On-Again Off-Again Smoking Ban

Looks like the smoking ban in Pittsburgh is off again, which is a win for freedom. If you read this article in the Post Gazette you will see that the ban is off because of two smart business owners. They took their complaints to the state courts, and the courts agreed that it was unfair.

After reading this article you will find more proof that the free-market is still working to fix this “problem” on its own.

“Pat Joyce, owner of the 17th Street Cafe on the South Side, said … Our primary focus is dinner. I would say 90 to 95 percent of our guests had asked us to go nonsmoking.”

See, if enough people request these businesses to go nonsmoking, the smart business owners will give it to them. But if 95 percent of their customers want smoking then you better bet that they will want to keep it that way; and that’s fine. With businesses listening to the demand, you now have a choice between a business that does and one that doesn’t ban smoking. Everyone likes choices, so why would we want the government to take them away?

Banning Smoking Bans Freedom

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, they have passed a smoking ban for all public places and privately owned businesses. Here the government is going beyond its purpose by telling business owners how to run their business. If that seems okay to you, then you are NOT someone who values your freedom.

I would also like to let everyone know that I am NOT a smoker. I just value people’s right to choose. If you want to smoke and increase your risk of lung cancer, that is fine by me. Also, if you are a business owner and would like to let people smoke on your property, that is fine too, because you have the right to do whatever you want, as long as you don’t violate the rights of others.

This brings me to another point. People say that smoking doesn’t just hurt the people smoking; the secondhand smoke hurts the people around them. Well, that may be true, but there is simple solution to this problem. Don’t hang around people that smoke and don’t go to bars and restaurants that allow it. NO ONE is forcing you to smoke and breathe smoky air. I’m a non-smoker and I can’t remember the last time that I was bothered by a smoker. I guess that’s because I’ve trained myself to avoid it.

If everyone would just look around, they would see that capitalism (the free-market) was starting to take care of the situation for us. The businesses (bars and pubs) in the area were starting to offer smoke-free nights and rooms that were smoke-free. So if you didn’t want to be around secondhand smoke, you had a choice. But I guess that wasn’t enough for the freedom haters, so they lobbied the local government to pass this ban.

So what you smoke-free nuts should have done was, before crying to the government, try doing something yourself. Ask your favorite bar and restaurant to try having a smoke-free night. If you get enough people behind you, no rational businessman will say no.