For years, protesters have been attempting to get smoking banned in all public places. In a way, they hae succeeded. In New York, Mayor Bloomberg has done a really good job of keeping smoking out of the public, among other things. However, in Dekalb county, smoking has been banned in all public parks.
The main reason for the banning of smoking is all of the studies about "secondhand smoke." The basis of this is that people, even children, who choose not to smoke, but choose to go for a walk in the park, can be exposed to the harmful carcinogens in tobacco smoke. At the end of the day, freedom is all well and good, but only until it infringes upon the freedom of another person. This is the main premise of the smoking bans.
While the smoking ban in public, family oriented places is completely warranted, parks are just the first step. The anti-smoking lobbyists are doing their best to ban it in clubs too, a completely non-family place. While it is still "everyone's air", I'm just not sure if I like the government stopping people from going into a club and puffing one up. The club managers in Dekalb would lose business from this ban as well. People like going out to a club, drinking, smoking, and dancing. It's what people do. Club owners fear that if smoking is banned in Dekalb, that their customers will go elsewhere to "hang out."
I really see the fact that smoking will be stopped in public places as a big win for the community. There will be less secondhand smoke, you won't have to smell burnt tobacco all the time (Yuck!), and the air will be cleaner overall. There's a fine line between positive regulation and infringment of people's rights. Only time will tell if the legislature chooses to cross that line, but if they do, we may be headed down a slippery slope.
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/dekalb-bans-smoking-in-parks/nSk8j/
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