Smoking Bans
I think I made some people hate me today with my disdain for the passage of a public smoking ban in St. Louis Country, MO. I didn’t feel like Twitter was an appropriate place to discuss why I opposed the ban, so I’m going to dump a lot of my thoughts on the matter here.
I don’t disagree that smoking is harmful to your health. I don’t disagree that secondhand smoke is harmful to the health of those who are around smokers. This is proven fact. But for the most part (I’ll talk about the exceptions later), exposing yourself to these are a personal choice. In effect, I disagree with smoking bans for the same reason I disagree with forcing McDonald’s to put “WARNING! HOT!” stickers on its coffee. If you’re dumb enough to constantly expose yourself to a smoking environment, that’s your fault. You should know better.
However, the amount of people that smoke is large, which means that businesses have a financial incentive to support people who smoke. Many people who smoke enjoy the company of other smokers, leading them to places where they can smoke together. Bowling alleys, bars, and restaurants are just a handful of places where smokers are allowed to assemble and smoke together. Why should they not be allowed that right?
The counter-argument to that, of course, is that non-smokers are then unable to assemble in places that are free of secondhand smoke. But is legislation the right way to make more smoke-free places? Businesses are already free to set “no smoking” policies on their property, but many have chosen not to, because they don’t wish to alienate potential customers. If non-smokers want more smoke-free zones, they should reverse the incentive: boycott businesses that are too smoky, and (more importantly) make it known that that’s why you’re boycotting that business.
Plenty of businesses have already made the decision to go smoke-free without a ban. For example, smoking is rarely allowed in movie theaters, a practice which was once common. Other businesses have limited the amount of crossover between smoking and non-smoking sections. A restaurant in my hometown of Union, MO has the two separated by most of the building. The entire kitchen is between the two sections. The only experience of smoky air by non-smokers is during payment, a process which takes less than a few minutes.
Obviously, there are always exceptions. I agree that smoking should be banned in places where people are likely to be more sensitive to smoke, such as hospitals and elementary schools. Likewise, I feel that it should be at least monitored by health agencies, making sure that appropriate ventilation is provided in buildings where smoking is allowed. But an outright ban is bad for local business, and a slap in the face to personal liberty.
Hopefully I’ve made my case a little clearer. Comments can be made either on Twitter (@Arclite) or by reblogging this post on Tumblr.
