Do we have a right to smoke? We jumped into the the debate over this question on our newscasts tonight. Jim Kenyon did a story on the Madison County Board of Supervisors considering a ban on smoking in outdoor public places that are owned or leased by the county. The mayor of the county seat, Wampsville, has formally opposed the ban saying government is going too far. Sandra Eaton says smoking is one of many personal rights the government is taking away from individuals.
That brings us back to the question: do we have a right to smoke? One way to approach the answer is to amplify the examples and change the language of the question. Do we have an absolute right to smoke anywhere, anytime? Our culture has determined we do not. We do not have the right to take a drag on a cigarette and walk up to someone and blow the smoke in their face.
On a more practical level we can also look at precedent for legislating where smokers can light up. It was 22 years ago that the same Board of Supervisors banned smoking inside public buildings. That was during the time when cigarettes were no longer welcome in the workplace. The secondhand smoke was too detrimental to the health of others who did not choose to smoke.
Once it was out of the workplace smoking was also pushed out of restaurants and bars. The once popular question from a restaurant hostess: "smoking or non?" became obsolete. In more recent years we've seen smoking banned from hospital campuses and shopping mall properties. Those days of entrances to workplaces, stores and restaurants being crowded with smokers have gone away. It has been a blessing and a great improvement to society.
If people want to smoke in their private space they can continue to do so. They can smoke at home. They can smoke in their cars. Further condensing the options where non-smokers are forced to inhale the chemicals of smokers is not an infringement of rights. It actually expands the right of non-smokers to enjoy a healthy life.
Government should be cognizant of pushing the limits on intrusion into our personal lives, but when it's an act that comes in a public space that puts others at risk it seems pretty clear that we do not always have the right to smoke.
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