Jump to full article: Michigan Live, 2008-09-25
Author: Chris McCalla
Intro: The Senate wants a total ban, while the House is prepared to accept some key exemptions like cigar bars, smoke shops and other logical places. If the House can't get its version through, it will fall back on the Senate version, and we will have a total smoking ban by the end of this current session.
There are some 85 members of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association in Michigan who may well be put out of business with such a total ban.
They are, for the most part, mom-and-pop businesses that sell premium cigars to their adult friends and neighbors. They are pillars of the communities they serve, they provide thousands of jobs and pay millions of dollars annually in payroll, sales and excise taxes.
Unfortunately, Michigan legislators and the general public are being deceived by the well-funded anti-smoking organizations into believing what they hear about second-hand smoke.
They need to read the 2006 Surgeon General's report, which clearly concludes that second-hand smoke should not be considered a legitimate health or environmental hazard. The report states no less than 108 times on its 707 pages that the evidence is inconclusive regarding the health aspects of second-hand smoke.
Even the Occupational Safety and Health Administration doesn't regard second-hand smoke an environment hazard.
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