Third time's a charm

For the third time in two years, a bill to ban smoking from Philadelphia bars and restaurants is working its way though City Council. For the third time, prospects do not look encouraging, thanks to mixed messages sent by Mayor John Street. And, for the third time, politicians are putting petty bickering ahead of what's best for residents.

Philadelphia already has a ban on smoking -- it's been in place since the 1940s, when the municipal government first moved to legislate for the betterment of public health.

So what's the problem? There is an exception for any private establishment like a "restaurant, beauty parlor, executive office, rest room, ... or at any banquet, dinner or function at which the public is seated at tables."

And, short of quitting, the thousands of employees at these bars and restaurants don't have a choice about whether to put up with secondhand smoke, which kills more than 3,000 Americans every year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Few restaurants are willing to risk the loss of business from banning smoking independently, so their employees are forced to inhale fumes, whether they like it or not.

And when only about 26.5 percent of Philadelphians smoke, according to the Philadelphia Health Management Corporation, protecting residents' health should be a no-brainer.

But in the world of Philadelphia politics, it's never that simple.

The last bill was sponsored by Councilman Michael Nutter, Street's nemesis in City Council. So, even though Street has long been a proponent of a healthy Philadelphia -- he even established the Office of Health and Fitness -- the mayor let the last bill fall to petty politics. Street chose to ignore the best interests of Philadelphia over handing a political victory to Nutter just as the 2007 mayoral election gears up.

Luckily for the mayor, he's got another chance. Councilwoman Marian Tasco stepped into the fray, introducing a new bill not sponsored by Nutter. But Street has once again sent mixed messages.

Soon after telling reporters last Wednesday, "I don't sense there is movement among Council members to do this right now," Street said, "We will have a smoking ban," but the issues are "details and timing."

Details and timing are not the reasons this bill isn't moving; the real issue is whether or not Street will finally fully put his weight behind the bill. Hopefully, with Nutter out of the picture, he will give the bill the support it deserves, and the health of Philadelphians will win against bureaucratic bickering.

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