the ban
In this week’s Stranger cover story, Eli Sanders examines the arguments against the proposed Washington State smoking ban:
Will banning smoking in Washington state’s bars and restaurants be bad for business? The answer can be found in New York, San Francisco, and Vancouver’s crowded — and smoke-free — bars and restaurants.[thestranger]
Over three (web) pages, a brief history the science and politics of smoking unfolds along with interviews with scientists and bartenders. Whether the efforts of sidewalk signature collectors will play with voters remains to be seen, but the article makes a good case for a smoke-free nightlife. They have my vote.
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OK, I’ll freely admit that I’m the one non-smoker in this city who likes smoke-filled rooms and hazy clubs. It’s just not that big a deal for me and I don’t buy into the hype that spending a couple of hours in a club with a bunch of smokers is going to kill me.
It’s also not a make or break proposition for me. I don’t smoke so and I’ve never had to choose where I’m going based on their smoking rules. It’s just a little detail I kind of like.
It doesn’t change anything, but I will be a little sorry if this passes.
I’d be for a ban on menthols and a subsidy to encourage other people to smoke cloves. It’s like incense, except for all of the coughing up of blood.
I guess I still don’t understand the necessity for a statewide legal ban when there are considerably more non-smokers than smokers in this state. Does no one ever think to tell managers/owners: “I can choose to spend my money however I like and I choose to spend it at non-smoking establishments”? No one had to order McDonald’s to ban smoking at their establishments, no one forced Target to stop selling cigarettes–both corporations are doing fine in all 50 states.