The meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the law offices of Stoel Rives, 101 S. Capitol Blvd., Suite 1900, Boise. The meeting will begin with a happy hour and then move on to volunteer opportunities and strategies.
For more information, call Katie Whittier at 384-5066, Ext. 16.
A coalition of health-minded groups tonight will kick off an effort to ban smoking at all Boise bars.
By summer, Smokefree Boise hopes to ask the Boise City Council to pass an ordinance banning smoking at bars within the city, said Katie Whittier, community organizer for the Coalition for a Healthy Idaho, fighting tobacco use in Idaho.
"Bars are the last workplace where workers are exposed to smoke during their shifts," Whittier said.
Research shows exposure to second-hand smoke for one hour is the equivalent of smoking two cigarettes, she said.
The percentage of Idahoans who admit to smoking dropped to 17.9 percent in 2005, down from 22.3 percent in 2000, according to statistics from the state Department of Health and Welfare.
In Idaho, smoking is banned statewide in restaurants, bowling alleys and most workplaces.
Bars are the major remaining exception to the Idaho law. Other states, including California and Washington, have cleared that hurdle, Whittier said.
Idaho organizers are starting smaller, with one city instead of a whole state.
Members of the coalition include the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and the American Lung Association.
If all bars go nonsmoking at the same time, none will lose money from smokers who want to keep puffing, she said.
"Other states that have gone smoke-free haven't noticed a decrease in revenue," Whittier said.
So far, Whittier has been impressed by support for the plan. "People are coming out of the woodwork" to help, she said.
Colleen LaMay: 377-6448
The Idaho Statesman is pleased to offer this opportunity to share information and observations about what's in the news. Some comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate but ask that you remain on topic. Comments that are profane, personal attacks or otherwise inappropriate are subject to removal.
@Nyx.CommentBody@