No Smoking
Minneapolis will soon be going the way of the Irish. Today, the days of being able to smoke in area bars (as well as restaurants and other public establishments) has been numbered.
In the crusade of some people in government to regulate and control anything potentially hazardous to the health of anyone, the Minneapolis city council today voted 12 to 1 to enact a smoking ban, effective March 31st, 2005.
The main reason, which popped up over and over during the debate (if you could call it that) over whether or not to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, was the safety of the employees. A rather noble-looking façade to hide their motives behind, it seems.
Why do I even care about this? Because its an infringement on personal choice, something that was long-coveted by those who made our nation and something that has been long protected by the Constitution.
Yes, it could be said that freedom to choose stops when your choices harm someone else, but no one is forced to be at an establishment where people smoke. There are many establishments for people to choose from in the Minneapolis area, some with and some without smoke. There are also many places to work, some with and some without smoke. If a person chooses to be at an establishment that allows smoking, then they shouldnt bitch about the smoke.
One thing that many of the bar owners argued was that the ban will seriously cut into their profits (and thus also affect their employees) since statistically about 70% of people who patronize bars smoke. Since the cities surrounding Minneapolis have no such bans on smoking (not yet anyhow), people can choose to drive a few minutes out of their way and not have their freedoms infringed on.
The city council wasnt too concerned about that though. I wonder what use it is to try and protect the employees of bars if the bars loose enough business that they have to close and their people become unemployed.
Personally, I think that the council is being rather selective on what to ban and picked smoking simply cause it is looked on as bad and it might make them look like good guys who are looking out for the well-being of the people in their community.
Hey council members, did you know that long exposure to the sun may cause skin cancer? How about regulating how many hours construction workers can be outside each day. Did you know that fast food and junk food can lead to obesity, which can cause diabetes and heart problems? How about regulating what kinds of foods can be served at public restaurants? Did you know that people are killed and injured in car crashes every day (mainly cause the majority of people are dumb-asses and dont pay attention to what they and those around them are doing)? Maybe we should take away peoples driving privileges, huh?
The thing thats most retarded about this whole thing is that no matter how hard any level of government tries, it will never be able to make enough laws and regulations to keep people safe and healthy all the time. Are people really so stupid that they cant choose where to go and what to do, and bear the responsibility for their actions?
Know what makes this whole situation even MORE retarded? That years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) funded a big study to again show that secondhand smoke causes cancer. The reason their study wasnt published and paraded around much is cause it found the exact opposite.
Although you have to look all the way over to Europe to find the story (UK Sunday Telegraph, March 8th 1998), the study said that, The results are consistent with there being no additional risk for a person living or working with a smoker and could be consistent with passive smoke having a protective effect against lung cancer. Basically, passive smoke (secondhand smoke) may actually help people form a resistance to lung cancer.
Well how about that?
America is a country based on consumerism and supply and demand. If there was really such a huge demand for non-smoking bars, wouldnt it stand to reason that someone would be smart enough to make some and cash in on that? Or could it be that there arent really as many people holding their breath while they drink as some would like people to think there are?