Lawmakers examine Health Department's no-smoking rule

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State lawmakers moved closer to a showdown with the Board of Health as they questioned Oklahoma's top health officer Wednesday about the board's authority to ban smoking in

Wednesday, March 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State lawmakers moved closer to a showdown with the Board of Health as they questioned Oklahoma's top health officer Wednesday about the board's authority to ban smoking in most public places.

Members of a House committee that will decide whether to accept or reject the smoking rules quizzed the commissioner of health, Dr. Leslie M. Beitsch, about whether the board went too far when it adopted them two weeks ago.

``We're not outlawing the use of tobacco products,'' Beitsch said. ``We are trying to provide some guidance on how cigarettes should be consumed. We are limiting the choices.''

Beitsch said the rules are designed to prevent nonsmokers, about 75 percent of Oklahomans, from coming into contact with secondhand smoke, which studies have shown can be harmful to a person's health.

Smoking-related illnesses are the leading cause of preventable death in Oklahoma, which ranks ninth in the nation in deaths from tobacco-related illnesses.

Beitsch analogized the health threat posed by secondhand smoke to the danger pedestrians face when a vehicle careens into a pedestrian-only area.

``That's what a smoker is doing when he smokes inside or she smokes inside a room,'' he said.

But lawmakers peppered Beitsch with questions about how the rules will be enforced in buildings affected by the rule, including restaurants and nursing homes.

``How are we going to make grandpa and grandma quit?'' said Rep. Dan Webb, R-Oklahoma City. ``Are we going to kick them out because they smoke?''

``Our purpose here is not to make smoking Nazis and police out of nursing home workers,'' Beitsch said. ``I think we can enforce it very well.''

But many lawmakers, including Rep. Richard Phillips, R-Warr Acres, said they believe rule-making authority lies with the Legislature, not administrative agencies.

``They have completely and blatantly gone outside their jurisdiction in establishing these rules,'' Phillips said. ``The Legislature has the right and the responsibility to have these discussions.''

Tobacco lobbyists have successfully killed restrictive smoking bills in House and Senate committees, with some bills never getting a hearing.

Rep. Odilia Dank, R-Oklahoma City, said she agrees that secondhand smoke poses a danger but is concerned the Board of Health may not have the legal authority to act on the issue.

Beitsch said the Legislature has delegated broad powers to the commissioner of health and the health board to protect the public health.

Webb said he has prepared a bill to reject the Board of Health's rule and will present it to the House Administrative Rule Review Committee when it meets next week.