closest alternative places to gamble are 2 hours or more away and that gambling is an addiction too so boat money revenue would most like be neutral while savings could occur with health insurance?

IS IT TRUE that it was also pointed out that if Casino Aztar became non-smoking that this would truly make it unique among casinos and that maybe the new initiatives to promote tourism could leverage this to bring gamblers to town from Louisville, St. Louis, and French Lick?…that winning the tourism game is all about uniqueness?