Here Are The Media Stories On The Smoking Ban Referendum

For those of you following the latest trend of no smoking laws, here's the links to the latest stories from St. Louis


From the St. Louis Post Dispatch

Video:

Fox2 KTVI

NewsChannel 5 KSDK

As usual, KMOV Channel 4 didn't think it was important enough to video for online, the station continues to prove its the most intellectually-challenged news department in the city. And I'm saying that even though one of my closer friends works there. Even he says they suck!

A New St. Louis Bowling Website That Isn't Mine

Don't know who's hosting this site, but found it this evening:

STLBowl

Has a tournament event calendar. Check it out.

St. Louis County Council (Sort Of) Endorses No Smoking

The St. Louis County Council tonight made the first move to put a No Smoking in Public Places referendum on the November ballot.

Sort of.

The original bill written by Councilwoman Barbara Fraser was hotly debated and eventually watered down. The referendum if passes would permit smoking in casinos and bars where 75 percent or more of their business revenue is derived from alcohol sales.

Although there is no official word, it appears bowling centers would be on the ban list and its doubtful they could get an exemption using the 75 percent criteria.

The only chance for bowling centers to be exempt is to have the council amend the proposed referendum at its August 18th meeting, when they will vote whether or not to allow a public vote in November.

Vicki Bowman, general manager of Gladsone Bowl in suburban Kansas City, compiled an excellent report last year on the impact of such laws when smoking was banned in Kansas City, Mo. Her report include summaries of impact in states across the country.

The report was compiled for the Greater Kansas City Bowling Association and the Missouri Bowling Proprietors Association:

www.gladstone.mo.us/PDF_Files/smoking_report.pdf

This reporter is against the ban. We don't need a law. Centers can ban smoking now if they so choose, and several of them offer smoke free days and hours. First Watch restaurants in the Midwest have banned smoking for years. Smoking and non-smoking restaurants can exist together.

I can think of a couple of centers in the St. Louis area who will immediately start losing money if the law is passed.

I'll publish video clips and newspaper stories about this issue tomorrow.

Tuesday Twitters

St. Louis County Council votes tonight whether or not to put on November's ballot a referendum to ban smoking in public places, including bowling centers. Missouri BPAA chief Gary Voss is on top of it.

We'll let you know the results later this evening.

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www.bowl.com has been redesigned and the front page is up and running. We'll review it and let you know in the next couple of days what the 'Hood thinks.

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New USBC awards: Jeff Richgels highlights it in his 11th frame blog, read it here:

Jeff Richgels 11th Frame

St. Louis County bowling centers may be smoked out

Tuesday August 4th, St. Louis County bowling centers may be smoked out if they don't fight back.

A bill has been introduced by County Councilwoman Barbara Fraser to ban smoking in public areas to put on the November ballot a referendum for voters to decide. A hearing and vote are scheduled.

Read the story here.

As someone who covered government as a news reporter for nearly 30 years, most voter referendum issues were passed. I always believed personally it was a good thing to let people have their say on a matter.

But not this time.

My argument is simple: Any business already can choose to be smoke free, so why do we need a law? Some choose to be smoke-free on certain days and hours.

But also in my career, I've worked on public policy, marketing and public relations. And the folks that work to defeat anti-smoking are failing to put up a successful fight because it counters with an ineffective message.

What they fail to do is challenge the anti-smoking crowd with the message "The opportunity is there for you to be rich."

Simply, the anti-smoking crowd always claim business will increase. I always counter, "Then you should open a restaurant or bar. You'll be rich!" I've never had one of them tell me, "You're right!" Their argument is usually personal, "I don't want to be around smokers," but when it comes to addressing them making money by marketing the opportunity to attract a lot of non-smokers (70 percent by most research reports), they're deer-in-the-headlights.

There's a restaurant chain that operates in St. Louis and Kansas City, First Watch, which adopted its own no-smoking policy and their business model is successful. I salute them, they get it.

But smart people get it. No smoking laws always punish business. The majority of the no-smoking crowd don't alter their lifestyle if a restaurant or business has smokers. They go. They admit it too.

In the bowling center industry, no-smoking as the absolute law isn't working. Spillway Lanes in Springfield, Illinois closed its doors shortly after the smoking ban was adopted there. There are hundreds of others nationally that did the same thing in the past seven years.

Vicki Bowman, general manager of Gladstone Bowl in the suburbs of Kansas City proves it with a research report conducted for the Greater Kansas City Bowling Association. It shows the drop in business at centers in no-smoking communities, and the increase of business in centers that are located in cities that doesn't have a ban:

Vicki Bowman's report:

The Missouri Bowling Proprietors Association of America is headed by Gary Voss and he tirelessly works hard in behalf of his colleagues and the industry. His center, West County Lanes is located just yards away from Ballwin, Missouri which has a smoking ban. He knows the impact. And I'm hoping he'll show up and present Vicki's report to them.

We all have been inundated with the health care issue (which really isn't about health care, but paying for it, so it's really a health insurance matter). A friend of mine this week said, "There sure seems to be a great business for meddling."

She's right. And my former colleague at KMOX radio, Jim White, said it best:

"Please Lord, save me from the good people."

The so-called "good people" will tell you they are good. The anti-smokers have the attitude that they are the good people. That means smokers must be bad people.

Remember what I wrote above, "Why do we need a law?" Ask yourself this:

Don't you think we have enough laws? Too many of them aren't enforced as is. Start there first then get back with me about this issue.