Nosmo King
Thursday, December 10, 2009
House Bill 4377 (Representative Lee Gonzales, D - Flint) passed the Senate and House today and is on the way to the Governor's desk for her signature.
This is Michigan's "Clean Indoor Air" smoking ban.
The bill exempts the 3 Detroit casinos, tobacco shops, cigar bars, home offices and freight trucks. It goes into effect May of 2010.
I don't know how all of you feel about it, but in all of my experiences in going to places like Chicago, New York, Boston, and California, I love not smelling like smoke and being stuffed up the whole next day. I like it for the employees of former-smoking establishments. I like it for public health.
6 comments:
Hypocrite alert!
Normally, I am somewhat libertarian in these kinds of things and should say that the market should take of this issue. After all, many places have voluntarily gone smoke free.
I'm not going to. I love that this bill passed. My mom smoked when I was growing up. We always sat in the smoking section when we went out to eat and I hated it even then. I have never sat in that section since becoming an adult, but was still subjected to smoke from the smoking section when I was in the non-smoking section. Even though it was in smaller doses, I still often left smelling like smoke and still had to smell wafting over from the smoking section. To me, it was just as repulsive smelling as sewage or a locker room.
On a more health conscious note, this will benefit the people that have to work in these places. I know they can always work somewhere else, but with the economy being what it is that is necessarily true.
As for the economic cost of the ban, I don't believe there is one. Smokers will still go out to eat, still go to bars, and probably still go to work. They will just have to go outside to smoke. I lived in Ireland back in the early 90's and you could smoke anywhere. Combine that with everyone smoking (I am pretty sure I saw 10 year olds smoking) and I don't remember being in a pub that wasn't full of smoke. They passed a smoking ban in pubs and there was a fuss for a bit, but people still went to them and I don't believe there were is impact on their profits.
Steves- I agree with everything you said and do not think you are being a hypocrit. If you said we should ban everyone from smoking, period, then maybe you'd be a hypocrit. This is about how one person's behavior impacts others. Libertarians should not support one person's rights taking from another.
Ss one of the many former staffers who worked on this bill, I am pleased to see it passed.
Wikipedia:
In 2003, New York City amended its anti-smoking law to include all restaurants and bars, including those in private clubs, making it, along with the California ban, one of the toughest in the United States. The city's Department of Health found in a 2004 study that air pollution levels had decreased sixfold in bars and restaurants after the ban went into effect, and that New Yorkers had reported less second-hand smoke in the workplace. The study also found the city's restaurants and bars prospered despite the smoking ban, with increases in jobs, liquor licenses, and business tax payments. The President of the New York nightlife association stated that business had been harmed and that the Department of Health had included all restaurants in the figures, including "Starbucks and McDonald's".[78] A 2006 study by the state of New York found similar results; business had improved despite the smoking ban.[79] According to the 2004 Zagat Survey, which polled nearly 30,000 New York City restaurant patrons, respondents said by a margin of almost 6 to 1 that they eat out more often now because of the city's smoke-free policy.[80]
And this one's for you steves:
Bellows-driven instruments – such as the accordion, concertina, melodeon and Uilleann (or Irish) bagpipes – reportedly need less frequent cleaning and maintenance as a result of the Irish smoking ban.[84]
I used to be miserable at work around the smokers, having to shower whever I got home. It was one of my greatest joys when that law passed here in Oklahoma, low these many years ago...
Bellows-driven instruments – such as the accordion, concertina, melodeon and Uilleann (or Irish) bagpipes
Hah, if it saves just one set of uilleann pipes, then it is worth it. I have heard some griping about this, but it hasn't been as bad as I thought.
I think more people avoided going out to smoky bars before the law changed in Massachusetts--now, people who don't smoke (that would be the majority of adults) aren't subject to the stinky habits of the minority and they can go out to eat and drink without smelling like a cigarette the next day.
Smoking is a fairly disgusting habit that impinges on the quality of life of everyone around you. Confining it to the outdoors or the privacy of your own home is fine by me. And if pot is legalized, the same rules should apply.
And smokers who empty their car ashtrays onto public property should be heavily fined. That is gross!
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