The recent hearings held by the Salt Lake County-City Health Department on proposals to ban smoking in restaurants to protect patrons from the dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke indicate a wide range of opinion on this emotionally charged issue.
Some commented that the ban was another attempt by the Mormon Church to dominate the citizens of Utah. How ridiculous. If that was the case, the church could have influenced legislation to outlaw smoking in Utah 100 years ago. Others commented that the restaurant owners should have the right to do what they want with their establishments.I read nothing in your coverage of the hearings that indicated anyone really went to the heart of the matter and that is the right of employees in these establishments to work in a smoke-free environment. After years of constant exposure to cigarette smoke on the job, some of these employees are eventually going to contract cancer.
Employees will begin suing these restaurant owners for huge sums of money for allowing a known carcinogen to be present in the workplace. Maybe then these misguided restaurant owners will face reality and protect their workers as well as the patrons from the dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke.
I find it ironic and hypocritical that County Commissioners Randy Horiuchi and Jim Bradley have passed an order protecting county employees from discrimination due to their sexual orientation, but will not support a ban on smoking that could save or prolong the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of restaurant employees.
Garth S. Limburg
Cottonwood