• EDITORIAL: Civil lows in Friendship Heights 

Using the coercive power of the state may be a legitimate governmental exercise to protect public health, but the Friendship Heights statute is nothing of the kind. If you're worried about air pollution, you should ban the automobile. No, the village's ban is social engineering, pure and simple.

Mayor Muller wants to achieve his smoke-free nirvana by stigmatizing -- even criminalizing -- public smoking. He's said in the past that he fears children will think smoking is acceptable if they see regular citizens smoking in public. At this rate Muller and company will probably turn next to driving tubby Friendship Heights burghers underground. A bad example for the kids, you understand.

Of course, there's always shunning or stoning if the unhealthy and the unenlightened don't yield to the health cops.

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