• 3/21/2005
  • Mark Perkiss
  • New Jersey Times (www.nj.com)

Wendy Guerra of South Brunswick says she deserves the right to go to a restaurant, bar or nightclub of her choice without having to worry that a nearby smoker might trigger a potentially fatal asthma attack.

On the other hand, Larry Williams of Trenton says he and other smokers deserve the right to light up while they sit and drink in their favorite bar instead of being forced to go outside.

The two typify the conflict of rights and freedoms with which lawmakers are grappling as they consider a proposed law barring smoking in indoor workplaces, including restaurants, bars, casinos and private clubs, such as American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars posts.

“I’m an ex-smoker so I understand their point of view, but my health is more important,” said Guerra, 54, who suffers from severe asthma. “I can’t go to any restaurant I want to because they might allow smoking. I can’t go to bars or nightclubs or shows.

“I’ve had to leave parties of family occasions at restaurants because of smoking,” she said. “Why should I have to suffer like that because someone else wants to smoke? It’s not fair.”

Williams, 49, a regular at the Ivy Inn, a Princeton Borough bar that draws many smokers, takes the opposite view.

“I have rights and this law would take those away from me,” he said. “I respect people who don’t smoke and I try not to smoke near them. They should respect me. If you don’t want to smoke or smell smoke, don’t go where people are smoking, but give us somewhere to go. We have rights, too.”

Backing the legislation are the American Cancer Society, various health organizations and Fred Jacobs, the commissioner of the state Department of Health and Senior Services.

Opposing the measure are Atlantic City casinos, restaurant and tavern owners and veterans, who say American Legion and VFW halls should be exempt from the legislation.

“I served my country and I should be able to smoke while I have my drink in a private club that I pay to be a member of,” said Gary Lashutka, 47 of Lawrence as he sat in the VFW hall on Cherry Tree Lane in Lawrence with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

“If the members here want to have a vote and ban smoking, that’s OK because we’ll be making the decision ourselves,” he said.

Sen. John Adler, D-Cherry Hill, a prime sponsor of the legislation, says the health risks of smoking, particularly second-hand smoke, are his motivation for the bill.

“We have the opportunity through this bill to save the lives of hundreds and hundreds of New Jersey residents by removing their exposure to second-hand smoke in the workplace,” he told the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, which last week unanimously approved the bill.

No date has been set for a vote by the full Senate, but Adler said the bill could become law by the end of the year. A similar bill has been introduced in the Assembly but no hearings have been held.

Some smokers say the bill has some merits but needs to be limited.

“I can see making restaurants nonsmoking,” said Adam Leverish, 22, of West Windsor as he smoked a cigarette at McGuinn’s Place, a tavern on Business Route 1 in Lawrence. “I don’t smoke when I go out to eat. But when I come here, I want to be able to smoke while I have a drink.”

“The government shouldn’t be getting involved here,” he said. “People have a right to kill themselves if they want. If someone doesn’t want to be exposed to smoke they should go somewhere else and not come here.”

Kelly Malone, a bartender at McGuinn’s, said that while she is concerned about the effects of second-hand smoke from working at the establishment, she has a more practical worry.

“If this gets passed and becomes law, am I the one who will have to enforce it?” she asked. “Will I have to go up to someone who’s smoking and tell them to put it out?”

Guerra says she is hoping the proposed law will expand her horizons. “I can’t go to shows in night clubs. I can’t go to comedy clubs. I have to check with restaurants to see if they allow smoking, all because of my health condition,” she said. “This law would give me a lot more options than I have now.

For some, the rights of nonsmokers are paramount.

“I don’t care about smokers’ rights,” said LuAnne Nutt, 48, of Hamilton. “I’m more concerned about how what they do is affecting my health. My health is more important.”

Williams says he understands that perspective. “I know that people who don’t smoke want to relax and have a good time,” he said. “That’s what smokers want too. Give us a place we can go and we won’t be hurting anyone.”

Health professionals disagree.

“There are many, many diseases, such as lung cancer, head and neck cancer, heart disease, emphysema, circulatory problems and strokes that are caused by smoking and it hurts everyone because we all pay for it either through higher health insurance premiums or higher Medicare costs,” said one health care worker who asked not to be identified.

Jacobs echoed that point last week when he appeared before the Senate committee.

“We are not fulfilling our responsibility to the public unless we provide for smoke-free indoor air,” he said. “The public’s health demands that we take action. It is an idea whose time has come.”