2008 Woodie Awards
Statewide smoking ban ignites debate
Chase Becicka
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: News
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The Smoke Free Air Act, officially known as House File 2122, has already been passed back and forth between the Iowa House and Iowa Senate a few times as the law is amended.
The original law was aimed at banning smoking statewide with a few exceptions, including casinos and veterans clubs. The casino exemptions were made due to arguments that the Iowa casinos would lose business if a smoking ban was enforced which would directly affect state tax revenue. However, since the bill has moved out of House hands and to the Senate, it has lost its exemptions for casinos as well as veterans clubs.
The main opposing factor to the bill is that the Iowa government is over stepping the line and enforcing unjustifiable mandates on private business. However, proponents of the bill argue that the legislation is about protecting Iowa's workforce from the health hazards of smoking.
Kirkwood Community College students have mixed feelings on the subject.
Megan Reiner, graphic design major, stated, "I think that [the smoking ban] is a great thing, not being a smoker myself."
Reiner also displayed a small amount of concern in losing customers at her place of work, the Kaufee Kup, a small Cedar Rapids diner. "The fact is that the thought of losing customers means less tips, so my wages will lower even more," she said.
"No one forces you to go there though, so in theory it should still be up to the owner" said Tomas Scheel, computer information systems major. Scheel also expressed concern about smoking in places people are required to go such as stores or pharmacies.
The bill now goes back to the House in its amended form for approval before it goes on to the governor to sign. House File 2122 in its current form would ban smoking across the state in hotels, restaurants, bars and sports centers. The bill would even prevent farmers from smoking in their own tractor cabs.
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