Tobacco-belt capital debates smoking ban

A proposed smoking ban sparked a fight in the heart of tobacco country.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- Perched on his favorite barstool, Joe Wegrzyn puffs on his pipe while drinking with friends at a tavern in the city's business district.
Wegrzyn's relaxing pastime could be snuffed out if smoking opponents push through a proposed ordinance that's not unlike the hundreds of other indoor smoking bans that have taken hold in municipalities across the nation.
But this is not just another city. In this capital of the burley tobacco belt, smoking is seen by many as a birthright, and debate over the issue has focused as much on the city's identity as its public health.
"It's un-American," said Wegrzyn, who teaches business writing at the University of Kentucky. "What would Humphrey Bogart do if in 'Casablanca' he couldn't have a cigarette with his shot of Wild Turkey?"
During growing season, burley tobacco plots dot the countryside a short distance from downtown Lexington. The city of 260,000 remains a hub for tobacco marketing, with sales reaching into the tens of millions of dollars.
That tobacco tradition has helped give Kentucky the nation's highest rate of adult smokers. The state also ranks among the highest for youth smokers.
Anti-smoking activists around the country are watching Lexington's debate closely.
"Lexington would be a true leader in Kentucky and in other tobacco industry stronghold states," said Bronson Frick, associate director of the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation in Berkeley, Calif.
Caught in the middle of the debate is the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council. By a 6-5 vote, the proposed ban was tabled by the council in December. But the council is getting four new members, and the pro-ban forces are preparing for another try.
Issue of rights
Sandy Fields, owner of downtown Rosebud Bar, said the smoking prohibition would put her out of business. The issue cuts deeper than economics -- Fields said the ban would infringe on personal rights, an erosion perpetrated by people wanting to impose their lifestyles on others.
"There are people in this country who want to make smoking, which is a vice, into a crime," she said. "I think those people are dangerous. They are eventually going to try to make America into a politically correct concentration camp."
Melinda Plymale, owner of the restaurant 431, also fears the ban would cut into business. There is no smoking in the dining room, but it is permitted in a separate bar, where many customers gather after dinner.
With a total ban, some of those people would stay at home to eat and drink, Plymale said.
Public health risk
Council member David Stevens, a physician, said secondhand smoke poses a clear risk that justifies government action.
"I think the danger to health from passive smoke is such that that overrides any freedoms that might be infringed upon," Stevens said. "It's a matter of public health."
Supporters of the ban say dining out would be more enjoyable, and thereby attract more customers, if it were smoke-free.