Smoke ’em if you got ’em

By Jacob Vial

On Wednesday, Champaign’s ban on smoking in bars and restaurants will go into effect.

I don’t smoke. The occasional pipe tobacco and secondhand smoke is generally all that enters my pink lungs. Nevertheless, the current trend by municipalities to outlaw smoking in privately owned businesses is what’s wrong with government. I expected this egregious disregard for property rights from the People’s Republic of Urbana, but was surprised that Champaign and other municipalities have done the same.

Proponents of the ban are concerned with workers’ health. However, if these mini-van driving, middle class residents of Champaign truly cared about public health, they would throw their bourgeoisie influence towards more pressing matters. These “advocates” aren’t servers concerned with their own health, they’re yuppies concerned with their costs of dry-cleaning. Patrons go to Steak ‘N Shake to fill themselves with grease, carbohydrates and trans-fat. Bar-goers head to Green Street to punish their livers with distilled spirits and look for promiscuous behavior. That hour of exposure to smoke should be the least of people’s worries.

The anti-smoking community is trying to make an atmosphere for its own convenience by driving a stake through property owners’ rights. As a business owner, one has obligations to the public. If patrons have money to purchase a product or service, owners cannot pick or choose whom they sell to. However, patrons must also respect the environment and services provided to them. If they don’t like something, they should frequent another establishment until the market compels the owner to change his policy.

It’s no secret when entering a bar or some restaurants that smoke will exist, and it’s no secret to workers. When proponents of smoking bans start pulling the OSHA card, I cringe. When hired to work in a bar, some things just come with the territory, and smoke is one of them. If you want fresh air, work for the park district.

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If this is a public health epidemic, then there are better ways to solve it. Allowing municipalities such banning power can start a slippery slope. In 1913 with the ratification of the 16th Amendment, Congress declared the right to tax income. Over ninety years later, individuals are taxed at up to thirty-five percent, and the government may even tax your family upon your death. My only positive thought is at least I am forced to give up my hard-earned money to the federal government with the outside chance that I will benefit in some way. In the case of the smoking ban, business owners are forced to give up their property rights to nine Birkenstock-wearing city council members so their sinuses don’t flair up when they go out for a sangria. If ordinances like these continue to pass, where will they stop? Will campustown be smoke, alcohol and meat-free?

When President Clinton wanted every state in the Union to have a uniform .08 blood alcohol content limit for drivers, he did not squash states’ rights to control roadways. Instead, he gave states the right to set their own limits with the caveat that they would forfeit federal transportation aid if limits were set differently. Cities could adopt similar strategies. Establishments that go smoke-free might receive a discount on liquor licenses or bars that install ventilation systems could get property tax relief. These options still take away rights, but they give owners the option to choose what is best for their establishment.

This capitalist would much rather see patrons influence the market enough for change to naturally occur. It’s wonderful how we have that power as consumers. Too often, however, we’d rather take the easy way out and ride the coattails of a few activists until government steps in on our behalf. The smoking ban will go into effect, but next time we want to get something done as citizens, let’s tell government to “butt” out, put our money where our cigarette is, and keep our rights from getting ashed on.