I dislike expressing opinions in a forum of this type as they are just that- opinions. My thoughts have no more validity than anyone else’s unless I’m working from empirical fact, and so I avoid it. But I’m fed up enough that I’m going to allow myself this one rant, and will try not to repeat it in the future.
What’s got me fired up? A proposed piece of regulation from the state of Florida which would tax tobacco pipes at a rate of 25%. Come on now, have we finally lost our minds in the face of political correctness? Haven’t we been demonized enough with anti-smoking regulations and usurious taxes? Haven’t we taken away enough liberties from independent business people who would prefer to allow smoking in their bar/restaurant? Now we have some people who want to keep smokers out of parks; something even such a virulent anti-smoker as NYC mayor Bloomberg considers over-the-top and unenforceable.
I have no problem being asked not to smoke around people who find it offensive. If a restaurant or bar wants to ban smoking, but I like the establishment, I will go without a pipe or cigar, gladly. But many of these new anti-smoking efforts are ridiculous.
Why the hell would any state or city pass a law disallowing smoking from a smokeshop? Why not make it illegal for more than 5 people to gather in any one place to cut down on the spread of viruses and bacteria? Next we”ll be getting fined or arrested for passing gas in an elevator.
If it is clearly labelled that smoking is allowed in an establishment, then people shouldn’t go in there. Since bars, restaurants and smokeshops are, generally, privately-owned businesses, no one has the “right” to go there. If the owner wants to allow smoking, then an anti-smoker should have no call to demand admittance and to require all others in the establishment to stop smoking. But we live in a society where, it seems, we believe that if some is good, more must be better, so we make the laws more stringent and exclusionary as we go.
There are organizations like Cigar Rights of America that are trying to make some common-sense headway in these areas. We need to support them in their efforts. When I get involved in the November 9th conference call for the United Pipe Clubs of America’s executive board, I will ask about their lobbying policy, and see if we can get something going.
I have no desire to have anyone who doesn’t want to smell or breathe my smoke do so, but let’s use a little forethought as to when we’re carrying the “nannyism” too far. What do you say? Drop me an email and let me know
