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Hawaii's 1997 smoking debate arrives at a live fault line: a new Honolulu ordinance banning workplace smoking had just taken effect, while restaurants, bars, and nightclubs remained exempted. Roth opens by asking Julian Lipsher of the State Department of Health to map the legal landscape — state law requires proportionate non-smoking sections; the city ordinance covers enclosed workplaces. Bob Speck, president of Hawaii Smokers' Rights, contests the science behind the rules, arguing that the EPA's 1992 secondhand-smoke classification relied on a weaker 90% confidence interval rather than the scientific standard of 95%, making it "political science." Lipsher defends the findings, noting smoking kills more than 1,100 Hawaii residents annually — 16% of all deaths. Keith Haugen, a Waikiki entertainer who works in smoke-filled venues, argues rights end where another person's air begins and cites $325 million in annual economic costs to Hawaii employers. Tom Jones, general manager of Kiotaru Hawaii and a Hawaii Restaurant Association board member, favors market solutions but acknowledges workers' comp liability concerns. Callers challenge Speck on whether he would change his position if better science emerged; Speck declines to speculate, then closes by admitting he needs four or five martinis to survive a smoke-free mainland flight.
Transcript
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Companion newspaper commentaries
Commentaries by the guests, published in The Honolulu Advertiser around the broadcast.
