How many are we willing to kill with secondhand smoke?
Jump to full article: Salina (KS) Journal, 2009-06-18
Author: Reporter Duane Schrag
Intro: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that secondhand smoke kills as many people in the United States as traffic crashes. So when a city commissioner (or anyone else) stands up in public and says he or she opposes the ban because it cramps bars' style, what's really being said is that the number of people being killed by secondhand smoke isn't too high a price to pay for the freedom to run a business or smoke in a bar.
Except that's not what they actually say. I wonder why.
How do they make this calculation in favor of personal rights? Do they think the CDC is, to abuse a phrase, blowing smoke? If so, you'd think they would have the courage to say so; elaborating on what is flawed about the studies CDC relies upon would give them credibility. To leave this part out, to simply say this is about personal freedoms, is dishonest.
After all, the ban isn't about convenience. It isn't about indulging delicate types who want everything their way. This is about the fact that when people smoke in a crowded room, everyone's health is compromised.
All sorts of people, including commissioners, have spoken out against the ban. If they were stand-up citizens, they'd explain just how they decided the health consequences are outweighed by the loss of freedom.
But don't hold your breath waiting.
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