Editorial: Bars, clubs should have clean air

Publication Date: 2014-01-05

• Author:Editorial
• Publication:Opelousas Daily World

It's time to put an end to smoking inside bars, clubs and casinos, where the health of non-smoking employees is threatened by second-hand smoke.

Patrons are free to come and go, but bartenders, wait staff and other employees are a captive audience, along with the musicians who are often the main attraction at a night spot.

Some might say these employees and musicians are free to work elsewhere, but in these troubled economic times, most people can't afford to risk losing a paying job.

Grammy winner Chubby Carrier is leading the charge locally in the effort to put a stop to smoke-filled bars. Carrier told The Daily Advertiser most musicians tell him privately they hope the effort will succeed -- even smokers who fret about the effects of repeated exposure to smoke on their instruments and expensive amps -- but only a few are vocal about it because they fear alienating their fans who smoke. The same is true of bar owners, Carrier said.

Among the few who are vocal on the subject are David Egan and Eric Adcock. They, along with Carrier, are members of Let's Be Totally Clear, a campaign devoted strictly to the cause of smoke-free bars and clubs. It is a sub-campaign of the Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living, in turn a project of the non-profit Louisiana Public Health Institute...