"State Needs To Stay Out Of The Smoking Issue". We Agree As Concerns Private Businesses.
State needs to stay out of the smoking issue
Cities and states should not be in the business of dictating to people where they can smoke – plain and simple.
This newspaper made that position very clear when we repeatedly said that the Bowling Green Board of Commissioners should let businesses decide to go smoke-free if they choose and not pass an ordinance requiring them to do so.
But in their infinite wisdom and with the help of a lame-duck mayor, commissioners passed it by a 3-2 vote.
We believed then and still do that it was the wrong vote to take.
Now, we learn that the state is considering passing a smoking ban.
State Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, plans to introduce a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law that would affect all indoor workplaces, restaurants, bars and other public places in Kentucky.
We would be naive to say that smoking isn’t hazardous to people’s health. It is, but Westrom is just one more example of a politician who believes that government is the answer to all problems.
If only that were true, our state and national economy would look much brighter.
People in Kentucky and elsewhere are tired of politicians telling them what they can do and when they can do it. Smoking is a legal activity and if someone wants to light up a cigarette in a business, restaurant or a bar, it should be their right to do so, provided that establishment allows smoking.
They don’t need a bunch of bureaucrats in Frankfort telling them what they can and can’t do.
We can see both sides of the argument in this ongoing dilemma. One side feels that their rights are being infringed upon and the other side views this as a public health issue.
One only has to look at the number of restaurants that went smoke-free in Bowling Green before the Bowling Green Board of Commissioners hastily made its decision. The number was significant and, if given time, more would made this choice.
Legislators in Frankfort would be wise to look at Bowling Green before the commission vote as a model of what businesses are capable of doing on their own without government interference.
We certainly hope that they do.
Cities and states should not be in the business of dictating to people where they can smoke – plain and simple.
This newspaper made that position very clear when we repeatedly said that the Bowling Green Board of Commissioners should let businesses decide to go smoke-free if they choose and not pass an ordinance requiring them to do so.
But in their infinite wisdom and with the help of a lame-duck mayor, commissioners passed it by a 3-2 vote.
We believed then and still do that it was the wrong vote to take.
Now, we learn that the state is considering passing a smoking ban.
State Rep. Susan Westrom, D-Lexington, plans to introduce a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law that would affect all indoor workplaces, restaurants, bars and other public places in Kentucky.
We would be naive to say that smoking isn’t hazardous to people’s health. It is, but Westrom is just one more example of a politician who believes that government is the answer to all problems.
If only that were true, our state and national economy would look much brighter.
People in Kentucky and elsewhere are tired of politicians telling them what they can do and when they can do it. Smoking is a legal activity and if someone wants to light up a cigarette in a business, restaurant or a bar, it should be their right to do so, provided that establishment allows smoking.
They don’t need a bunch of bureaucrats in Frankfort telling them what they can and can’t do.
We can see both sides of the argument in this ongoing dilemma. One side feels that their rights are being infringed upon and the other side views this as a public health issue.
One only has to look at the number of restaurants that went smoke-free in Bowling Green before the Bowling Green Board of Commissioners hastily made its decision. The number was significant and, if given time, more would made this choice.
Legislators in Frankfort would be wise to look at Bowling Green before the commission vote as a model of what businesses are capable of doing on their own without government interference.
We certainly hope that they do.
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 6:36 PM
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