The Forsyth County Board of Health voted unanimously last night to ask the General Assembly to ban smoking in the workplace and other indoor public places in North Carolina.
The board also voted 10-1 to ask state legislators to raise the state's cigarette tax to the national average of $1.19 a pack. Smokers currently pay 35 cents a pack.
"No person should be exposed to carcinogens in their workplaces," said Dr. Tim Monroe, the county's health director, who brought both resolutions before the board of health. "This has to do with public places and exposing others" to smoke.
Board member Dr. Willard McCloud opposed the tax resolution because he didn't like the idea of increasing anyone's tax.
In a third resolution, the board unanimously voted to send a letter to local governing boards, organizations and community leaders asking them to join the effort to lobby the General Assembly. The health board also wants local governments to have the right to enact smoking regulations.
Monroe said that the resolutions would have been unthinkable as recently as five years ago in a state with such strong ties to the tobacco industry.
Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, has introduced a bill in the General Assembly that would ban smoking in workplaces and other indoor public spaces.
There's currently no bill before legislators to raise the state cigarette tax, Monroe said. He said that raising the cost of cigarettes would reduce the number of young people who take up smoking, encourage adults to stop smoking and result in long-term savings in health-care costs.
The passage of the resolutions brought a quick -- and sharp -- response from Gayle Anderson, the president of the Greater Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce.
"Have they looked at where they are located?" Anderson asked. "We are adamantly opposed to the bill. We think it is up to individual businesses to set their own policies. If people choose not to go to a restaurant that allows smoking, I think that is their choice. It shows no understanding of how important the industry is to our community and to our state."
She said that if cigarette sales go down, local people will lose jobs, which would create a heavier burden on the public-health system.
Officials with Reynolds American Inc. could not be reached for comment last night. A company spokeswoman said recently that Reynolds generally does not oppose smoking bans on places open to the general public but that businesses where only adults are present should be able to choose whether to allow smoking.
Health-board members said last night that some local restaurant operators have been saying that an anti-smoking regulation imposed by a governmental body would be easier for them to enforce.
"They felt like it was easier for someone else to say, ‘You can't smoke' because the customer gets mad" at the owner, said James Doub, a board member.
Board member Randall Kale said he had misgivings about "government intrusion in our lives" even though he's not a smoker.
But Monroe said that exposing other people to smoke can also be seen as an intrusion.
Board member Nancy Hardie told how the government gave her father cigarettes as a serviceman in World War II -- and how he died of a smoking-related disease in December.
"I think people have the right to smoke, but public buildings are public buildings," she said after the meeting. "I think it is (up) to the board of health to support health in the community. That is where I stand. That's our job."
■ Wesley Young can be reached at 727-7369 or at wyoung@wsjournal.com.
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