I Have Very Mixed Emotions On This

I don’t smoke. I have never smoked, but I grew up in a blue haze caused by two parents who were heavy smokers. I also lost those two parents to lung problems long before I was ready to give them up. That is why I have very mixed emotions on the story I am about the report.

CNS News reported this week that eighteen California cites and counties have banned smoking in multi-unit housing–condominiums, apartments, etc. So the city, state, or county is now telling you what you are permitted to do in your own home, which you may actually own. What about smokers’ rights as property owners?

The article reports:

Calling it “the next frontier in California’s ongoing efforts to protect its citizens from secondhand smoke,” the American Lung Association’s Center for Tobacco Policy and Organizing compiled a 2011 report on smoke-free housing policies and provided an update that shows 18 cities and counties in the state have banned smoking in multi-unit housing, including apartments and condominiums.

I hate the smell of cigarette smoke, but I really wonder if this isn’t going too far.

The article further reports:

Some other details in the report include a provision in the city of Belmont’s smoking ban: “For current tenants who smoke, there is a 14 month grace period during which time they are still allowed to smoke in their unit.”

If you have every watched anyone struggle to quit smoking, you know how difficult this will be for many of the current tenants.

Smoking is out of fashion right now. It has been moving in that direction for about twenty years. There was a time when smokers didn’t have to huddle in office or restaurant doorways in order to have a smoke. Again, I hate the smell of cigarette smoke, but this is totally creeping government. If we sit by and watch this happen because we don’t smoke or don’t like the smell of smoke, what will the next target be?

Enhanced by Zemanta

If The Stuff Is That Awful, Just Make It Illegal

Broadleaf tobacco inspected in Chatham, Virgin...

Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday the U.K. Guardian posted a story stating that the British Medical Association (BMA) is urging lawmakers to extend the ban on smoking in public places introduced in 2007 to all vehicles in a further effort to protect people’s health. I am not a smoker. I truly hate the smell of cigarette smoke. However, this is ridiculous.

The article reports:

The all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health is calling for ministers to hold a public consultation on how to tackle smoking in cars. While opinion polls show widespread support for banning smoking in cars carrying children, such a step would be hard to enforce and would not protect adults, the MPs and peers say.

The British Lung Foundation said it would support such a ban because children “are literally trapped in the car and have no choice but to breathe in smoke”.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health also backs more limited action.

I realize this is occurring in Britain, not in America, but I have no doubt it is headed here. Meanwhile, I believe Congress is still paying subsidies to tobacco farmers and the federal and state governments make more money on the sale of a pack of cigarettes than the manufacturers. If tobacco is that bad, make it illegal. Pay the tobacco farmers a small amount of money to convert to growing grapes for wine or some other cash crop and simply put the industry out of business. Then explain to the taxpayers why their state and federal taxes went up due to lost revenue.

The way the government (in Britain and the United States) has handled the tobacco industry is schizophrenic.

Enhanced by Zemanta