Smoke Free Wisconsin In The News

by Judith Davidoff 

With less than a month to go before the Legislature adjourns, advocates of a smoking ban in bars and restaurants are turning up the heat, bringing bicycling star Lance Armstrong to the state to help advance their cause and issuing data they say proves smoking bans elsewhere have not hurt local economies.

They also plan to pack the room today when the Assembly Public Health Committee holds a public hearing on the bill at noon.

In its report, "Smoke and Mirrors: Tobacco Industry Claims Unfounded," the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG) looked at data from Madison and Appleton, which both passed smoking bans in July 2005.

The report found that requests for liquor licenses in both cities actually increased after ban implementation. In Madison, the number of licensed liquor establishments went from 332 in July 2005 to 365 in January 2008. And for the first time, Appleton has a waiting list for Class B liquor licenses.

The report also found that property values rose in both communities' business districts.

The WISPIRG report also looked at peer-reviewed studies of rural and suburban communities to test the theory -- put forth by opponents of the smoking ban in Wisconsin and elsewhere -- that bans hit small communities hardest.

"Across the board, regardless of the size of community or type of community, the data has been consistent: smoke-free policies either had a neutral or positive economic impact," said Bruce Speight, public interest advocate for WISPIRG.

The Tavern League claims otherwise and is running radio ads that suggest bar owners would lose 30 percent of their business if forced to ban smoking.

But Scott Stenger, lobbyist for the Tavern League of Wisconsin, and Pete Madland, its executive director, did not return calls seeking comment on the data used to prepare the Tavern League's ads and WISPIRG's findings.

Meanwhile, ban advocates are hoping that folk hero Armstrong's visit will draw public attention to the stalemate in the Legislature. The bill passed a Senate committee months ago, but Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, D-Weston, has refused to bring the bill to a floor vote unless proponents agree to a much-delayed schedule for banning smoking in taverns.

Armstrong, who won the Tour de France seven times, is the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which advocates for cancer research. He will appear at a rally Tuesday with Gov. Jim Doyle at the Monona Terrace Convention Center from noon to 12:45 p.m.

Katherine McLane, communications director for the Lance Armstrong Foundation, said Armstrong is excited to lend his support to the effort in Wisconsin.

She said he put his heart and soul into getting a referendum approved in Texas last year to fund a $3 billion state initiative to fight cancer.

McLane said the Texas initiative had the same kind of opposition in the statehouse that Wisconsin's smoking ban has, but Armstrong lobbied legislators and campaigned hard for the initiative.

"It passed in large part due to his ability to bring people together," McLane said.