I wrote this for class...
I thought I'd post this, as many of you are smokers and I know this is an issue near and dear to our hearts - Matt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt once described Dec. 7 as a day that will live in infamy.
In Ohio, it’s the day that another element of personal freedom breathed its dying breath.
The Smoke Free Ohio act (now Chapter 3794 of the Ohio Revised Code) became law on Dec. 7 2006, marking the last day that business owners had the choice whether or not to permit smoking in their businesses. However, because of the inability of the state government to enforce the law, some businesses are still allowing smoking without fear of repercussions.
The law has literally left thousands of smokers in Cincinnati out in the cold. Where there were once businesses that provided smoking lounges for their tobacco addicted employees, there are now smokers standing on medians outside of their places of employment, shivering as they get their fix. In Cincinnati bars, there are now plenty of open seats, once filled by smoking regulars. In places like Havana Martini, a downtown cigar bar, people can still buy their cigars along with their cosmopolitans - they just can’t enjoy them together anymore.
Smoking and drinking have always gone together like peanut butter and jelly.
Proponents of the law claim that the law is a good thing for Ohio, and they point to other states like California, Massachusetts and Delaware as paragons of health virtue. They claim that the economic impact of the law hasn’t been an issue.
But Los Angeles doesn’t have a Newport right across some bridge.
Cincinnati has been on the losing end of an economic battle with the cities of Northern Kentucky for years now, and the addition of the smoking ban is not going to attract business from across the bridge. It’s sending it over to the other side.
Despite that, there are those that believe the health benefits are important at any cost. Diane Bellbrook is a believer. Bellbrook is a cancer survivor who blames her work in restaurants and exposure to second-hand smoke for her illness. You can find her story at http://www.smokefreeohio.org, the official website of the SmokeFreeOhio movement.
“The employees who work in these places don’t have a say,” says Bellbrook. “Nobody has protected them. It’s a moral obligation to protect the lives of those who are working in environments where there is secondhand smoke.”
While Bellbrook is a sympathetic character, what she’s missing is the fact that the employees absolutely have a say. Last I checked, slavery is illegal in these United States, and by God, people have a right to choose where they work!
In times past, it may have been true to say that employees of businesses that were exposed to second-hand smoke were not protected from the dangers. Nobody told them it was dangerous. Nobody told them it was a threat to their health.
Today, though, it’s hard to turn on a television without seeing a commercial from organizations like Truth.com that describe and decry the dangers of second-hand smoke. If there are still people out there who don’t know about second-hand smoke, there are still people residing underneath large boulders.
The fact is, the law is yet another example of the government legislating an issue that should be a choice. The choice whether to support a business that looks out for the health of its customers and employees. The choice to work in a place where there might be hazards. The choice to market a business to one clientele over another.
But Ohioans voted to choke the life out of choice. And now Cincinnati can look forward to seeing even more of its business go up in smoke.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt once described Dec. 7 as a day that will live in infamy.
In Ohio, it’s the day that another element of personal freedom breathed its dying breath.
The Smoke Free Ohio act (now Chapter 3794 of the Ohio Revised Code) became law on Dec. 7 2006, marking the last day that business owners had the choice whether or not to permit smoking in their businesses. However, because of the inability of the state government to enforce the law, some businesses are still allowing smoking without fear of repercussions.
The law has literally left thousands of smokers in Cincinnati out in the cold. Where there were once businesses that provided smoking lounges for their tobacco addicted employees, there are now smokers standing on medians outside of their places of employment, shivering as they get their fix. In Cincinnati bars, there are now plenty of open seats, once filled by smoking regulars. In places like Havana Martini, a downtown cigar bar, people can still buy their cigars along with their cosmopolitans - they just can’t enjoy them together anymore.
Smoking and drinking have always gone together like peanut butter and jelly.
Proponents of the law claim that the law is a good thing for Ohio, and they point to other states like California, Massachusetts and Delaware as paragons of health virtue. They claim that the economic impact of the law hasn’t been an issue.
But Los Angeles doesn’t have a Newport right across some bridge.
Cincinnati has been on the losing end of an economic battle with the cities of Northern Kentucky for years now, and the addition of the smoking ban is not going to attract business from across the bridge. It’s sending it over to the other side.
Despite that, there are those that believe the health benefits are important at any cost. Diane Bellbrook is a believer. Bellbrook is a cancer survivor who blames her work in restaurants and exposure to second-hand smoke for her illness. You can find her story at http://www.smokefreeohio.org, the official website of the SmokeFreeOhio movement.
“The employees who work in these places don’t have a say,” says Bellbrook. “Nobody has protected them. It’s a moral obligation to protect the lives of those who are working in environments where there is secondhand smoke.”
While Bellbrook is a sympathetic character, what she’s missing is the fact that the employees absolutely have a say. Last I checked, slavery is illegal in these United States, and by God, people have a right to choose where they work!
In times past, it may have been true to say that employees of businesses that were exposed to second-hand smoke were not protected from the dangers. Nobody told them it was dangerous. Nobody told them it was a threat to their health.
Today, though, it’s hard to turn on a television without seeing a commercial from organizations like Truth.com that describe and decry the dangers of second-hand smoke. If there are still people out there who don’t know about second-hand smoke, there are still people residing underneath large boulders.
The fact is, the law is yet another example of the government legislating an issue that should be a choice. The choice whether to support a business that looks out for the health of its customers and employees. The choice to work in a place where there might be hazards. The choice to market a business to one clientele over another.
But Ohioans voted to choke the life out of choice. And now Cincinnati can look forward to seeing even more of its business go up in smoke.