NKY grapples with smoking bans: ‘Everyone’s going to have to do it’

BY EMMA

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Mandy Kaplan, who co-owns 859 Taproom in Florence with her husband, Jeff, has never allowed smoking at her bar.

When Kaplan, 45, was young, she remembers that people would smoke in houses like “it was nothing, it didn’t matter,” she said.

But over time, Kaplan – and much of the nation – learned of the adverse effects smoking could have not only on the health of the smoker but on the people in its vicinity.

“In the ’80s it was cool to smoke,” Kaplan said, “and now we know it kills you, and it’s going to give you cancer.”

When Kaplan and her husband opened 859 Taproom in fall 2021, they knew they wanted to keep it smoke-free for the health and safety of themselves and their customers.

“It’s all about not killing each other,” she said.

Smoking is part of Kentucky’s culture, said several smoking ban advocates at a Highland Heights City Council meeting in April. This has contributed to the lag in the Northern Kentucky region – and the state –in passing smoking bans.

Kentucky is one of 12 states with no restrictions on smoking indoors, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also known as the CDC. This leaves the decision for smoke-free ordinances up to individual cities and counties within the state.

Members of a local coalition meant to raise awareness of the dangers of smoking have been working with local cities to pass indoor smoking bans city by city in Northern Kentucky, where comprehensive countywide bans are not in place. Dayton was the first NKY city to pass a ban, followed by Bellevue. Now, Highland Heights is considering an ordinance that would largely ban smoking inside businesses and on cityowned property.

Breathe Easy NKY, an organization dedicated to passing smoking bans in the region, brought members to speak to Highland Heights council members April 18, encouraging them to pass an ordinance.

“The question for me is why not do it?” asked Brent Cooper, president and CEO of the NKY Chamber of Commerce.

Representatives from Breathe Easy will now meet with the Highland Heights mayor, Greg Meyers, and other members of council to discuss the model ordinance and answer questions.

After the ordinance is created, the pro-

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Continued from page 3 posed ban would get a first and second reading and a vote. The process could take up to a few months, said Meyers.

“It’s important for us to stand up and set the example for other municipalities,” said Dr. Michael Gieske, a doctor of family medicine at St. Elizabeth Physicians, in his presentation with Breathe Easy at the April meeting.

Over a decade ago, Kenton County passed a partial smoking ban, which prohibits smoking in most businesses and workplaces but allows some private clubs and drinking establishments to file for an exemption if they serve alcohol and don’t allow patrons under age 18.

A 2022 study published in the National Library of Medicine – analyzing smoking bans in Argentina – found that partial bans “do not significantly impact smoking prev- alence, and are found to increase smoking intensity among individuals who smoke every day.”

Full bans, on the other hand, reduce national smoking prevalence over time, according to the study – especially among younger people.

Campbell does not have a ban in place, but Dayton, Bellevue and Highland Heights are all in that county.

Boone County does not currently have a smoking ban, and there is not any discussion to have one county-wide, according to Boone County Fiscal Court Clerk Shona Schulkers.

However, there have been efforts in some cities to push for one. At a recent Florence City Council meeting, for example, several organizations spoke in favor of anti-smoking legislation.