New smoking ban

The ban on smoking in Alexandria bars began the first day of New Year, and anti-smoking crusaders have touted the health benefits, as a sufficient reason for Lafayette to become the second largest city in Louisiana to ban smoking in drinking establishments.

Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, or TLF, conducted air quality tests inside the bar of Alexandria both before and after the anti-smoking decree came into force earlier this year, and the results show dramatically healthier air for the bar.

Kelly Anderson, a representative of TFL, said she had delivered
copies of the new air-quality tests for each of the nine-member city of the Parish Council, as well as the City-Parish President Joey Durel and Chief Administrative Officer Dee Stanley on Tuesday afternoon.

In TFL, after air monitoring regulations, which took place in dozens of bars of Alexandria and gaming facilities in which smoking is also banned, showed it was 97-percent reduction in pollution levels in these facilities, and indoor air is now 36 times cleaner.

The level of pollution in those who are smoking bars, TFL says, “is almost as clean as the outside air in Alexandria.” Before the decree came into force, testing, TFL found the average air quality in 17 bars and gaming facilities in Alexandria, to be “hazardous air quality.”

TFL officials tested the air quality at 22 Lafayette area bars that allow smoking from December 22, 2010 to January 5, 2011, and found that 17 of the bar, or 77 percent, was “unhealthy” and “very unhealthy” or “dangerous” levels of air quality . Nine percent of the sampled bars smoking at the time were “good” air quality, while 5 percent fell into the “moderate” range, and 9 percent place “harmful to vulnerable groups.”

Anderson and her colleagues TFL were meeting with government officials Lafayette Consolidated almost a year. In April, The Daily Advertiser reported on the efforts of the group to pass anti-smoking regulations in cities throughout the state, and in November, The Daily Advertiser reported on the success of Alexandria in the adoption of this law.

In both April and November, Lafayette politicians said the smoking ban is not a front burner issue. All nine councilors, however, said they would be open to talk if people want it.

In an article published in November, The Daily Advertiser interviewed eight members of the Council who are elected to office in October, as well as the two candidates competing in the round of elections for the ninth seat council. No one said that they certainly support efforts to ban smoking in bars.

MEMBERS Jared Bellard, District 5, and William Theriot, District number 9, and said they would, of course, against this ruling, because individual entrepreneurs, not government, should decide if smoking should be allowed in these establishments.

Andy Naquin, who joined the Board in January in the region of 6 representative, said that the need to talk with voters before deciding how he would vote on a resolution to ban smoking in bars.

Kevin Naquin, who joined the council in January in an area representative, said that the need to explore fully and to talk with all interested parties before deciding if he will or will not support such decisions. Any other board member echoed that sentiment.