Riverside Council Seems Reluctant to Enforce Smoking Ordinance in Private Buildings

After our publisher delivered a speech at the evening Riverside City Council meeting of March 8, 2011, appealing to the legislative body to write and enforce an ordinance to ban smoking in all areas and buildings of the city, some members of the dais gave the impression that government should not get involved in the private sector.

In other words, people who are victims of secondhand smoking in private buildings are at the mercy of owners and managers.


The following is a textual reproduction of the speech:

"Among many recognitions for the cause of a clean environment, Riverside received a 'Silver LivCom" award. Many trees and solar panels have been installed in the city, saving energy and keeping us green.

"Right in the seventh floor of the City Hall building, we proudly exhibit the Grier Pavilion that was intensively promoted by Mayor Loveridge. No wonder, among many names in the past, Riverside has been called The Green City.

"But there are no flowers without thorns. It has been a shock for us to learn that our city lacks a smoking ordinance. One of the main causes of cancer, smoking, has not been legally framed into the city's by-laws. Although, conflicting reports have been made about this subject.

"The fight against this sneaky killer has been left to the private sector, but without the weight of the law. Smoking killed Council member Nancy Hart's husband. Smoking killed my younger brother Alfredo past July.

"Half a million people died each year in the U.S. because smoking, 5.4 million world wide. Smoking is a pleasure that kills the smokers and those around them. The U.S. Surgeon General has classified that inhaling secondhand smoke causes lung cancer  in no non-smoking adults.

"Approximately three thousand lung cancer deaths occur each year among adult non-smokers as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke may increase the risk of breast and lung cancer, nasal sinus, cavity cancer, and naso-pharyngeal cancer in adults, and the risk of leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors in children.


"This is why I'm appealing to the members of this legislative body to write and pass a City Ordinance banning smoking for good in all public places, including parks, buildings, and apartment complexes.

"You will save lots of lives!"

Right after our publisher speech, Roberto Morales, M.D. used the podium to describe how it wouldn't make any difference if secondhand smoke affects people in open areas or inside buildings. He stated that every year more women are victims of smoking and secondhand smoke because the increasing number of them falling to the bad habit. "In 48 years of practice, I have seen patients dying in my arms because smoking had destroyed their respiratory system."

The Truth Publication will continue a research about this important subject where the lives of millions of people are at stake. The Truth rejects the argument that government should not intervene in the private sector, even when people are dying.

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