Quote:
Originally Posted by Harmon
Because they are rules which eliminate the exercise of discretion. A business owner is not allowed to decide that he can make more money by providing smoking and non-smoking areas within his restaurant. He must enforce the ban totally.
There's no reason that both smokers and non-smokers can't be accomodated in most places. We did it for years before the anti-smoking campaign finally succeeded. But of course, there were situations where a non-smoker's table was right next to the smoking area, so someone would have to make a reasoned decision about whether some smoker was violating a non-smoker's air space to the point where he should put out his cigarette.
Much easier to have a dope rule: "no smoking, anywhere."
There are other dope rules imposed by government. Take speeding laws, for instance. Technically, if you go one mile over the limit, you are in violation. The police have the ability to treat such violations strictly. In practice, they enforce them selectively, which is one of the dangers of having dope rules. I was on the highway this weekend, exceeding the limit by about 5 mph. So was a taxicab right in front of me. The cop passed me to pull the cab over. Cops are not dopes, so dope rules don't constrain them.
|
That may be the way it is in Chicago but in AZ and CA, restaurants have the discretion to have separate smoking areas. Most find it more cost effective to have the smoking area outside instead of having separate rooms with separate air handling systems. Just having a smoking area on one side of a room and and non-smoking on the other side isn't enough to protect non-smokers (especially those with allergies or other respiratory diseases; if you had my allergies, you would be singing a different tune) from smoke, no matter where people may be seated. One of the downsides of living in societies is individual rights end at the point they start to infringe on the rights of others. If people in society don't respect that, then rules (such as laws) have to be made and enforced to ensure those rights. If you don't like it, then become a hermit.