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Bans against smoking are gaining momentum

Hilton Head takes steps to snuff out 'the devil weed'

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In a state that has a higher percentage of smokers per capita than the national average, South Carolinians are seeing public officials take steps to eliminate smoking and its detrimental effects on health.

On Hilton Head Island, a proposal to ban smoking in all indoor restaurants and workplaces seems to be gaining momentum. Town Councilman John Safay, who is pushing the ban, met with members of the Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association last week and found some support.

To their credit, members of the association who attended the meeting seemed not just open to the idea, but enthusiastic about it. Long-time island business leader John Curry, a hospitality industry consultant who knows the area's market as well as anyone, told Safay that he endorsed the idea.

It's "forward-looking" and "in line with the image that we create for Hilton Head Island," Curry said.

The proposed ban may go to the council next month, but some hotels and restaurants aren't waiting. They've gone ahead and imposed a smoking ban on their own and say business hasn't suffered at all.

All this bodes well for Safay's proposal.

Meanwhile, a similar ban approved in May by the Sullivan's Island Town Council might face a lawsuit. The town is prepared with a team of lawyers who have volunteered to represent it for free, and is confident it can win.

South Carolinians die of smoking-related illnesses at a high rate -- an estimated 11 people a day, 365 days a year. That's 4,100 people per year. Just two years ago, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control approved a program to provide aids to help the poor kick the smoking habit by using funds from Medicaid, the health-insurance program for the poor. That $500,000 a year is small compared to the $65 million state officials estimate they spend each year on smoking-related health problems.

About 25 percent of South Carolinians smoke, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Tobacco Cessation.

It's not just older people who smoke, either. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the South Carolina rate for youthful smoking is 10 percent higher than the national average. The group estimates that about 25 percent of state high school students smoke. The awful statistics are that 8,100 youths younger than 18 become smokers each year and that about 98,100 smokers younger than 18 eventually will die prematurely from smoking-related illness.

A new state law goes into effect Aug. 21 that makes it illegal for minors younger than 18 to possess cigarettes or other tobacco products. The fine for those caught can be $100 and community service. The fine for merchants caught selling tobacco to minors increases to $1,000.

This is a small step in a state that for several years hasn't allocated a dime to smoking cessation and prevention programs for youth. The new law will not be a silver bullet to eliminate a problem that would be an epidemic if it were classified as any other disease. But the good news is that the new law, along with more bans in public places, might serve as a deterrent to youth and adults. That is encouraging in a state that has so many severe health problems.

Smoking bans have been slow in coming to South Carolina because of the state's economic dependence on tobacco as a crop. But the financial benefit of tobacco long has been outstripped by the health-care costs associated with it.