Group envisions city free of smoke

There is public interest in nonsmoking ordinances, and a nonprofit group is working to turn that support into citizen action.

To do that, members of Tobacco-free North Texas are trying to educate residents about the dangers of smoking and refute the idea that bans on indoor smoking will stunt business growth. ON THE WEB

Tobacco-free North Texas: www.tobaccofreentx.org  

Next meeting in county: 11 a.m. May 12 at the Denton County Health Department

Their latest effort was a town hall meeting Monday at Texas Woman's University. Panelists discussed tobacco use and its effects on the body, secondhand smoke exposure, and the benefits of a smoke-free community.

The meeting was moderated by Bing Burton, Denton County health director, and featured various speakers.

Dr. Meena Vyas, a physician with the Denton County Mental Health/Mental Retardation Center, said tobacco use kills about 450,000 people each year in the United States. She talked about resources available to those who would like to quit smoking and the bodily effects of cessation over time.

Kirsten Bah, a TWU student, read a letter of hers recently printed on the opinion page of the Denton Record-Chronicle. She said she works in a restaurant, and many servers complain about working in the smoking sections.

Finally, Ashley Oats, staff member of Tobacco-free North Texas, presented an informational handout that reported the financial impact from smoking over an average lifetime to be $170,789.

A question-and-answer session later touched on pending state legislation, including House Bill 670, authored by Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, which would ban smoking in public buildings. The session also covered what cities can do while bills get bandied about in Austin.

Natalie Buxton, a tobacco prevention coordinator, said her group and others like it can provide data, but the message has more impact when it comes from Denton residents.

Tobacco-free North Texas officials said Denton City Council members seemed receptive to the idea of a smoking ban, but said the outcry needs to come from their constituents, not just the nonprofit group.

Denton resident Kati Trice attended the town hall meeting and said she supports the idea of a smoke-free ordinance for indoor spaces in Denton.

"It will benefit everyone," she said. "It's an ordinance that needs to be passed in a city wanting to lead a healthy lifestyle."

Trice mentioned something that is often brought up in conversations about smoking bans: the economic impact of customers avoiding businesses based on smoking rules.

"I think they will still come to the venues," she said. "They will just smoke on the patios outside. This will encourage businesses to have more outdoor venues."

Buxton chipped away at the idea that some people avoid nonsmoking businesses, saying that studies done in El Paso, Plano and Austin showed no negative economic changes for businesses after nonsmoking ordinances were in place.

"If it did happen, Dallas wouldn't have an ordinance, Austin wouldn't have an ordinance," Buxton said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .