Poll: Would you support a smoking ban in all Fayetteville bars?

Staff photo

Crown Pub on Dickson Street is one of a handful of Fayetteville bars that have voluntarily gone smoke-free in the past few years.

In September 2003, the Fayetteville City Council passed a city-wide ordinance banning smoking in restaurants and bars that served food.

That ordinance was upheld by a public vote five months later, and Fayetteville’s eating establishments have been officially smoke-free since March 11, 2004.

Now, almost seven years later, The Northwest Arkansas Tobacco-Free Coalition has scheduled a meeting for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17 at US Pizza to gauge public support for extending Fayetteville’s smoking ban to include all bars and taverns.

From the Facebook Event:

Arkansas still ranks 4th in the US in deaths due to lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and Number 1 for Stroke- with secondhand smoke and smoking being a major contributor to those deaths. Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can damage cells and set the cancer process in motion. That brief exposure can have immediate harmful effects on blood and blood vessels, potentially increasing the risk of a heart attack. Secondhand smoke levels in bars are 390-610% higher than in offices that permit smoking — and 450% higher than in homes with a smoker.

We believe everyone deserves the right to a smoke-free workplace. Join Tobacco-Free advocates for a Public Meeting to gather input on Smoke-Free Bars and Taverns.

There are five bars in Fayetteville (Crown Pub, Maxine’s, Smoke & Barrel Tavern, Speakeasy, and Sideways) that have voluntarily gone smoke-free in the past few years.

Would you support an ordinance to make all bars in Fayetteville smoke-free? Why or why not?