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REGULAR MEETING MARCH 29, 2016 <br />for direct medical care and $156 billion in lost productivity. That included $5.6 billion in lost <br />productivity from secondhand smoke. It is incumbent upon all of us to protect the health of the <br />general public and individuals working in establishments where smoking is allowed many of <br />whom absolutely need the employment and some of whom who have few other job alternatives. <br />He is not suggesting that the right to smoke is taken away but that we act to protect those who <br />choose not to smoke. If we can acknowledge ones right not to smoke we must also support one's <br />right to breath clean air. <br />Steve Toepp, 52762 Brookdale Dr. South Bend, is a musician in three (3) bands and all twenty <br />(20) musicians in those bands as well as hundreds of others he has spoken to are really hoping <br />that this bill will pass. Musicians, especially local ones, are not rich and cannot afford to turn <br />down work at some places. We have to take everything we can get. He stated his opposition to <br />big government but in his mind the government's role is to protect people. It is getting so bad in <br />some of these bars that they can barely get through two (2) sets. They post their shows on <br />Facebook and the first question always asked is if the bar is smoking or non - smoking and we <br />don't like to say if it is smoking because we will get a smaller crowd then. He estimated they get <br />approximately forty (40) percent less of their normal crowd if it is at a smoking bar. The bars <br />will get more people to his bands performances if they are all non - smoking. <br />Kelli Brien, 115 E. Woodside St. South Bend, spoke as a business owner working in public <br />health for almost nine (9) years. Clients come in everyday with issues about their pregnancies <br />and will secondhand smoke affect them. St. Joseph County has one of the very highest infant <br />mortality rates in our country. This ordinance can help that rate. Both secondhand and thirdhand <br />smoke affects children and babies. This is a very high indicator in SIDS. <br />Amy Nuner, 6115 Miami Rd., stated in 2003 when New York City passed their non - smoking <br />ordinance she lived there and worked in the hospitality industry and it did not affect her income <br />in anyway. Also she lived in Chicago when they passed their non - smoking ordinance and it did <br />not have a negative effect on bars. Having three (3) small kids she hopes when they are adults <br />they don't have to go through this fight. <br />Victoria Zellmer, 1233 N. Eddy St. Apt 303, stated she loves South Bend and it has become her <br />home over the past eight (8) years. She is a PHD candidate at the University of Notre Dame <br />studying cancer but is not speaking on the science and health risks of smoking because that has <br />been well covered. She came to talk about what it is like to go out in a non -smoke free city as a <br />twenty something who goes to bars frequently. First she supports this bill out of concern for this <br />community so the workers and employers have the right to clean air. Also this ordinance will <br />provide a healthy image for our city, this ordinance will show South Bend cares for and protects <br />all residents and all employees in the City. This ordinance will also encourage the young <br />professionals in the City to come out to new and different establishments. She stated she is less <br />likely to frequent a bar, and here friends are also less likely to frequent a bar, if it is a smoking <br />establishment. This ordinance is a positive way to connect young professionals with this amazing <br />city. <br />Craig Clark, 3267 Chalk Maple Ct. South Bend, spoke on behalf of the Indiana Black Expo <br />expressed their organizations support of a strong smoke free air ordinance in South Bend. We <br />advocate for smoke free air laws because of the disproportionate impact that it would have on <br />African Americans. These workers being protected will be the most vulnerable in our society. <br />Unfortunately many African American workers in Indiana work in low paying jobs where <br />smoking is the norm. Saying that these workers have a choice to walk away from these jobs is a <br />false assertion. <br />Isis Dixon, 1021 E Irvington Ave, stated she had a grandmother who smoke for many years and <br />even though she stopped smoking she still ended up suffering from that. While her grandmother <br />had a choice as a child she did not have a choice to be around her and take in that secondhand <br />smoke. If this ordinance helps stop people smoking or helps people never start smoking so they <br />don't affect their family members then it will be worth it. <br />Kevin O'Flarrerty, 178 Housatome Drive, CT, is a regional advocacy director for the campaign <br />Tobacco Free Kids. In that capacity he covers eleven (11) states throughout the U.S. including <br />Indiana. He was asked to talk specifically about the legal aspects of the ordinance. Tobacco Free <br />8 <br />