Commissioners shouldn't worry about smoking

Jon Thurmond

Posted: Monday, July 04, 2005

Let's cut through the "smokescreen" around the proposed Athens-Clarke County smoking ordinance. It's not about smokers' rights, nonsmokers' rights, workers' rights or the public, it's about government trying to regulate bad habits.

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Smokers can't force a private business owner to allow smoking, so non-smokers shouldn't be able to voluntarily visit a business and demand that the owner operate on the non-smokers' terms.

This isn't about workers' rights. There are jobs and professions far more dangerous than waiting on tables in the presence of secondhand smoke. The people who choose those jobs - cab drivers, firefighters and police, for example - take those jobs knowing the risks. The health risks associated with secondhand smoke are debatable. But this simple fact isn't: a waiter or bartender who chooses to work for an establishment that allows smoking knows what kind of environment he'll be working in. The same can be said for someone who visits said establishment.

This argument is about the basic building block of America - freedom. It's about standing up to the people who think government has the right and responsibility to police bad habits and vices. Who are they really trying to protect? Their standard answer is "the public." I don't think so. It's for the very vocal minority that believe if smoking is bad, the government should ban it. How well did that work with Prohibition?

A simple solution is that commissioners should fix the county's real problems. I believe there is a serious situation at our county jail, auto break-ins are rampant, murders go unsolved, gang activity is here and taxes are sky-high.

We don't need commissioners involved in the smoking debate - they have enough unfinished business as it is.

Jon Thurmond

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