Smoking, etc.

First, off I think smoking is a discussing and bad habit. I prefer to be as far away from the smell of smoke as possible. So, now onto the real part of this post...

I have been thinking about the bans on smoking at different places. I am not sure I always agree with them. Public places - yes. But private establishments? I am not so sure. Our town does not allow smoking in restaurants. My dad has commented on these rules before. He thinks it should be the owner's choice. I am starting to agree with him. If the owner chooses to have a smoking establishment, I think he should be allowed to. But, he must make it clear to everyone that it is a smoking establishment. If people want to go there to eat or to work, then fine. I won't, but I do know people who would. What about the workers? First off, no one is making anyone work anywhere. But, if it is the only job available... Maybe the owner could be required to pay the workers extra in the form a savings/insurance plan just for the risks of second hand smoke. Also, for some reason unknown to me, many restaurant workers smoke! I regularly see workers outside (in the back) of a restaurant smoking. I wonder if these people would like to work at a place that allows smoking by the patrons?

I work for a community college. There are rules about how far away from the building you have to be in order to smoke, but they aren't heavily enforced. Why not? Well, it is supposedly the employees as a whole who are to enforce it. I know I am not willing to stand there and talk to someone while they smoke that they shouldn't be smoking there. I just want to hold my brethe, walk by, and get away from the smoke ASAP. Personally, I wish the campuses were a smoke-free zone. At the least, I wish smoking was only allowed in a few smoking zones on campus. It would be a lot clearer to everyone where they would have to go to smoke, etc. I also think all hospitals should be smoke-free at least for the employees. If a patient is a smoker, then maybe there should be a special place for them to smoke if they are on a weaning program (there are people who can't quit cold-turkey...).

What do you think?