Health, business concerns dominate smoke-free discussion

Publication Date: 2009-01-21

• Author:JARED MILLER
• Publication:Casper Star-Tribune Online, WY

Health concerns were a major theme of a late-night legislative committee meeting Wednesday on a controversial bill to outlaw smoking in all public buildings in Wyoming.

Dr. Rick Davis, a retired cardiologist in Cheyenne, told the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee that evidence of second-hand smoke's role in heart disease is now overwhelming, and even minimal exposure can be dangerous.

"There isn't any other toxin that you all would sit here and allow" people to be exposed to, Davis told the committee members. "You simply would not."

Davis was among several doctors, health officials and members of the public who testified in favor of House Bill 31, a comprehensive statewide ban on smoking in public buildings...

HB 31 would ban smoking even in bars and restaurants. Similar bans exist in many other states, including neighboring Colorado and Montana, but Wyoming lawmakers have rejected several past attempts at similar legislation.

This year's version got a boost when the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee agreed to sponsor the bill, the first time a legislative committee has thrown its weight behind the issue.