Clearing The Air

Smoking bans destroy businesses, jobs, and our economy.....

The financial devastation due to smoking bans globally is well documented. Yet Nicoderm funded activists continue to push for more dubious, conflict of interest smoking ban laws. Even though it is glaringly obvious that what we really need is to repeal these onerous and unnecessary, pharmaceutical nicotine funded, special interest laws.

But if nanny-control activists strongly feel the need to impose their will upon others, Japan's smoking ban is one that makes much more sense than others:

Banning smoking on private properties but allowing it in public spaces is wrong both because it’s inefficient at reducing the harms of smoking and it’s offensive to the principles of a free society.

To see how wrong it is, consider Japan and in particular some precincts of Tokyo, where the law is the reverse of ours.

Tourists who visit Tokyo’s trendier districts are in for a surprise, especially given the Japanese have a reputation for smoking. Some streets are smoke-free but if you visit a bar, restaurant, or even hotel conference centre you are allowed to smoke.

The first argument relates to efficiency. If we assume there will continue to be smoking somewhere, and the ultimate test of a free society is its tolerance of all decisions both good and bad, it will be less harmful if done on private property. Apart from the fact that people can more easily choose to avoid private places than public ones, the owners of private places directly harvest all of the benefits of maintenance and improvements made. It is more likely that a private property owner will maintain and improve the property to reduce smoking harm.

more here:
http://www.troymedia.com/2011/01/13/japans-smoking-law-is-the-reverse-of-canadas-and-smarter/

(Ventilation equipment is allowed in the industrial workplace to remove welding smoke, why not in the hospitality workplace to remove tobacco smoke? The fact that Nicoderm, Nicorette, Nicotrol, money via RWJF is used to finance smoking ban lobbyists is the likely reason......it's all about making money not concern for health)

posted by marcus aurelius @ 8:00 AM