Tapsearch Com EditorQuestion for the day
September 25th 2007 00:19
Why is it that anti-smoking zealots are angry enough ban tobacco use in bars -- but not enough to boycott smoking bars and patronize non-smoking ones? If this happened, and if the zealots have as much of popular opinion as they claim, a large number of bars would go non-smoking to attract customers.
My first theory is that smokers are just really cool. If nonsmokers all went to the same bars, the coolness factor would go down, so that's not an option. By banning smoking they get both clean air and cool people.
My other theory is that the people who vote for the laws don't go to bars. Something has to explain the facts that (A) smoking bans are big with voters but (B) the market creates few non-smoking-by-choice bars.
This post dedicated to Huckabee, who lost any chance he had of my support by backing a federal "public" smoking ban. ("Public" means "open to the public, even if privately owned.") As much as I oppose local smoking bans, local governments have the right to pass them. But Huckabee's law is simply unconstitutional.
My first theory is that smokers are just really cool. If nonsmokers all went to the same bars, the coolness factor would go down, so that's not an option. By banning smoking they get both clean air and cool people.
My other theory is that the people who vote for the laws don't go to bars. Something has to explain the facts that (A) smoking bans are big with voters but (B) the market creates few non-smoking-by-choice bars.
This post dedicated to Huckabee, who lost any chance he had of my support by backing a federal "public" smoking ban. ("Public" means "open to the public, even if privately owned.") As much as I oppose local smoking bans, local governments have the right to pass them. But Huckabee's law is simply unconstitutional.
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Comment by Damo
Smoking was banned in bars just recently.
This was part of a long process and incremental legislation.
The main issue with Bar and Pubs was driven by health concerns for the Bar staff and the non smoking patron.
Courts were starting to apply the laws of Occupational Health and Safety in these enviroments.
Clarity was required and so laws were passed.
Passive smoking is recognized as a serious health risk by the Australian Medical Association and Ministries of Health alike. Therefore to allow staff to be exposed to a danger is counter to providing staff with a safe working eniroment.
Comment by Keavin
Part of enjoying freedom is to have the responsibility to make your own choices but too many fascists would rather make choices for us. Anyone with half a brain knows that fastfood is not healthy yet health fascists are taking away our choice to eat unhealthy. KFC is a great example. Someone sued them over their "unhealthy" cooking oil and now we are all forced to eat dry chicken with less flavor. Even worse there are now laws being passed that ban the cookie oil entirely. What's the big deal? Because some people have decided for all of us, we now have one less freedom to enjoy. I call this the boomer syndrome as a lot of these inane moves can be traced back to them and they pass it on to their kids. Far be it for parents to raise their children to think for themselves and make their own decisions, let's let the "public" make them for us. Try arguing a point from anything but a far left viewpoint on a college campus and you will be in big trouble. These institutions which were designed to education show their true colors with the real goal to indoctrinate students into the collective "group think". See if your alma mater signed the academic bill of rights. Circular logic rules the day and pretty soon we will all wake up with very few freedoms left. But it was all done in the public good right? Stalin, Hitler and Mao used that argument. (Mao was chainsmoker by the way) What does all of this have to do with a smoking ban? Everything, as it's just one more step being taken "for the public good" that erodes our freedom from within. It's just a shame that I expect something like this from the Clinton campaign but we get it from Huckabee.