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May 25, 2006

Officials push for stronger air ordinance

By Howard Greninger

A proposed Vigo County ordinance fails to stop smoking in public and workplaces because it includes exemptions or loopholes, a group of health-care advocates said Wednesday.

As written, the ordinance should be defeated, the advocates said.

Vigo County commissioners plan to vote on the public and workplace indoor air pollution ordinance on June 20.

Officials from Union Hospital, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and Southwestern Indiana Respiratory Disease Program staged an event Wednesday in the Vigo County Public Library to advocate a stronger public and workplace anti-smoking ordinance.

The event also included nationally recognized comedian Rene Hicks. She said doctors diagnosed her with lung cancer nearly five years ago and that it was caused by second-hand smoke while working in comedy clubs.

“It is interesting that there would be exemptions for bars, taverns and restaurants. Obviously, there is something about the cosmic air, in a bar, restaurant and tavern, that makes people feel like ‘I’ve got to smoke here,’” Hicks said.

“That is a mindset. Addiction has a mindset. Smokers are addicts. They are addicted to nicotine,” Hicks said. “They are forcing us to smoke. I think that is what smokers are doing to non-smokers. They don’t have to smoke, but are forced to smoke through an addiction.”

Hicks is now an advocate for smokefree workplace ordinances and is being featured in television ads sponsored by Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation now running in Indiana to encourage people to stop smoking.

Second-hand smoke, Hicks said, kills 53,000 people annually.

“As human beings and Americans, we understand that with freedom comes responsibility. And with responsibility, comes change,” Hicks said. “If we are going to have a positive change, we have to enact ordinances that will make sure the change happens. Stand and be strong or don’t stand at all.

“Martin Luther King Jr. said if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything. That is what this [Vigo County] ordinance is asking you to do. Not stand, but fall for anything.”

Carrie Evans, a member of the Wabash Valley coalition of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, also said the ordinance should be defeated as written. “All workers should be protected from second-hand smoke while on the job. Loopholes such as walled-off smoking sections and rooms are nothing more than a smokescreen,” Evans said.

Evans said 2005 standards by the American Society for Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers Inc. state there is no heating/air conditioning system that can remove cancer-causing chemicals from the air. “In other words, ventilation does not work,” Evans said.

In July, it will be one year that Union Hospital made the decision to go completely smokefree on its campus, said spokeswoman Lorrie Heber. The best way for the public to understand a public and workplace smokefree ordinance or policy, Heber said, “is to be as simple as possible. No smoking is allowed in public places. In order to adequately enforce that rule, no smoking should be allowed in public places.

“I would encourage that this ordinance be rejected and that a better one be passed for all of Vigo County. If we are going to do this, we should do it once and do it right.”

Audrey Ferguson of the American Lung Association said the agency “supports a comprehensive Vigo County ordinance that does not allow for smoking rooms or any other exemptions and one that does include coverage for workers in all job categories in this state.”

Billie Kaufman of the American Cancer Society said for every eight smokers who die as a result of tobacco use, there is one non-smoker who dies from second-hand smoke.

Indiana ranks second-highest in the nation with an adult smoking rate at 27.3 percent, according to a 2005 study from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kentucky tops the national ranking at 28.7 percent. Illinois ranks 35th in the nation, with a 19.9 percent adult smoking rate, according to the CDC.

Hicks, 39, became the first black woman nominated for an American Comedy Award as “Best Female Stand-Up” and is a two-time recipient of the National College Comedian of the Year Award. She is in her 16th year as a stand-up comedian. She previously worked as an accountant for three years. She is a non-smoker and a former collegiate distance runner.

She has appeared on “Comedy Central Presents … Rene Hicks,” Comedy Central’s “The World Comedy Tour” and “Premium Blend,” ABC's “Politically Incorrect,” Showtime’s “Full Frontal Comedy” and NBC’s “Comedy Showcase” with Louie Anderson.

Before being diagnosed with cancer, Hicks said she saw a TV commercial of Philip Morris, which had bought Kraft foods. She decided to make it part of her comedy act.

The commercial was about Kraft sending food to Bosnia. “Doesn’t that make everybody in this room feel bad that we’re not smoking so that those people in Bosnia can eat,” Hicks said in her act.

Now Hicks, who has 1 1/2 lungs, said she often reflects back on that statement.

“When you work in a comedy club, it is a venue. Office workers get preferential treatment. It was like we are second-class citizens because it was a venue and our lungs are not as important as office workers. Some people say [comedy clubs] are a private place to work, but they do not have the right to put my life at risk because they own the establishment.

“Just like in a restaurant, you may own it, but you can’t put cyanide in the food and say ‘well if you don’t like it, you can eat somewhere else.’ No, if you did that, you would be arrested. It is the same thing with second-hand smoke and that is something we have to understand,” Hicks said.

Hicks wears a yellow wristband that reads “Live Strong,” which supports a foundation from cyclist and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong to battle cancer. Hicks also wears a red wristband of her own, which reads “breathe strong.”

“To live strong, you have to breathe strong,” Hicks said.

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.

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