CALL IT QUITS: Let’s go all the way, Houston…Forget baby steps and make ban total
Is it a matter of personal freedom? Our country has always respected the rights of individuals — until the exercise of those rights causes harm to others. That’s why an individual’s right to smoke in public places is trumped by the surgeon general’s report. So it is not a matter of personal freedom but rather of public health. That is why smoking is already banned in many indoor public places, such as office buildings, hospitals and government buildings. Some have argued that banning smoking inside bars that serve alcohol makes little sense, because alcohol is potentially so much more dangerous than secondhand smoke. The point is not which is worse. The point is that a ban will protect the employees of these establishments from the hazards of secondhand smoke. The customers have a choice where they go. The employees don’t.
I’m all for personal freedom, but as I’ve said all along (and I’ve been roundly criticized for it), your right to smoke is a distant second to my right to breathe clean, non-tobaccofied air. When your cigarette smoke encroaches upon and pollutes the air I breathe, your right to smoke ends. As arrogant as that may sound, it’s basically a public health issue. If you want to smoke and assume the attendant health risks, that’s on you. When your addiction adversely impacts of those who come into contact with your second-hand smoke, your “right” to smoke and your personal freedom come to a halt.
I realize that my argument may not be logically supportable to some (hold your fire, Adam….), but I can honestly say that I frankly don’t care. This is, as I’ve often admitted to, a very emotionally subject for me. Being borderline allergic to cigarette smoke, and growing up with a father who smokes has left me with a burning hatred of cigarettes. Few things anger me more than being around someone who carelessly, thoughtlessly, and inconsiderate fires up a cigarette around me. Perhaps it’s not a fair or reasonable reaction on my part, but I don’t care. I detest cigarettes, and as easygoing as I generally am, if you light up around me, you’ll quickly find out what an asshole I can become when provoked. Consider this fair warning.
Now the city of Houston has a tremendous opportunity to prove just how serious they are about protecting public health. Eighteen months ago, when the Houston CIty Council passed an ordinatnce banning smoking in restaurants and bars, it pledged to revisit the issue. Now the time is here, and the CIty Council needs to step up and take the significant and meaningful step of instituing a comprehensive ban against smoking in public places, particularly in hars and restaurants, where employees are too often exposed to the risks of second-hand smoke on a daily basis.
Hey, if Philadelphia can do it….
This is an urgent message for all Houstonians: In March 2005, City Council passed an ordinance that banned smoking in restaurant dining rooms. Many Houston residents had hoped for an even more restrictive ordinance, one that would have eliminated smoke from restaurant bars, stand alone bars and all other places of employment. At that time, Mayor Bill White stated that this issue should be studied and approached in an incremental fashion. So the City Council agreed to revisit it in 18 months. That time is up, and the issue is back — with a sense of urgency….
Is it a matter of personal freedom? Our country has always respected the rights of individuals ‚Äö√Ñ√Æ until the exercise of those rights causes harm to others. That’s why an individual’s right to smoke in public places is trumped by the surgeon general’s report. So it is not a matter of personal freedom but rather of public health. That is why smoking is already banned in many indoor public places, such as office buildings, hospitals and government buildings.
Some have argued that banning smoking inside bars that serve alcohol makes little sense, because alcohol is potentially so much more dangerous than secondhand smoke. The point is not which is worse. The point is that a ban will protect the employees of these establishments from the hazards of secondhand smoke. The customers have a choice where they go. The employees don’t.
In addition, no one says secondhand smoke is not a risk. Some simply say that alcohol use may be a bigger risk. Now the surgeon general’s report says secondhand smoke is a greater risk than anyone realized. And that makes all the difference.
Public opinion has been turning ever more toward an outright smoking ban. While I’m not about to advocate curtailing what people do in their own private spaces, public health definitely trumps private addiction. While you may have the right to pollute your own lungs, you have NO right to pollute mine…and if that means outlawing smoking in any and all public spaces, then I’m all for it.
If smoking becomes an addiction that’s legal only in private spaces (cars, homes, etc.), then so be it. If this prevents even one person from developing cancer from exposure to second-hand smoke, then it’s effort well-spent.
Remember, my right to breathe clean air trumps your right to feed your addiction. You might not like it. You might not even agree with it. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.
