Smoking bans Archives - Page 4 of 4 Voice For Liberty

Jul

Wichita Smoking Ban: Authoritarian, Elitist?

Here's some good commentary I received from a citizen. Wichita's smoking "ban" will take effect before too long. Smoke 'em while you can, I guess. Wichita's Smoking Ban and the latest authoritarian arrogance emitted by elitist professor University of Kansas School of Medicine professor Dr. Rick Kellerman is on the front page of the May 30 Wichita Eagle. Kellerman is upset that a complete ban on smoking is not expected to be adopted by the city council at their June 3 meeting. Who appointed Dr. Kellerman to be Wichita's doctor? The doctor's elitist and authoritarian statement in today's Wichita Eagle indicates that he…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

The smoking ban in Wichita

Some commentary regarding Wichita's half-passed smoking ban that I received. University of Kansas School of Medicine professor Dr. Rick Kellerman is on the front page of the May 30 Wichita Eagle. Kellerman is upset that a complete ban on smoking is not expected to be adopted by the city council at their June 3 meeting. Who appointed Dr. Kellerman to be Wichita's doctor? The doctor's elitist and authoritarian statement in today's Wichita Eagle indicates that he is either trying to become the 21st century version of the Prohibition era's Carrie Nation or the 20th century's version of the infamous Nurse…

May

By Bob Weeks

Haze surrounds Wichita smoking ban

Remarks delivered to Wichita City Council, May 6, 2008. Listen here. Smoking ban supporters claim that they have the right to go to bowling alleys, bars, and other such places without having to breath secondhand smoke. That's false. No one has the right to be on someone else's property on their own terms. The property owner controls those terms. If the bar owner lets the band play too loud (or maybe not loud enough), or the restaurant is too dimly lit, or the floor of the steakhouse covered with discarded peanut shells, do we want to regulate these things too?…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

It’s not the same as pee in the swimming pool

In a column in the February 27, 2008 Wichita Eagle ("Smoking ban issue not one to negotiate"), columnist Mark McCormick quotes Charlie Claycomb, co-chair of Tobacco Free Wichita, as equating a smoking section in a restaurant with "a urinating section in a swimming pool." This is a ridiculous comparison. A person can't tell upon entering a swimming pool if someone has urinated in it. But people can easily tell upon entering a restaurant or bar if people are smoking. Besides this, Mr. McCormick's article seeks to explain how markets aren't able to solve the smoking problem, and that there is…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Property rights should control Kansas smoking decisions

A system of absolute respect for private property rights is the best way to handle smoking. The owners of bars and restaurants have, and should continue to have, the absolute right to permit or deny smoking on their property. Not everyone agrees with this simple truth. Some ask why is there no right to clean air when there is the right to smoke. The answer is that both breathing clean air and smoking are rights that people may enjoy, as they wish, on their own property. When on the property of others, you may enjoy the rights that the property…

Feb

By Bob Weeks

Testimony opposing Kansas smoking ban

Submitted by John Todd. February 13, 2008 Senate Judiciary Committee Kansas Legislature State Capitol Topeka, Kansas 66612 Subject: My testimony presented in OPPOSITION to Senate Bill No. 493 concerning crimes and punishments relating to smoking. Mr. Chairman and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak to you in Opposition to passage of Senate Bill No. 493 concerning crimes and punishments relating to smoking, aka the Kansas smoking prohibition act. My name is John Todd. I am a self-employed real estate broker and land developer from Wichita. I currently serve on the Governmental…

Nov

By Bob Weeks

Let property rights rule Wichita smoking decisions

A system of absolute respect for private property rights is the best way to handle smoking, as it is with all issues. The owners of bars and restaurants have, and should continue to have, the absolute right to permit or deny smoking on their property. Not everyone agrees with this simple truth. Charlie Claycomb, co-chair of the Tobacco Free Wichita coalition, asks in The Wichita Eagle why clean air is not a right when smoking is a right. The answer is that both clean air and smoking are rights that people may enjoy, as they wish, on their own property.…

Jun

By Bob Weeks

No more smoking laws, please

There is no doubt in my mind that smoking cigarettes and breathing secondhand smoke are harmful to health. If a young person asked my advice as to whether to smoke cigarettes, I would strongly urge them to avoid smoking. But it doesn't follow that we should have laws against smoking, or laws that govern how businesses such as bars and restaurants must accommodate smokers and non-smokers. Smoking is (and should continue to be) a legal activity. It seems unlikely to me that there are adults who are not familiar with the data about the risks of smoking, and they are…

Jan

By Bob Weeks

Let free markets, not laws, regulate smoking

Today, in the town of Hutchinson, Kansas, an indoor smoking ban takes effect. I hope Wichita does not pass the same law. I believe the evidence that shows smoking is tremendously harmful to the health of the smoker, and also dangerous to those around the smoker. Personally, I don't care to be around smokers and I take measures to avoid places where I will be exposed to cigarette smoke. So shouldn't I favor a smoking ban in Wichita? We should let free markets instead of the government decide whether there will be smoking in places like restaurants and bars. In…