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BALTIMORE - Smoking is bad for you. That is well documented.
And a U.S. Surgeon General’s report released earlier this
week said secondhand smoke, “causes premature death and
disease in children and adults who do not smoke.” The only
way to stop the negative effects is to ban smoking indoors.
But the report does not change the fact that smoking is legal.
Local anti-smoking advocates renewed their call to ban smoking in
bars and restaurants following the release of the report Tuesday.
They say a ban is a workplace safety issue. But it’s not.
Employees are not slaves. Those who do not like working in smoky
bars can choose to work elsewhere.
Anti-smoking advocates also cite studies funded by other
anti-smoking advocates that show that smoking bans do not hurt
sales. But a smoking ban’s economic impact is not the point.
The issue is about choice. Restaurants are free to ban smoking if
they choose. Many already ban it in their seating areas. Local
favorite Metropolitan, in Federal Hill, is one of a growing
number that bans it entirely.
The government must not force restaurants and bars to act against
their will and alienate a certain group of customers.
And we are free to eat at restaurants where smoking is allowed or
to take our hunger elsewhere.
What’s next, banning trans fats, which clog arteries like
cholesterol? That would be better for public health but how far
must the government intrude into our personal decisions?
It would be better for the government to spend its time and
effort educating people about the dangers of smoking than to
force restaurant and bar owners to ban a legal substance.