Smoking
House Bill 24 got a hearing in the House Health Committee today. The bill would ban smoking in state government buildings and allow local governments to ban smoking in their buildings now (starting in 2008).
Right now, local governments are governed by a kind of crazy patchwork of smoking rules that require that many local government facilities set aside about 20 percent of their space for smoking. More than a few local governments ignore this little proviso and ban smoking outright.
H24 passed on a voice vote and is headed to the floor.
It is pretty much the warm up legislation. Hugh Holliman’sHouse Bill 259 is the big dog. It would ban smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
I asked Holliman why the House was running both, since all the things covered in H24 would be covered in his. Basically, the government building smoking ban can definitely get done. They expect the workplace ban to be more of a battle when it comes along.
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The Grassroots Membership of Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina strongly believes that private businesses have the right to make their own decisions on how to run their operations.
AFP-NC has no problem with government owned building being smoke free. BUT some govt. offices are in rented building and the property owners should make that choice.
What will happen to a DMV office that is in a shopping mall, does the entire mall now have to go smoke free? What about a mixed use development, that has offices and homes?
In this vein, Americans for Prosperity is opposed to the proposed smoking ban (H.B. 259) in North Carolina for private properties that provide access to the public as a part of their doing business.
“Currently, any restaurant owner in North Carolina is free to operate a smoke-free establishment and many have elected to do so, based on feedback from their patrons and employees,” said AFP-NC Communications Director Dallas Woodhouse. “And this is how it should be.”
It is at the very least debatable whether occasional, voluntary exposure to second-hand smoke amounts to any significant health risk. Perhaps, even if second-hand smoke does cause a risk, it is just one of many risks that people in a free society choose to navigate on a daily basis. In our society people are free to choose to engage in highly risky behavior such as sky diving, rock climbing, swimming in the ocean or skiing down a mountain, all of which can expose one to significant, imminent health risks. No one in North Carolina is forced to eat at a restaurant, drink at a bar or work in an office that allows smoking. When significant numbers of people decline to patronize an establishment because of smoking, the business owner is likely to alter the policy to cater to the customer’s wishes. This is how it should be.
It is the view of Americans for Prosperity that as much as possible the rights of private property owners should be sacrosanct. Anytime the government tells a private property owner how they may or may not use their land, the value of that property is diminished, whether it is a business or private home.
Individuals who believe that a smoking ban will increase the health of our society should have faith in the free-market to accomplish the same goal in time and likely with a longer lasting effect. When the government mandates a smoking ban, it only serves to stigmatize adults who engage in a legal activity and does nothing to decrease the percentage of the population who smoke.
Whereas, when consumers in the free market make the decision to patronize only non-smoking establishments, the greater societal effect is a natural change in the public conscience that will lead, in time, to a decrease in the number of individuals that smoke.
Those who want to force a ban on smoking in business establishments do not consider it to be the end of the discussion. They see it as just the first step in a long campaign. They have been successful in some states where adults are told they cannot smoke in their cars or in their own homes. If they are successful no North Carolina eateries, bars and private work places will be able to allow smoking. However, the decision to bar smoking will have been made by a few legislators and not the customers or owners of the business. A better solution is to have faith in the private market and let it sort this issue out. It has always worked in the past and will do so in the future, if it is allowed to do so by the government. .
The American freedoms associated with property ownership are under attack. Personal freedoms are being stripped away from Americans on a daily basis. The grassroots membership of Americans for Prosperity understands that in America people have a right to make choices, including choices that others might not agree with.
Dallas Woodhouse
Grassroots Director of Americas For Prosperity
Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina (AFP-NC) is the North Carolina Chapter of the nation's premier grassroots organization committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits.
For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org
Posted on March 1, 2007 3:14 PM