Yesterday afternoon the governor signed into effect the smoking ban for Minnesota.
You know me, normally I have a lot to say about different political issues, but this is one issue where I can see both sides of the fence, and I’m sitting firmly on the fencepost.
Personally, it doesn’t affect me. I don’t smoke, and I’m not going to raise a fuss if I have to go to a restaurant where there’s a smoking section. I sit in smoking sections. I don’t particularly like inhaling smoke along with my food, but if the food is good, I’ll deal with it. I think if all places were required to install high-end ventilation systems, that might have been sufficient.
So, the two sides. First, the pro-ban side.
Second-hand smoke affects people other than smokers. I inhale second-hand smoke and it’s possible I get lung cancer. the issue here is that when I go to a restaurant, bar, bowling alley, etc., my right to breathe clean air is diminished by the smokers.
Sure, I can choose not to go to that establishment,And whose rights trump whose?
But concerning the health of people who work at these establishments, it doesn’t really make sense to have passed the clean air act way back when for most workplaces to be smokefree, and then have a big chunk of the workforce still working in places where smoking is allowed.