It’s been remarkable to witness what’s taken place in the atmosphere at restaurants and bars in this state. Just a few years ago, many of them were filled with a smoky haze that was inhaled by anyone who entered. It’s almost startling now to walk into a bar or restaurant in a state where smoking is still allowed and see someone light up.

When the state banned smoking in restaurants in 1999 and in bars in 2004, many smokers felt as though it was going too far, by forcing smokers out of just about every public building, often into the cold. However, a few years after both those bans went into effect, it’s clear they’ve changed many people’s perception of secondhand smoke for the better.

That change in perception was apparent in Westbrook this week as members of the American Legion Post 197 on Conant Street voted to ban smoking, 14-4. While that might not seem like such a big change – the Legion hall is just one private club – it was one of the last bars in Westbrook where smoking was still allowed. Legion halls with bars are expected by many people to be places where drinking and smoking occur. Indeed, most of the Legion halls with bars in the state still allow smoking.

The veterans who smoke in them are often defiant about their smoking. Before the vote this week, many believed they’d earned the right to smoke through their service in the military. “Telling people they form a habit, and they can’t have it. That’s taking away freedom,” said Bernie Gillespie, a non-smoker.

While removing the right to smoke is taking some freedom away from smokers, it’s also giving freedom to others to inhale without breathing carcinogens. Secondhand cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals and 40 carcinogens, including formaldehyde, cyanide, arsenic, carbon monoxide, methane and benzene. The third leading cause of preventable death in this country, secondhand smoke is responsible for the deaths of more than 50,000 people and 6,000 children, according to the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine, a program that’s part of the state Center for Disease Control.

Gillespie’s perception is still held by many people, but it seems it’s becoming less common. American Legion Post 197 held a similar vote just after the law was passed banning smoking in bars in 2004, and the members rejected the ban at that time.

The change in perception can only be attributed to the laws and taxes that have been imposed on smokers, along with the educational campaigns Maine has undertaken with money from the massive settlement states reached with tobacco companies. In addition to the smoking bans, Maine has one of the highest cigarette taxes in the nation – $2 per pack. Many communities have followed the state’s lead. In 2006, Westbrook passed an ordinance banning smoking in many public places, like parks and the riverwalk.

While other states have a long way to go, Maine should continue to live up to its Dirigo motto. Smoking rates have decreased, but it continues to be a widespread and deadly habit. At 21 percent, the rate of adults that smoke in this state is not far from the national average.

We need to continue to look for ways to limit everyone’s exposure to secondhand smoke and continue to find ways to provide incentives to smokers who want to quit a habit that will likely lead to their death.

Brendan Moran, editor

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