Is the anti-smoking campaing hazardous to your rights?

[musicman]

I'm a heavy smoker---make it illegal or let me smoke anywhere I like. It won't happen but the hypocrisy is ludicrous. Nonsense governmental interference diminishes respect for laws in general.

Testify, brother! One of the uncalculated costs of Prohibition was that it made ordinary Americans complicit in crime. Another was the rise of a criminal empire which, previous to Prohibition, had been confined to activities like gambling, prostitution, and narcotics. It legitimized the gangster in the eyes of ordinary Americans.

 

[pennyville73]

I'm a smoker also. I agree with banning smoking in certain places. Mainly were there are kids around. I dont smoke around my kids, in the house or in restaurants anyway. But I dont think it should be banned in bars, I have friends that smoke only when they drink, And I myself smoke double when I've been drinking. In MA, you can still smoke in private bars, like the VFW,or any bar that you pay annual dues to. So now thats were every one goes, and all the business's are going under.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

I disagree. If one of the conditions of employment is that the employee must work in a smoky environment then the emplyee accepts that when he or she is hired.

Consider bartenders or waiters in bars. They knew what to expect when they hired on, now you say that the business is responsible for any ill effects they may suffer from that environment? Don't think so.

And you're missing the point too. Smoking is a LEGAL activity. What right does government have to infringe on the rights of a property owner to engage in a legal activity which is not specifically prohibited by zoning laws?

My wife can't stand the odor of certain wax candles and will not go into small stores which carry them. Should she be able to get legislation prohibiting these candles because she is allergic and as a result cannot shop for other items in the store?

Just because smoking is a bad habit and is in disfavor, let's not be in such a rush to hand over more of our rights to the government.

i agree with this. i guess i wasn't that clear either. honestly, if I am going to a bar that allows smokers, that is MY choice. I know what I am getting into when I go in there, and I don't need the government to tell me that it's bad for me. I know that already. I guess it's hard for me to communicate that if the government banned smoking everywhere except in your own home, I really wouldn't notice. Yeah it imposes on my 'rights', but how am I affected since I DON'T smoke?

 

[nakedemperor]

AK has one of the highest, if not the highest taxes in the nation on cigarettes now. In Anchorage, you'll pay over $5.25 per pack for Marlboros.

Try paying $7.00+ in Manhattan.

 

[KarlMarx]

Here in New York, you can't smoke in a bar or a restaurant or any public building. I think it's a bit extreme. I don't smoke and never have, but when New York banned smoking in bars, I think that was going over board. Sure, it's nice not to have to smell cigarette smoke on an airplane or in a restaurant, but a bar?

In some cases, restaurants and bars have gone out of business because of the ban.

 

[Merlin1047]

There is no premise so simple that a zelot cannot stomp the common sense out of it.

That's what is happening with the anti-smoking campaign and that is why it has become a campaign that bears watching. If government can dictate this type of restriction on private business, then you can bet your bippy that these same rabid nutbars are eyeing the prospect of regulating your home.

 

[musicman]

There is no premise so simple that a zelot cannot stomp the common sense out of it.

If it's OK with you, I'm going to have that statement engraved on a plaque.

 

[Merlin1047]

If it's OK with you, I'm going to have that statement engraved on a plaque.

LOL - fine with me. Just please don't spell "zealot" like I did in that post.