All I Want for Christmas is Smokefree Air
The holidays are here and this Christmas Eve many Indiana residents won’t be nestled all snug in their bed with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads. They’ll be dreaming a very different dream of healthy Indiana residents and employees, of a healthy economy, of a decrease in deaths caused by cancer and heart disease – a dream of a smokefree Indiana…
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the House (of Representatives), not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Legislation had been introduced with great fanfare, and there was a great yell of triumph from the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air (ICSA).
Employees with asthma were wishing for the best, to work in establishments with clean air in their chests. And mamma in her apron could work for a living, without the worry of cancer the secondhand smoke was giving.
When out in the Capitol lobby, there arose such a clatter, the people all wondered just what was the matter? Michigan has done it, and Illinois, too, so many states were smokefree, why is it so hard for Indiana to do?
Then it became clear, there was smoke in the air, from opponents who warned lawmakers, “You’d better not dare.†“We have,†they said, “our own science for you; just listen to us, so you’ll know what to do.â€
But it wasn’t enough, and ICSA found their excuses easy to snuff. In a flash, we showed them the truth: smokefree air is needed at every worksite – from office, to factory, to bar and to booth.
The people of Indiana called out in the night, “please Mr. Lawmaker, please make it right!â€
We want what they have – in Arizona, Arkansas, California and Colorado. Why can’t we be like Connecticut, Florida, Georgia and Idaho? From Louisiana to Maine, in Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana – why they’ve even bet on smokefree air out in Nevada! New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, the Dakotas – residents are protected and smokefree, just like the folks in Oregon, Rhode Island and Tennessee. Out west in Utah, up north in Vermont, in rainy Washington and political D.C. – they’ve figured it out, so why, why, oh why can’t we?
So the lawmakers voted and did the right thing, they proved to constituents that they had been listening.
But then I awoke with a terrible start; I grabbed for my pillow and clutched at my heart. For I had only been dreaming of a smokefree state, and I know those who want it have had an unnecessary wait.
You see, even though the cities and counties have voted, it’s still no cinch. The chambers’ agreement on a comprehensive version can be a Christmas Grinch.
So write to your lawmakers and tell them to vote; tell them you’re watching and you’re taking note. It’s good for me and for you, good for health and business too; be you naughty or nice, a smokefree Indiana is the right thing to do!
From: The Smokefree Communities Coalition
Why don’t you tell me, Martha, some examples of facilities you want changed?
Every “office, to factory, to bar and to booth” I visit these days is already voluntarily smoke free.
It is wonderful to see voluntary smoke-free establishments. Unfortunately there are those places that do not step up. If you do not care about your health or that of your fellow citizens, then at least I would think you would care about markedly decreasing costs for health care and medical insurance. So to answer your question Eville Taxpayer, I would want to change every facility where smoking still takes place, bar none. That includes Aztar, the holy don’t-touch spot regarding smoking. A couple of years ago, some women I know traveled to Evansville and decided to stop in at the casino. They walked in, turned around and immediately walked out. Said it was too smokey, too dirty, and not very appetizing to eat in much less spend time gaming there. I’m with Martha. This needs to be statewide law. What is Indiana afraid of? Guess I am tired of Indiana dragging behind on many many issues. Maybe some day we will lead, but if we can’t lead on this one because so many have passed good non-smoking laws, at least maybe we can look our children and grandchildren in the eye and say we care.
If it was in ANY way about your “fellow citizens” health… and “total health care costs”…
You would be pushing to make those products ILLEGAL, totally.
NOT, telling people where and when they can choose to do a legal event.
“Our children and grandchildren” will be too busy crying their eyes out because, next, McDonalds toys will be banned – then what?
All this public grief, all because of Aztar?
There is nothing that cracks me up more, than people insinuating their PC bromide to just “step up”… even addresses an issue in a debate.
I guess it would be a shame to live in Evansville being a gambler with smoke allergies… man, life is tough sometimes.
Well, Martha, nearly all businesses and government offices are smoke free already. A few bars in the Evansville area still allow smoking and I frequent one of them. Remember this: What the state or the Fed takes away from me today it will take away from you tomorrow.
When people live in close proximity, in a societal group, there is a balance of individual freedom verses societal good. We all give up things for the good of the whole, but the whole provides us with benefits as well. As an aside, my father smoked heavily from age 12 until quitting cold turkey in 1960-61 in his forties, before the surgeon general’s warning was initiated. He quit because he recognized that cigarettes were controlling him and he didn’t like that. I’ve always been very proud of him for quitting.
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