Board may ban all public smoking

Salt Lake Valley Board of Health member Tom Guinney is a partner in Gastronomy, which owns four private clubs where smoking is allowed. He smokes cigars, he's not LDS, yet he wants smoking banned from outdoor parks and private clubs.

"It's just time," he said. "We're five to eight years behind on this issue. We're starting to look silly."

The Board of Health passed a resolution last month advocating a ban on smoking from basically all public gathering places, including outdoor parks, public golf courses and private clubs and taverns. That resolution made its way Tuesday to the Salt Lake County Council, whose members generally expressed their support before formally holding off a vote on it for a week so they could think about it.

The Board of Health is authorized to act independently of the council in creating health-related regulations. (State law allows smoking in private clubs.)

Board of Health members are already starting to lobby lawmakers for a change in the next legislative session. Guinney said he believes chances of the law being changed are "exceptional."

"This is another issue where the board is really leading out," health department executive director Patti Pavey said.

Some have wondered what the rationale is behind banning smoking in outdoor venues, with the open air available to disperse secondhand smoke. The health board has found that "secondhand smoke in outdoor places can reach levels as high as indoor venues," and also noted the accumulation of cigarette butts, which "are not biodegradable, cause fires and are a public nuisance."

"This is to institute cultural change," Guinney said.

When it comes to himself giving up his cigar habit, however, Guinney becomes a bit more skittish.

"That's a different subject," he said.

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