A Proposal to Ban Smoking

Thank You Councilwoman Marian Tasco

It is time to ban smoking in restaurants and bars in Philadelphia. The health consequences for both patrons and staff are well-documented. And there is a better chance for this to happen soon, now that Marian Tasco has introduced smoking-ban legislation to Council. Councilwoman Tasco’s relationship with Mayor Street is not much more warm and fuzzy than Councilman Nutter’s. But getting the smoking issue out from under the ongoing tension between Street and Nutter has to be a help.

Can We Pass a Smoking Ban?

It may be, however, that it will still be impossible to pass the smoking ban. One reason is the class and racial differences on this issue. African Americans and members of the working class smoke at higher rates than whites and middle class people. That is unfortunate, but true. And folks who do smoke—as well as the bar owners that cater to them—are reluctant to see a complete ban go into effect.

So I want to suggest a backup plan in case there is not enough support for a total the smoking ban. It is a bit more convoluted than public policy should be. But, I think it has some advantage as well.

An Alternative: Auction Licenses for Smoking Establishments

My idea is for the city to auction off a license to allow smoking in no more than half the number of restaurants and bars that allow smoking today. (Perhaps to be fair to small and big restaurants and bars, we should auction off a license that allows for smoking in, say, ten seats in a bar and restaurant while requiring any restaurant and bar that wants to allow smoking to purchase enough licenses for the entire establishment.) We can assume that the restaurant and bar owners whose businesses would be hurt by a smoking ban would be the ones who would purchase the smoking license.

Then we can use the substantial sum of money the auctioning system would raise to support a public campaign to reduce smoking in neighborhoods where a high percentage of people smoke. If there is enough money, we might want to use some of the money to support anti-crime initiatives.

Let’s Reduce Smoking Outside as well as Inside Bars and Restaurants

We might want to reissue the license every two years, gradually reducing the number of smoking establishments. If the anti-smoking campaign has been at all effective, we should find that the demand for smoking in bars and restaurants will have decreased.

This auction plan will delay a complete smoking ban for perhaps ten years. But, in the meantime, we might find sharper reductions in smoking in general—not just inside bars and restaurants but outside of them as well.