Smoking
Posted October 7th, 2009 @ 12:15am by Erik J. Barzeski
Smoking is already illegal in a lot of public places - even privately owned buildings like bars and things - in a lot of cities and states. The argument being that your right to wave your arms about ends at my nose.
To be honest I think laws like this are fine, but I've intentionally left options like this out of the poll. Yes or no: should smoking be illegal. If you feel the need to explain your choice more, please do so in the comments.
{democracy:62}
And not that you can legislate intelligence, but who in the heck smokes or chews anymore? How big of an idiot do you have to be to do that sort of stuff? It's not like people can use "we don't know how bad it is for you" as an excuse anymore.
Donate Life
Posted 10 Oct 2009 at 1:17pm #
Most states' smoking laws were passed as "smoke-free workplace" in order to protect wait staff, bartenders and strippers from the harms of secondhand smoke. But all jobs hold their own risks, and a jobseeker is free to weigh those risks when considering one employer over another.
Before Oregon's smoke-free workplace law went into effect, there was one strip club in Portland offering a smoke-free atmosphere. I'd imagine that was a great competitive advantage, both for non-smoking customers like ourselves, as well as prospective employees. In the extremely hypothetical situation where I have money to spend and decide to spend it on strippers, I'll choose the club without the coughing dancers with nicotine-yellowed skin, thanks much.
Just as a business owner must accept that a smoke-filled restaurant will lose them _my_ business, they must also accept that to go smoke-free may lose them other customers. My real problem is with the law. I think that the employees of a specific establishment - not legislation - should demand it of their employer. But the bottom line is that a privately held business should be the sole decider of whether someone can smoke within their walls.
Posted 10 Oct 2009 at 2:24pm #
One of the very few times Republicans don't mind Gov. Regulation.
😛
Posted 10 Oct 2009 at 4:49pm #
Here's my philophosy: you can do whatever the hell you want as long as your actions do not harm another person. Second-hand smoke is known to cause harm to others.
Posted 10 Oct 2009 at 8:04pm #
You're question doesn't actually state whether you're just talking about smoking in "public" places, or whether all smoking should be illegal. I took it to mean the latter (despite your discussion of public places in the post itself).
If it does, indeed, mean the latter, then no, smoking should not be made illegal. What you want to do to your body is your business. However, what you do that affects others is the public's business. If you want to smoke in the privacy of your own home, go nuts. If you want to smoke around me, without me making the choice of dealing with your second-hand smoke, however, then we have an issue.
Of course, I suppose, that argument then includes drugs as well, which should be illegal. So, I guess that makes me a hypocrite.
Posted 11 Oct 2009 at 10:27am #
[quote comment="55716"]If it does, indeed, mean the latter, then no, smoking should not be made illegal. What you want to do to your body is your business. However, what you do that affects others is the public's business.[/quote]
I was asking about smoking of any kind, anywhere.
Smoking of any kind affects me. It affects my insurance premiums and soon, if we have "government-funded universal health care" of any kind, it'll affect my taxes.
Posted 12 Oct 2009 at 10:56am #
[quote comment="55715"]Here's my philophosy: you can do whatever the hell you want as long as your actions do not harm another person. Second-hand smoke is known to cause harm to others.[/quote]
Agree'd. I've never smoked a day in my life and at the ripe old age of 26 I've had to have two throat surgeries for lumps exhibiting dysplasia, almost always attributed to smokers. Granted my parents smoked, and owned a restaurant with smoking sections. I didn't really have a choice in the matter of getting a big fat dose of second hand goodness.
I can't shoot you in the kneecap you shouldn't be able to poison me. Now if you want to smoke @ home, in the car, at smoke clubs. Fine by me. I'm nobodies mother, I could care less if people drink hopped up draino, but as far as I'm concerned your "freedom" ends when it encroaches on harming another individual.
In that regard I'm pro legalization of a number of controlled substances (with moderate regulation).
Posted 13 Oct 2009 at 10:32pm #
I said yes, but I'd be happy if the minimum age to purchase cigarettes was raised one year every year.