Butt Out, Bloomberg
Eight years after banning smoking indoors in many places, my city’s billionaire mayor (and nanny-in-chief) Michael Bloomberg is at it again. This time, he will expand the ban to parks, beaches, and pedestrian plazas like Times Square.
“When this legislation is passed, all New Yorkers will be able to enjoy a walk in the park or a day at the beach without having to inhale secondhand smoke,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
The mayor’s press release claims that “Research shows that 65 percent of New Yorkers favor banning smoking at outdoor recreational places such as parks, ball fields and playgrounds.”
I say: so what!
I don’t smoke. I don’t like the smell of cigarette smoke, and hate cigar smoke. Personally, I like Bloomberg’s forced smokeless environments. But this is tyranny of the majority. The previous ban on smoking in bars is even more intrusive. Can’t the smokers have some places? If a bar owner wants to allow cigarettes, and customers voluntarily enter the bar, the government ought to have no right to interfere.
It’s for your health, the mayor justifies: “The science is clear: prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke – whether you’re indoors or out - hurts your health. Today, we’re doing something about it."
But the science isn’t clear. Studies have shown that secondhand smoke may be dangerous for people who are stuck with chain smokers for years in claustrophobic situations like homes and cars. Even then, the evidence was thin. Some studies found no effect. Being on the same sidewalk as someone puffing away may be unpleasant, but isn’t going to hurt pedestrians.
One angry smoker told the WSJ, “it’s like a dictatorship.”
Butt out, Bloomberg.
stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com |
