Smoke Free or Live Free?

By Jim on March 5th, 2007

The Union Leader has some interesting poll results that suggest that New Hampshire is evenly split on the impending smoking ban.

Granite State residents are evenly split on whether to ban smoking in restaurants and bars, an informal Internet survey of New Hampshire Union Leader readers has revealed.
One group believes a smoking ban would keep patrons and employees free from hazardous secondhand smoke. Also, they don’t like dining out in a pervasive, stomach-turning haze of tobacco smoke.

The second group believes the free market should determine whether a business owner allows smoking. Also, this group thinks the government shouldn’t stick its nose in the matter.

This seems to argue against another poll that the smoking prohibitionists were touting that said somewhere around 75-80% of people favored a smoking ban. It seems like this ban is going to pass the House and then Governor Lynch will sign it. We can only hope that we get a very strong conservative majority in 2008 that will begin the process of repealing it.

Mark my words though, this is only the first step for the prohibitionists. We’ve seen it in other states, these people will be back for more:

1. Higher cigarette taxes (this is already in Lynch’s budget but it’ll be going higher and higher in future years as it has become socially acceptable to vilify and hate smokers).
2. A ban on smoking within 100 feet or whatever of the entrance of a building.
3. Later on they’ll try for a complete ban on smoking in public or at least in certain public areas (even if smoking in such places has ZERO effect on non-smokers).

Over and over and over we see this sort of creeping incrementalism to extend the powers of the nanny state, slowly but inexorably. As a non-smoker I know that health concerns have nothing to do with this, that’s just the pretext for control and domination by the state of the lives of its subjects…er…excuse me…citizens. It’s all about giving the nanny state a beach-head in New Hampshire and laying the groundwork for more and more laws regulating private conduct and business.

Edit: The People’s Republic of Taxachusetts is weighing a bill right now that might criminalize smoking in a car with kids.

A controversial new bill would slap smokers with a fine if they light up in cars with kids, an incendiary idea that’s outraged puffers and civil libertarians while gaining speed nationwide.

“They are going to come into your home next,” said Gary Nolan, national spokesman for The Smokers Club, Inc. “Will we have the food police issuing tickets if your child’s (weight) is out of wack and you are heading into a Burger King?”

Added Dr. Michael Siegel, a Boston University tobacco policy analyst: “This is a disrespect for parental autonomy. We allow parents to let their children play hockey and go roller blading and serve their kids terribly unhealthy food.”

The Massachusetts law, filed by state Rep. Michael Costello (D-Newburyport) at the request of a Salisbury dad, would fine violators $25 for the first offense and $100 after that for smoking in a car with a child who by law must be in a car seat. That means children under 5 or weighing less than 40 pounds. The reasoning is that car seats are easy to spot for a cop who notices someone smoking in a car and children in safety seats are too young to help themselves.

At least a dozen states, including Connecticut and Rhode Island, are considering bans on smoking in a car when a child is present. Louisiana and Arkansas already have similar laws on the books. In Bangor, Maine, an ordinance in effect since January allows police to fine drivers $50 for smoking in a car with anyone under age 18. No one has been cited.

The national push comes as more and more restaurants and bars ban smoking.