Substitute Bill 31-14 Smoke Free Ordinance

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Smokefree Air Ordinance of 2014- Substitute Bill No. 31 -14 Page 5 2009.) E- cigarettes produce a vapor of undetermined and potentially harmful substances, which may appear similar to the smoke emitted by traditional tobacco products. Their use in workplaces and public places where smoking of traditional tobacco products is prohibited creates concern and confusion and leads to difficulties in enforcing the smoking prohibitions. The Society of Actuaries has determined that secondhand smoke costs the U.S. economy roughly $10 billion a year: $5 billion in estimated medical costs associated with secondhand smoke exposure and $4.6 billion in lost productivity. (Behan, D.F.; Eriksen, M.P.; Lin, Y., "Economic Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke," Society of Actuaries, March 31, 2005.) Numerous economic analyses examining restaurant and hotel receipts and controlling for economic variables have shown either no difference or a positive economic impact after enactment of laws requiring workplaces to be smokefree. Creation of smokefree workplaces is sound economic policy and provides the maximum level of employee health and safety. (Glantz, S.A. & Smith, L., "The effect of ordinances requiring smokefree restaurants on restaurant sales in the United States." American Journal of Public Health, 87:1687 -1693, 1997; Colman, R.; Urbonas, C.M., "The economic impact of smoke -free workplaces: an assessment for Nova Scotia, prepared for Tobacco Control Unit, Nova Scotia Department of Health," GPI Atlantic, September 2001.) There is no legal or constitutional "right to smoke." (Graff, S.K., "There is No Constitutional Right to Smoke: 2008," Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, 2d edition, 2008.) Business owners have no legal or constitutional right to expose their employees and customers to the toxic chemicals in secondhand smoke. On the contrary, employers have a common law duty to provide their workers with a workplace that is not unreasonably dangerous. (Graff, S.K.; Zellers, L., "Workplace Smoking: Options for Employees and Legal Risks for Employers," Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, 2008.) Smoking is a potential cause of fires; cigarette and cigar burns and ash stains on merchandise and fixtures causes economic damage to businesses. ( "The high price of cigarette smoking," Business & Health 15(8), Supplement A: 6 -9, August 1997.) The smoking of tobacco is a form of air pollution, a positive danger to health, and a material public nuisance. The South Bend Common Council also recognizes that in February of 2014, the Indiana Supreme Court, by a vote of 3 -2, found the City of Evansville, Indiana's smoking ban ordinance unconstitutional due to an exemption it granted to a riverboat casino located within the city The Supreme Court noted that the special exemption for the casino violated the Indiana Constitution's Equal Privileges and Immunities Clause. The following ordinance has been drafted to comply with the Indiana Supreme Court latest judicial ruling.