Columbian blows the call on proposed smoking bans

Today's Columbian urges yet another "save us from ourselves" piece of legislation currently under consideration in Olympia in the form of a mandatory indoor-smoking ban.

Let me say from the onset that I am not a smoker. I will even go so far as to say that smoking killed my father and stepfather, as well as probably aiding in my mother's death. In fact, I hate it... almost as much as I hate "save-us-from-ourselves" legislation. As a result, my kids don’t smoke and I won’t have it in my home.

And guess what? I made that decision ON MY OWN, WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE!

All of which begs the question: does government have the right to assume a parental role in this matter to force a particular form of conduct? I don't believe they do.

The editorial tells us: "The correct path should be obvious. Of course Washington should ban smoking indoors in public. It's a matter of public health, which the state is charged with protecting. That obligation far outweighs any "smokers' rights" argument. Besides, smokers in those seven states are free to puff away to their hearts' content (detriment, actually), just not indoors in public. "

What's obvious in this increasingly litigious society is that we Americans engage in a great many "unhealthy" activities. Would the Columbian have Government outlaw all of them?

Drinking kills tens of thousands of Americans every year... costing us billions of dollars, with a ripple-effect (pardon the pun) of higher insurance and medical costs across the board.

You see, for me, if the Columbian's "logic" is to apply to the matter of smoking, then it must apply to every "public health" issue. So, when can we expect editorials of outrage demanding that the Propstra Family close down the Burgerville chain? How about an end to playing football? (I played, in one form or another, for something on the order of 20 years. Broke every one of my fingers at least once, my left wrist twice, tore cartilage in my knees, broke my nose, severely sprained both ankles countless times, dislocated a shoulder, broke ribs, and sprained my neck... among other, forgotten injuries. If that doesn't make football a "public health" issue, I can't imagine what does.) What about the end of driving cars... an act responsible for the deaths and maimings of tens of thousands along with billions of dollars of property damage every year? Oh, wait a minute... I forgot. The social engineers at the Columbian HAVE demanded we get out of our cars and get on light rail. Sorry.... my bad.

Government has no business banning smoking in any non-governmental setting. I practice my view with an eye towards economics, by going to private venues that either do not allow smoking or have separate areas for non-smokers.

But that is a VOLUNTARY decision, driven by economics on the part of the business-owners in question... and it is sheer, utter hypocrisy to ban one form of unhealthy conduct without banning them all… not just those forms of conduct that happen to be under the cloud of the moment.

So, for the anonymous editorial writers and those who agree with you… if you don’t like a private environment where smoking takes place… here’s a clue: Don’t go.

That’s right. You don’t like a smoker’s environment? Then stay away. No one FORCES you to go to such a place. No one forces anyone to work in such a place… just like no one forces the obese to eat triple cheeseburgers or for you to sip your martinis, turning your livers into a lump of coal.

In short, stay out of our lives. There are many, many more important issues for you to solve then acting like you’re our nanny.

In Our View: Spring or Fall?
Monday, March 7, 2005
Columbian editorial writers

Last Tuesday, Rhode Island became the seventh state to ban smoking indoors in public places (except for two gambling centers). Will Washington state be the eighth? Should aspire to finish in the Top 10?

The correct path should be obvious. Of course Washington should ban smoking indoors in public. It's a matter of public health, which the state is charged with protecting. That obligation far outweighs any "smokers' rights" argument. Besides, smokers in those seven states are free to puff away to their hearts' content (detriment, actually), just not indoors in public.

We wish the Legislature could follow the advice of redneck comedian Larry the Cable Guy and "Get 'er done!" But we don't have much confidence in such a ban getting approved this year. HB 2038 seeks such a ban, and a spineless SB 5909 would require more separation between smoking and nonsmoking areas. But this issue has died many deaths in Olympia through the years, and there's not much evidence that it can gain much traction anytime soon.

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