By JASON MICHAEL WHITE, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Franklin soon will consider a citywide smoking ban for public places and restaurants.
City council members decided by consensus Monday to draft a no-smoking ordinance for discussion and vote as early as their March 13 meeting.
The city council will have a public hearing before making any decision about whether to pass a smoking ban and, if so, what types of businesses to include or exempt from the ban.
Their decision comes a week after Greenwood passed a no-smoking ordinance for public workplaces and restaurants, except for bars and private clubs. County government is considering a smoking ban, too.
A ban will go into effect in Marion County and Greenfield on Wednesday, and Carmel will implement a ban starting Sunday.
Franklin City Council member Joe Ault was reluctant to move forward with the proposal. He said he does not understand why people smoke but has a hard time telling people they can’t.
Opponents of a city smoking ban say the government should not take away the right to smoke. But supporters argue that cigarettes and secondhand smoke is a public health issue and governments should be responsible for giving people safe places to work.
Ault proposed that the city wait and see what action county commissioners take before making a decision about a no-smoking ordinance.
A countywide smoking ban would apply to cities and towns, unless those municipalities had smoking ordinances of their own, such as the one in Greenwood, said David Bottorff, executive director of the Indiana Association of Counties.
Owners of local restaurants The Willard and Don and Dona’s questioned the council’s decision to consider a smoking ban.
People are not forced to walk into a restaurant that allows smoking, said Mary Barnaby, owner of Don and Dona’s. Customers have the right to choose whether they smoke and whether to go into a business that allows smoking, she said.
Barnaby told council members she worries her business will suffer if the city passes a smoking ban that still allows people to light up in bars. Customers who smoke may choose to go to a bar instead of her restaurant, which would drive away business, she said.
The government should not tell small-business owners whether they can allow smoking; that decision should be left to the business owners, said Bob Schofield, owner of The Willard.
But government officials make decisions about issues that affect the public health, such as requiring people to wear seat belts in their cars, council member Phil Barrow said.
Some workers may not have an alternative to working in restaurants that allow smoking, said John Auld, chairman of the Partnership for a Healthier Johnson County. His daughter has an internship in Indianapolis and works at a restaurant that allows smoking, which bothers her.
“I told her she should find another job,” Auld said. “She said, ‘But dad, it’s not that simple.’”
Medical treatment because of cigarette smoke costs about $1.9 billion a year, said Gregg Bechtold, president of Johnson Memorial Hospital. And smoking accounts for an average of 6.6 work days lost per employee each year, he said.