The two bills introduced in the state Senate – SB233 and SB95 – ban smoking in most public places and places of employment.  Both bills exempt retail tobacco shops.  The bill in the House – HB1131 – is similar to the Senate versions but does not exempt retail tobacco shops. None of the bills exempts cigar bars.

“Citizens of Indiana – smokers and non-smokers – should be incensed over their legislators wasting time with frivolous and job-killing issues like smoking bans,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR, a non-profit association of more than 2,000 small business owners that include of cigar store owners and manufacturers and distributors of premium cigars, pipes, tobaccos and related accessories.

McCalla reminded the legislators that the federal government recently increased excise taxes on tobacco in order to fund health insurance for children and that any smoking ban would lead to decreased funding for that program, commonly known as SCHIP.

“These bills – especially the House version - are blatantly hurtful to Indiana’s economy.  Instead, legislators should be finding ways to create more jobs, raise more tax revenues through stimulated sales, and boost our economy instead of tearing it down,” he said.

McCalla pointed out that there is no study showing that patrons or employees are harmed by exposure to the low levels of smoke found in bars and restaurants.  As to some people being annoyed by others’ smoking, any facility with decent modern ventilation and filtration systems would avoid that issue, he said.

“We strongly urge Indiana state legislators to defeat these bills because legislated smoking bans have proven to negatively and needlessly impact jobs and the economy according to the Federal Reserve Bank based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Legislated smoking bans also unnecessarily strip away the individual rights of business owners, their employees and customers,” McCalla said.

McCalla said more businesses than ever are declaring themselves smoke-free, based on customer preference and that legislated smoking bans run contrary to the individual rights upon which the United States was built.

“Business owners have the right to decide whether or not to allow smoking on their premises.  No one is forcing employees or patrons to go into a place of business where smoking is allowed if they don’t want to.  Let the market decide, not government legislators.  These are not times to be putting more businesses in jeopardy,” he said.

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