Smoking Petition

Never mind that a Federal Court Judge struck down the EPA's "ruling" that ETS (second hand smoke) as a health risk because of manipulation of figures and "junk science". Never mind that the World Health Organizations study on environmental tobacco smoke has been exposed as faulty in findings of number of smoking related deaths and that their own study showed that exposure to environmental tobacco smoke poses less risk of causing lung cancer than does drinking whole milk. Never mind that the same study showed a risk factor of 1.17 and in the next line declared that risk factors of less than 2.0 should be discounted as a risk due to inability to control other contributing factors (exposure to other carcinogens, genetic propensity etc.)and statistical bias. Never mind that a study in Australia was exposed as having manipulated data to support their pre "ordained" conclusion yet a member of the research team found the data to support a finding of Official: Second Hand Smoke Does NOT Cause Cancer!

City Council has by this act infringed upon the businessmen and businesswomen of this community. These businesses are not “Public Buildings” over which the government should be allowed to exercise such control. They are in fact privately owned buildings engaged in legal commerce and the proprietors of these buildings should be permitted to decide what LEGAL behaviors are permitted on their premises. They (City Council) do understandably have the right to regulate what goes on in THEIR (City Owned) buildings.

The Big Deal Is that City Council obviously thinks its constituents too stupid to decide for themselves whether or not to patronize a bar or restaurant that permits smoking.
The City Council obviously feels that the business community is too insensitive and too stupid to be responsive to the desires of the public from whom they depend on for a living.
The big deal is this regulation is an erosion of Personal Liberty and Freedom. The basic concepts of American Government and the concepts for which many Americans have spilled blood and given their very lives to preserve in the Revolutionary War and in every war since.
The big deal is if we permit this erosion of liberty and freedom, how far down the slippery slope will the City Council travel. If you are a smoker, this affects you now.

If you are not a smoker, which of your freedoms may be in danger? Send a message to Council. Let them know that you as an American value the freedoms fought for and died for. Who knows? The next liberty at risk may be reading unpopular books, publishing information contrary to their own political agenda regardless of fact, expressing an unpopular opinion, conceiving children without the permission of the council.

Remember back when smoking was banned in government buildings? Many of us smokers feared that this was the start of a slippery slope that would further infringe upon our liberties. The politicians at the time assured us that there was no slippery slope and that the decision to stop smoking in city and county buildings was to make a more pleasant atmosphere for non-smoking employees. Many politicians even made the destinction of everyone had to go to their work place yet did not have to go to specific stores, restaurants and bars and therefor could avoid smoke in those buildings by their own choice. Low and behold, the slippery slope is upon us.

The present battle cry is to protect the employees in bars, restaurants etc. Well folks, if you can't stand the smell of garbage, you wouldn't go to work for the waste management department. If you can't stand the smell of perfume, you wouldn't go to work as a perfume tester and if you can't stand the smell of burning tobacco, you shouln't work in a bar.

I would hate to say they lied back then but they appear to have mishandled the truth. Perhaps they really could not see the slope in front of them. Don't be fooled by the smoke and mirrors about health issues. There is too much evidence that second hand smoke is not the health hazard the special interest groups would have you believe. If we allow an erosion of rights of business owners to decide what legal behaviors are permitted in their businesses, don't be surprised when the next erosion of rights is what you can do in your own home.

Non Smokers BEWARE. Every anti-smoking ordinance and increase in tobacco related taxes does achieve some measure of success for the special interest groups that would have us all quit. In the not too distant past, approximately 70% of U.S. adults smoked. Now that figure is around 30%. In that same time frame, the price of a pack of cigarettes has increased from around seventy cents per pack to a national average of $4.50 mostly due to increases in taxes. Realize that more than 65% of the price of a pack of cigarettes is tax. The cost of running government is not going to go down when we all quit smoking. Where is the government going to get that money then? Maybe by placing larger taxes on things you buy? How about alcohol? Gasoline?, Interstate Commerce? Yep, if we quit smoking, your free ride is over.

If you would like to attempt the petition drive again to amend the ordinance to permit smoking in stand alone bars, click below to print the petitions. There are two petitions, one asking the council to amend the ordinance and the second asking that the matter be taken before the voters. I would recommend trying the first one as the primary goal and using the second only if our elected officials stand deaf to our demands. Apart from a petition drive, I encourage each of you to write or e-mail the mayor and your city representative asking that the ordinance be changed.