An anti-smoking initiative requiring smoke-free work places, including bars, restaurants, outdoor facilities and stadiums in Tempe, is close to getting on the May general election ballot, according to its supporters.
Several proponents of the initiative were present at a press conference Monday at the city hall entrance to announce their progress. A total of 9,896 signatures are needed to get the initiative on the ballot. Should voters pass the proposition, it would become an enforceable city ordinance.
The initiative, sponsored by Dr. Lee Fairbanks, a retired East Valley physician, former ASU football coach Frank Kush, ASU alumnus Drew Metcalf and Tempe City Councilman Dennis Cahill, needs another 3,000 signatures before it can become a proposition in the general election.
“When you look at the number of deaths directly related to tobacco, this is the equivalent of corporate terrorism waged against humanity” said Cahill.
According to Fairbanks, should the initiative pass as a proposition in the election, it would mandate that all businesses, including outdoor stadiums whose employees work in a confined space, provide designated smoking areas for employees and customers alike.
“If a Tempe-only ban were enacted, it would certainly have a negative impact on businesses here,” said Eric Emmert, vice president of public affairs for the Tempe Chamber of Commerce.
Emmert said having different smoking codes from city to city makes it hard for local businesses to stand behind such an anti-smoking ordinance. They are afraid that customers will just shift to an area with no restrictions on smoking.
Jesse Curran, night manager for restaurant and bar Rula Bula on Mill Avenue and Fourth Street in Tempe, said, “This would definitely hurt business because 50 percent of our patrons are college students and a large portion of them smoke.”
Former Mesa Mayor Wayne Brown said Mesa was the first to pass an anti-smoking ordinance and there was no lost business as a result.
“It was a little bit touchy with businesses in Mesa at first, but sales tax collections proved that sales did not suffer as a result,” Brown said.
Reach Victor Allen at victordallen@cs.com.
