Statistics hung in the air like – well, like smoke. Meeker County Commissioners called a public hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 15, to discuss with the public a proposed smoke-free ordinance. The Bernie Aaker Auditorium in Litchfield was full. Many of the more than 200 in attendance wore the color red signifying that they were for Right to Choose (against the Smoke-free ban). First the pro-smoking-ban group called Citizens for a Smoke-Free Meeker County were granted 60 minutes to address the commissioners. Many of these individuals were in the healthcare industry. They quoted from studies dealing with smoke and second-hand smoke and its effects on both smokers and non-smokers. During this time a city council member from Duluth spoke for the ban and urged the commissioners to make it a ban “across the board with no exceptions, or differences for bars, grills, or restaurants, to avoid the problems that we (Duluth) have experienced with our ban.” She also told commissioners that no bar or restaurant owners in Duluth have experienced any down-turn in business because of the ban. A Watkins resident, R.N. and bar owner, spoke out for the ban saying that she learned growing up in the county that the majority of people do not want to hurt the health of others. “I support and respect the health of all employees in the county and I hope you (the commissioners) will do the same.” Ed Contoski, a retired environmental consultant, took the podium first for the Citizens and Businesses for a Right to Choose. Mr. Contoski is a Minneapolis native with a gift of speaking at the same rate as an auctioneer. Those present appeared to have trouble understanding his nearly 20-minute stream of defense for not passing a ban. He felt that it was a “misuse of science” to say that there was a cause and effect from second-hand smoke risk-ratios and the numbers of health issues and deaths. He stated that he felt the E.P.A. statistics were incorrect and politically driven, Restaurant and bar owners and employees followed Contoski, questioning what impact the proposed ban would have on individual businesses. One business manager asked “Why don’t we quit manufacturing and selling cigarettes (if they pose such a health risk)?’ Ross Amundson, an Eden Valley bar owner, asked the crowd in general, “Do you think that they were going to pay a group to get an answer they didn’t want?” referring to the Mellman Group’s findings (paid to perform the original survey for Meeker County Public Health). Watkins bar owner Lia Nistler rounded out the speakers for the Right to Choose contingent reading from organizations’ and city councils’ adopted declarations against a smoking ban. She gave the commissioners a petition of 800 citizens against the ban. Nistler reiterated, “We are not pro-tobacco, we are for the right to choose.” After a short recess the commissioners were able to hear from approximately 40 individuals regarding the proposed ordinance. The commissioners had stated at the beginning of the three-hour discourse that they were not making any decision on the smoking ban in the near future, that the state was ready to look at the issue and that they would wait to see what the state did. More than three hours later, as the smoke euphemistically cleared in the auditorium, it was clear that this subject will be volatile. That seems natural since we all know that where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
