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"It’s easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times."
— Mark Twain
St. Louis played a prominent and important role in the early history of tobacco use. It was here that John E. Liggett and his staff rolled the first blended tobacco cigarettes in the 1840s – and were dominating the plug tobacco business and the cigarette sector by the 1880s.
So successful was Mr. Liggett's business that his widow was able to give $100,000 to Washington University for a dorm to be built in her husband's name, and this building was leased to the 1904 World's Fair Committee for the expo’s administration. In all, three Wash U buildings have borne the Liggett name.
St. Louisans smoke more than the national average, yet less than residents of Cleveland or Indianapolis. And, we smoke in more places than do residents of Chicago or Rockford – where smoking in public spaces is restricted as part of a statewide ban. Smoking is banned in most government buildings in St. Louis, including the jails.
Illinois’ statewide ban, which has no exceptions, has gotten a lot of local attention. Although lauded by anti-smoking activists and many people with hair, some Illinois businesses and smokers have a different point of view. St. Louis TV stations have interviewed the owners of some small Illinois bars and restaurants who fear the smoking ban will force them out of business.
The data supporting that fear is still incomplete. The Valentine's Day edition of the Kansas City Star headlined a story that "Illinois Ban is Missouri Casinos’ Gain," and a national trade journal reported that gaming revenues in Illinois plunged 17.4 percent during the first month of the ban.
Is it a good thing that smokers flee across the Mississippi to use our casinos, restaurants and entertainment venues – and leave behind their taxes? Do you think Missouri should join Illinois and 20 or so other states to ban smoking in public places, or do you think that Missourians are smart enough to figure it out themselves?
Answer this week's Mini Poll about smoking bans, and we promise not to tell your partner where you keep that old pack of cancer sticks.
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