Comments on: Smoking Ban a Victory for Public Health

By: mkelover

mkelover — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:57:52 +0000

I’m a life-long non-smoker, I think it’s absolutely disgusting and I hate having my clothes smell like smoke if I choose to go a smokey bar. I’m not defending the act of smoking, I’m defending the right of a business owner to decide whether or not allowing smoking is best for their business.

Again, it’s a private business just the same as it is a private residence…whom should we be protecting first? An adult in a bar or a child under the age of 18?

By: Jim McGuigan

Jim McGuigan — Sun, 17 May 2009 02:20:11 +0000

You’re suggesting that we continue to leave this unregulated (that worked so well for the banking industry). That idea hasn’t worked in the hundreds of years this country has been around.

There are many bars and some restaurants that I’ve avoided because they were smoky and since some estimates put support for the smoking ban at 70%, I’m clearly not alone.

As for regulation, we regulate many things, including bar and restaurant licenses, health care facilities and even how fast you can drive your own car. These regulations are there to protect the public. They create an acceptable code of conduct and civility that requires all to adhere to in order to improve the quality of all of our lives.

I can’t say that I approve of bad parenting (your last example). I’m not opposed to terminating parental rights of people who abuse their children and put their childrens life and health at risk.

By: mkelover

mkelover — Fri, 15 May 2009 19:33:07 +0000

If this ban is so good for business, then why not let those privately-owned businesses discover that for themselves? If a majority of their customer base desires a smoking ban, then the private business owner should realize that and act accordingly. Why do we need government intervention? Aren’t there already a number of bars/restaurants that have elected on their own to go smoke-free without government intervention? Do you really need state/federal government to force a private business owner to do something you want just because you don’t like coming home smelling like smoke from a bar? You know what, I don’t like smelling like dirty bus exhaust as I dine on a patio downtown, can you ban any and all exhaust from buses and gas guzzling vehicles?

The point is that it’s not about smoking and smoke-smelling clothes…it’s about government incrementally invading our daily lives and making decisions for us that we’re perfectly capable of making.

And if we’re going to ban smoking in bars/restaurants…wouldn’t it make more sense to first ban smoking in homes where children under 18 live who are trapped by their parents and don’t have a choice as to who their parents are or where they live???