NewsOK member benefits

Gov. Mary Fallin's support may make difference with smoke-free bill

The Oklahoman Editorial | Published: February 12, 2013 Comment on this article

NewsOK Related Articles

Voters can decide future of Oklahoma City schools
02/12/2013 The Oklahoma City School Board elections on Tuesday offer voters the opportunity to provide a course correction for a district that's too often fallen short...
Kathleen Parker: The ghosts of Benghazi
02/12/2013 WASHINGTON — We may never know exactly what happened in Benghazi the night Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed, but it's...
Language in Oklahoma Constitution has helped impede end runs
02/12/2013 THE populist leanings of Oklahoma's founders birthed a state constitution whose length and obsessions with minutia (including, we kid you not, the flash...

The Oklahoma Restaurant Association opposes the bill, saying it would be unfair to businesses. But Cline points out that in other states that allow local control, businesses haven't been adversely affected. And changing the law could improve health outcomes in Oklahoma and reduce tobacco-related costs, which are monumental — Oklahoma businesses, for example, spend $1.7 billion annually for health-related illness and lost productivity.

Legislators often preach the importance of local control in schools and other areas, yet they've been OK with the state dictating cities' and towns' smoke-free policies. Fallin's right: This needs to change.

Page 2 of 2