St. Charles smoking ban warning!

The city of St. Charles will consider putting a smoking ban on the ballot that exempts the Ameristar Casino. What an unjust and irresponsible suggestion by antismoking groups. I wrote this today to Mayor York and the St. Charles City Council:

Dear Mayor York,

Just released research predicts that a St. Charles smoking ban would increase St. Charles drunk driving fatalities by 13 percent or more as smokers drive farther to find venues in which they can both smoke and drink. This means a St. Charles smoking ban would put innocent people, people who never set foot in bars, at new and deadly risk. Today I calledone of the researchers, Dr. Chad Cotti, and he confirmed that the average community imposing a smoking ban will experience, on average, a 13 percent increase in drunk driving deaths. Some communities, he warns, will experience a much higher loss of life. Please take this grim warning into account when considering a smoking ban for St. Charles. http://www.econ.iastate.edu/calendar/papers/CottiPaperDrunkDriving.pdf

Sincerely, Bill Hannegan