A lot of people have been talking about the recently legislated smoking ban that goes into effect this July that will mainly affect bars and restaurants.
On one side you have smokers and bar owners who think their civil liberties are being taken away and on the other side you have everyone else.
I want to weigh in on this issue as an occasional smoker. I’ve lived in several different states, and I’ve become accustom to not being able to smoke in bars and restaurants. So every time I come back to Iowa, it’s strange to realize that I’m aloud to smoke inside of bars.
I don’t understand [personally] why anyone would want to go home smelling like smoke. It’s not that much of an inconvenience for people to smoke outside, though we do have the winter months that can obviously be unpleasant, but smokers are used to having to smoke outside anyway. It shouldn’t be anyone’s burden but their own (yes, I said ‘burden,’ you chose to smoke, as did I). Also, there are [a few] smoke-free bars that still get business, and you can find their smoking clientele outside almost any evening (see images).
Des Moines Register columnist David Yepsen recently made a comment in one of his columns that “a smoker’s freedom to smoke ends at someone else’s nose.” I agree completely with this because if you want to smoke, that’s great, but that doesn’t mean the person next to you wants to. You might argue that it takes away from the bars freedom to make it a smoking environment as well, but the problem is that this basically forces them all to allow it.
Second-hand smoke is an issue that’s tossed around all the time, but it’s real! I’m going to introduce an example…Here in Ames [IA], there are a handful of bars, almost all of which are currently smoking bars. This leaves people who want to go out to bars no choice but to step into a smoky environment. Civil liberties or not, I can’t see that as fair. Whether a bar wants to or not, it’s basically forced to allow smoking in order to keep up with their competition, and that leaves nonsmokers almost no alternative. It’s not to say that that many people smoke, but rather that no bar is willing to be the one to step up and be a smoke-free bar. I honestly believe that an issue like this required legislation because Iowa bar and restaurant management don’t have the guts to do it on their own.
I want to quickly step into a sidebar…Iowa State University recently enacted a smoking ban within 25 feet of any university building. The problem with this was that they never enforced it; they left cigarette butt holders near university buildings and never sent anyone around to make sure nobody was smoking near buildings. Likewise, along with the new legislation, ISU is going to attempt to make their campus completely smoke free. This means no smoke breaks in between classes or after a stressful test.
I can’t say I agree with the complete smoke ban on a university campus, especially when somebody is willing to smoke outside, but when it comes to public places, I think it’s everyone else’s civil liberty to not be invaded by smoke. And once again, as an occasional smoker, it’s really not that hard to step outside for a moment if you really need it.
I’m going to look into this issue further when the ban goes into effect in July, but in the mean time I want to hear from you [my reader] about what your view is. Shoot me a message, leave a comment…just add your rebuttal in one way or another.
One of the few non-smoking bars in Ames, Es Tas frequently has smoking patrons outside.
It's there, but it's not being used...
With the new smoking ban going into effect soon, another problem will arise...
