More Freedom Lost...

I heard on the radio today as I was driving home from work that Governor Bredesen signed into law the ban on smoking in the workplace. Yes, I’m a smoker so of course I would be against this, but not for the reasons one might think. I have no problem not smoking in places where I’m not allowed. I don’t particulary like it, but it’s not that big of a deal. If it’s someone’s house, a store, wherever…if they have a policy of no smoking, then that’s their right and I will respect it. My problem is with government telling PRIVATELY owned businesses that they can’t allow customers to smoke. I know I wrote something on this several weeks ago, but I think it needs to be repeated.

Why is it I’ll soon be forced to stand outside of a restaurant because a wisp of smoke might bother someone when someone might leave that same establishment and kill a family of four on the way home because he’s smashed out of his mind? Sure, some say that people are dropping like flies from second-hand smoke, but we know for a fact that a lot of people are killed every year by drunk drivers. Why is alcohol not treated with this same sort of scrutiny? One thing I hear from people who are for the smoking ban is that they hope people will quit because they claim they are paying higher insurance rates to cover those who get smoking related illnesses. What I find quite amusing about this is that a lot of those people have no problem downing multiple drinks on the weekends at get-togethers, or at office parties, or watching Monday Night Football. So I guess to them, alcohol doesn’t cause any health problems that might cause a spike in insurance premiums. And I guess my car insurance rates don’t ever go up because of all the accidents caused by drunk driving.

If all this is for health reasons, then our state government needs to close down every fast-food restaurant, remove all junk food from grocery stores, ban the ice cream trucks that drive around during the summer, make concession stands at theaters serve only fresh vegetables, and remove all candy bars from gas stations. If this ban is because of the effect of second-hand smoke, then alcohol needs to be banned as well due to the deaths caused by drunk drivers. Think I’m being ridiculous? Go ahead, try to argue this with me.

If you don’t want to go to a place where smokers are, then go somewhere else. Just don’t tell me how good this ban is while downing several beers and then driving home to munch on some Twinkies. The government has ZERO right to dictate if a business can allow people to smoke…it should be up to the business. So once again, the government thinks they know better than we do. What I would love to see happen is businesses all band together and say “screw this” and allow smoking to continue if they already did. After all, if our state government refuses to enforce immigration laws, then they would need some kind of “comprehensive smoking reform” if businesses refused to abide by this new bs law.