TOBACCO BAN; TEENS HOPE COUNCIL SENDS PROPOSED LAW UP IN SMOKE

Nearly 30 youth gathered in the Cape Girardeau public library Monday night with local members of the Libertarian party to voice their opposition to a proposed municipal ordinance prohibiting minors from possessing tobacco products.

The meeting was in response to an ordinance being drafted by the city's Youth Advisory Council that may be presented to the city council as early as next month. The ordinance would make it illegal for minors to possess tobacco within the city limits.

"We're not against persuading young people to not smoke, but we don't want to make it a law," said Greg Tlapek, spokesman for the Libertarian party, who regards the ordinance as an attack on personal freedom.

"People should be able to live their lives however they want as long as they are peaceful and honest," he said.

Presently, Cape Girardeau city code makes it illegal for any person to sell or give tobacco in any form to any minor under the age of 18. However, it is not illegal for minors to possess tobacco.

The eight-member Youth Advisory Council (YAC), made up of students from Cape Central and Notre Dame high schools, voted earlier this month to recommend the new ordinance to the city council.

The ordinance also would stiffen penalties for businesses caught selling tobacco to minors.

Police Chief Rick Hetzel, who acted as an adviser to the YAC, told the group that enforcing the law against selling is extremely difficult without the possession ordinance.

The possession clause also would assist in arresting those who sell tobacco to minors because it would help identify the sources of the sales, Hetzel said.

However, he said his role and the role of the department has always been advisory, and that they will enforce whatever law the city council makes.

A similar law was first presented and recommended to the Cape Girardeau city council in September 1996 by City Manager Michael Miller and Interim Police Chief Stephen Strong. That ordinance was patterned after a St. Louis County ordinance then in effect.

The city council discussed the proposed ordinance in a study session but did not bring the matter to a vote.

Mayor Al Spradling said Tuesday that his opposition to the ordinance is the same now as when it was first proposed in 1996. He said the issue was one for parents rather than the city council to address.

"At some point in time, the government has to quit being the entity that directs social change and societal values," Spradling said.

"There are certain areas the government should be involved in, but this is not one of them," he said.

A related bill was introduced in Congress this year by Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., and co-sponsored by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau.

The resolution, dubbed the "Tobacco Use By Minors Deterrence Act of 1997," encourages states to strengthen efforts to prevent the sale and distribution of tobacco to minors. The bill would reduce state grant money for the prevention of substance abuse if laws about tobacco and minors were not in place.

A section of the bill would make it illegal for a minor to purchase, receive, possess, smoke or consume a tobacco product in a public place. Penalties could include fines, revoking driver's licenses and community service.

In supporting the legislation, Emerson has emphasized other provisions of the bill directed against retailers who sell tobacco products to minors.

"This proposal is a good bill which calls on retailers to step up to the plate to put a stop to kids buying tobacco. It calls on families to educate and guide young people away from tobacco-related risks. And, H.R. 2017 calls on minors who choose to break the law by using tobacco to take responsibility for their own actions," Emerson said in a letter.

Meanwhile, the youth who gathered Monday night prepare to oppose any regulation which they believe would take away their personal freedom.

"Adults treat teenagers like they're not human," said Erin Christopher, a ninth-grader at Cape Central Junior High.

"Just because we're younger doesn't mean we don't have the brains to make our own decisions," she said.