Smoking bans meet play-ful opposition in Minnesota

The Associated Press

An "actor" in Minnesota.

Featured Topic | Posted 38 weeks 2 days ago

Smoking bans meet play-ful opposition in Minnesota

All the world's a stage at some of Minnesota's bars. A new state ban on smoking in restaurants and other nightspots contains an exception for performers in theatrical productions. So some bars are getting around the ban by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume, and pronouncing them "actors."

The customers are playing right along, merrily puffing away -- and sometimes speaking in funny accents and doing a little improvisation, too.

Smoking bans at indoor public places are spreading across the land. Are they a good public health measure, or an unreasonable imposition on liberty?

Please do smoke, if you like

Thomas A. Firey and Jacob Grier

Of course, people have a right to avoid exposure to secondhand smoke, no matter what studies show. But they don't have the right to force everyone else to live according to their preference. Fortunately, the world can accommodate their desires along with those of people who don't mind tobacco smoke, just as it can accommodate people who like Chinese food and people who prefer hamburgers. Restaurant and bar owners want to make money, and they do so by catering to different market niches. In Northern Virginia, many restaurants and bars advertise that they are smoke-free, while others cater to a smoking crowd. This offering of many different choices is a virtue of open markets.

Joel likes: Pros outweigh cons

The Daily News (Washington State)

There is too much to recommend this indoor smoking ban to entertain any thought of repealing or modifying it.
Years ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declared secondhand smoke a class A carcinogen -- the highest cancer risk category. Exposure to it increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and lung cancer. The link between secondhand smoke and heart attacks is especially concerning. The American Heart Association has estimated that 35,000 nonsmokers die each year from the effects of secondhand smoke on the heart.

Sixty-three percent of Washington voters decided two years ago that nonsmokers shouldn't be subjected to the health risks associated with secondhand smoke. It was the right decision, in our view, and should stand.