You know there has to be something amiss when Republicans are advocating more government control in the affairs of business.
In a recent case, Rep. Barb Vander Veen, R-Allendale, and Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, are advocating a statewide ban on smoking within every Michigan bar, restaurant and workplace in a package of legislation they presented on Tuesday. The legislators, a registered nurse and a doctor, respectively, are joined by two Democrats, and the group is pushing the issue with a "mountain of scientific evidence that shows the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke."
Although their evidence is most likely sound, it doesn't justify taking the choice away from proprietors to choose whether their business will be a place that welcomes smokers. This is a case of the state trying to meddle with something that already works well on its own.
Like the argument used by advocates of more freedom in programing on television channels, "If you don't like it, go somewhere else." No one is forcing people to patronize bars and restaurants filled with smoke. There are enough places to eat and drink that provide a smoke-free atmosphere - more than 3,500 of them in Michigan, according to the state Department of Community Health. The state is better off with a happy medium of places where people with different interests can enjoy themselves instead of one sweeping motion trying to control everything.
Furthermore, with the economy still in the gutter, it's not a great time to try and introduce legislation that could hurt many Michigan business. The 4,500-member Michigan Restaurant Association and the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association have been fighting these sort of attempts, which have appeared in the past, for quite some time. They know how much smoking matters to their patrons - some bars sell cigarettes - so let them choose the way they draw business.
With so much legislation already existing that bans smoking from the workplace and public buildings and spaces, bars are becoming the last bastion for people wanting to carry on a habit they are entitled to have.
This isn't to say smoking is a wonderful thing. According to state health records, about 14,700 adults die each year from their own smoking. Secondhand smoke claims another 1,570 to 2,790 each year.
What should be advocated are more properly ventilated smoking areas or smoking areas that are outside. The bottom line here is that people should have the right to choose. Bar and restaurant patrons should be able to choose if they want to visit an establishment that allows smoking. Proprietors should have the ability to choose what type of environment they want to provide.
As more work is done to create an atmosphere that turns people away from smoking cigarettes, people might gradually stop becoming smokers, and business owners might increasingly ban smoking in their establishments.
If that happens, though, it will be because of choice.
