Smoke
Member
A plea to all wordsmiths of THR, please take the time to read, edit, correct, fine-tune, criticize, ammend, alter, add to, or dump on my letter to the editor of my local paper.
Thanks,
Smoke
*******************
I been reading about the City Council’s proposed Smoking ordinance with some trepidation. .
The most recent article cited debate of rights of the smokers vs. health issues related to second hand smoke….but this overlooks the larger issue the ordinance addresses and that is the erosion of private property rights.
Government should not involve itself in dictating to business owners what legal activity they may or may not allow on their premises. Someone tried to draw a parallel in one article between cigarettes and alcohol by saying the sale of alcohol was already regulated. That argument is flawed because it tries to compare the sale of alcohol with the consumption of cigarettes. There are businesses in town presently, that will allow you to consume alcohol but are forbidden to sell it. These same businesses don’t sell cigarettes, but do allow them to be consumed.
I couldn’t be happier if all business in town decided to ban smoking. But that should be the business owners decision, not the City Council’s. No one can effectively argue that smoke won’t harm you, sure some people can live long lives as smokers but many don’t. By reading the articles it seems the health issues are the biggest concern, and a valid concern they are, but who is being forced to go in stores that allow smoking? I don’t care to be in smoky environments myself and to date, no one has ever made me go to one.
If a business owner wants to allow smoking in his establishment, who is making you go there? No One! You are free to take your money and patronage somewhere else.
That is the basis for a free market economy. I see the City Councils actions as another government intrusion into the livelihoods of business owners.
The other issue I have with the ordinance is enforcement. Are the police going to be required to have tape measures to check the 15 foot perimeter rule? Who will be cited for violations? The smoker? The business owner? And what punishment is handed out to the criminals who violate this ordinance or is this another toothless piece of legislation designed simply to make people feel better?
This proposed ordinance neither makes the City of Clifton look “progressive†nor concerned with the health of it’s citizens.
Thanks,
Smoke
*******************
I been reading about the City Council’s proposed Smoking ordinance with some trepidation. .
The most recent article cited debate of rights of the smokers vs. health issues related to second hand smoke….but this overlooks the larger issue the ordinance addresses and that is the erosion of private property rights.
Government should not involve itself in dictating to business owners what legal activity they may or may not allow on their premises. Someone tried to draw a parallel in one article between cigarettes and alcohol by saying the sale of alcohol was already regulated. That argument is flawed because it tries to compare the sale of alcohol with the consumption of cigarettes. There are businesses in town presently, that will allow you to consume alcohol but are forbidden to sell it. These same businesses don’t sell cigarettes, but do allow them to be consumed.
I couldn’t be happier if all business in town decided to ban smoking. But that should be the business owners decision, not the City Council’s. No one can effectively argue that smoke won’t harm you, sure some people can live long lives as smokers but many don’t. By reading the articles it seems the health issues are the biggest concern, and a valid concern they are, but who is being forced to go in stores that allow smoking? I don’t care to be in smoky environments myself and to date, no one has ever made me go to one.
If a business owner wants to allow smoking in his establishment, who is making you go there? No One! You are free to take your money and patronage somewhere else.
That is the basis for a free market economy. I see the City Councils actions as another government intrusion into the livelihoods of business owners.
The other issue I have with the ordinance is enforcement. Are the police going to be required to have tape measures to check the 15 foot perimeter rule? Who will be cited for violations? The smoker? The business owner? And what punishment is handed out to the criminals who violate this ordinance or is this another toothless piece of legislation designed simply to make people feel better?
This proposed ordinance neither makes the City of Clifton look “progressive†nor concerned with the health of it’s citizens.