NEW YORK STATE SMOKING BAN
Recently, New York state enacted a ban on indoor smoking in most buildings. Although the law exempted places like cigar bars, hotel rooms private residences and places staffed by volunteers (like a lodge hall), it mainly targeted bars and restaurants. Like other similiar bills, it was justified not on big brother grounds of regulating private vices, but on the premise that the EMPLOYEES of bars and restaurants should not be forced to inhale second-hand smoke. Essentially, the law was based on the concept of workplace safety.

I am torn on this issue. Personally, I despise smoke-inundated places. Our local Greens' chapter has fundraisers in bars, because one of our leading members is in a band and can organize local bands to participate. I usually can't stay more than an hour or hour and a half because the smoke is so thick. I can tolerate being in a room with one or two people smoking, but when there are dozens lighting up, I can only go so long before I have to leave. As a result of the smoking ban, I will be far more likely to frequent bars and spend longer amounts of time (and thus money). Because I can breathe, I'll go more often.

In that sense, I think the law will probably end out as a wash for some bar owners in short term. They'll lose some diehard smokers, but they'll gain people like myself who avoided the place because of the smoke. In the end, it'll probably end up as a boon the bars because many smokers won't stop going to bars (as doomsdayers predict) but will simply smoke less and go outside for five minutes when their craving hits. Most people don't go to bars simply to drink alcohol (which they could do at home more cheaply), but also to be in the bar atmosphere.

A local 24 hour a day restaurant decided some months ago to go entirely non-smoking. Although there were initial complaints from smokers, the restaurant owner noted that he gained even more new customers, many of whom said they'd avoided the place previously because of the smoke.

I think the law is a bit unfair to other restaurants, many of whom went to great lengths to keep smokers and non-smokers separate in order to comply with the previous law. Some invested in ventilation systems to facilitate that process. Now, it turns out they wasted their money.

As much as I'm happy bars will be smoke-free, this is not a good law. I do think it's ironic that targeting cigarettes is politically acceptable, but no one dares target alcohol; in other words, ruin your liver, but not your lungs. Glad we have that cleared up.

The workplace safety argument doesn't hold up in my opinion. Many occupations have hazards distinct to that particular job. If you're a roadie with a rock band, you'll be exposed to extremely loud levels of noise. If you have a bad heart condition, don't be a skydiving instructor. If you don't react well to stress, there are lots of jobs you should avoid. And everyone knows that if you are sensitive to smoke, don't be a bartender. It's one of the hazards of the job, just as other jobs have other hazards. Some find those risks acceptable and take the job; others find those risks unacceptable and find work elsewhere. I'm not sure why this is so hard. Smoking is not illegal so I'm not sure why the government is intervening.

Fortunately, most of my friends who smoke are polite enough to ask me first if I mind. If I'm in their house and they insist on smoking, I either suck it up or go outside for a while. If I'm in their car, I'm going to leave smelling like smoke even if they don't light up on that particular trip. It's part of the deal.

It seems like the smoking issue should be left up to each individual bar. I can easily see a bar becoming non-smoking marketing that feature to those who may have avoided bars for that reason. And it could equally market itself to those employees who would prefer working in a smoke-free environment. It all works itself out in the end.

I really despise cigarettes. I'm happy that bars will be smoke-free, but I'm not pleased about the way it happened. Ultimately, cigarettes are a legal product, a legal DRUG, at least right now. Either make them illegal or give people a reasonable, non-intrusive license to smoke their legal drug in public.