By J. Douglas Stevens
Staff Writer
Mayor of New York Michael Rudolph Bloomberg has proposed a law that would ban smoking in public places. Is it too late to get Guiliani back? He knew better. Someone needs to tell Bloomberg that holding a public office does not make your constituents your dependants; it’s called Paternalism. And America’s democracy has no room for it.
Prohibition failed. The war on drugs is failing. And here is a piece of trivia that you may not know: the first person to successfully ban smoking in public was Hitler.
This is not to say that a ban on smoking would not be well received. California and Delaware have completely banned smoking in restaurants while Maine, Utah and Vermont enforce smoking bans in restaurants but not bars. And aside from complaints made by a handful of bar owners, a public outcry of injustice has not been heard. Of course the 80 percent of non-smoking adults are enjoying the clear air in these brave new states and have no reason to complain. But when the smoke clears, the small minority of dedicated tobacco patrons are left out in the cold, literally.
“If you must, you may, just not in here.”
This catchy and sugarcoated motto masks a very pointed discrimination. Twenty percent of Americans are admittedly stricken with nicotine addiction, a vice that the government has permitted and tobacco companies have parlayed into billions.
I am free to partake in such smoke-able pleasure while I walk down the street. No law protects those innocent pedestrians behind me, down wind of that deadly secondhand smoke I exhale. So why protect the barflies, who willingly subject themselves to the hot, stuffy, smoke-filled bar scene?
There are a plethora of studies about the dangers of cigarette smoke, both to the smoker and the unsuspecting non-smoker within reach of the hazardous fumes. But no matter how many times these studies are conducted and no matter how poignant new evidence may be, smokers will smoke, with full knowledge of the repercussions.
Last Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the local health boards of Lucas County lack the authority to ban smoking in all public vehicles and enclosed indoor areas. I hope the health boards were not surprised by this ruling. Since when do local authorities have the right to suspend the liberties of the people? Not only would they have infringed on Ohio’s state law, they would have been in direct violation of the United States Constitution.
Pepperdine, a private institution of higher learning, reserves such a privilege of suspending certain liberties, which is exercised regularly. Alcohol consumption is not allowed, even for legal adults. Sexual relations of any kind are prohibited outside of marriage. And most recently, the smoking policy, which previously stated that cigarettes, cigars, etc. could be smoked at no closer than five feet away from any building, has been changed. Now, if you must, you may, as long as you are a full 20 feet away from the nearest structure. What? This means no more late night smoke breaks on breezeways in Towers, on the patios in front of the dorms, and in the hallways of the apartments.
When winter descends on Malibu, smokers will be forced into the rain and the cold, no longer able to enjoy any meager protection from the elements provided by a cement overhang. For shame.
Physically, in terms of health, are the recent restrictions on smoking a step in the right direction? Maybe so. But morally, in terms of statutes on which this country was founded, are these restrictions fair? With weak lungs and damaged vocal chords, nicotine fiends from Malibu to New York say, “No.”
October 31, 2002