A non smokers point of view....

On May 1st the state of Michigan is putting a new anti-smoking law into effect. The law states that smoking is banned in all public places including restaurants, bars, offices, retail businesses, basically all public places except casinos, (but only in some casinos, which seems kind of shady to us.) Actually the only real difference between current smoking laws and the new one is there is no smoking in bars. We have been hearing a lot of people complaining about not being allowed to smoke on public streets. THAT IS NOT TRUE. Smoking will not be allowed in Al fresco areas of restaurants, or in Bars. But smokers can still walk down a public street and smoke. Do we agree with the new smoking ban, not entirely, but it should be pointed out that many years ago most states made it illegal to drink alcohol on public streets, and there is no such thing as a second hand drunk. We at the crazy think that a private business owner should be allowed to do with their properties as they see fit. And believe that someone with the money and the courage to do so could effectively fight this law in court. Also we would like to point out that the fine for smoking is less than $100 dollars the first time someone is caught doing it. All that being said, it's going to be nice to walk into a bar (on the rare occasion that we do) and not be exposed to second hand smoke. We at the crazy believe that if someone wants to smoke there should be places around that they are allowed to do so. (Private clubs such as Augusta National have gotten around the law (concerning not allowing women to join) by proclaiming they are a private organization. If a bar owner closed his bar to the public and then allowed people to join what is then a private club (with a nominal fee of say 5 dollars a month.) and then gave out membership cards to it's patrons they may be able to circumvent the law. (The state however would try to pull their liquor license) If there are any lawyers reading this could you email me and let me know if this would be an effective way around the law. Just a thought, we'll be seeing you smokers on the streets. You non-smokers, we'll meet you at the bar. (Just kidding folks) Oh the main point of this article is that not allowing smoking in public buildings may not be particularly fair, but it really isn't taking away the freedom to smoke, just the freedom of where to smoke.
And just as we are not allowed to drink a beer on a public street, you are not allowed to smoke in a public building. And we are offended by this, drinkers of the world unite, let's change the archaic and meaningless law about public intoxication. (Again, just kidding folks.) What is the long term effect of not allowing smoking in bars going to be, only time will tell. Although in other states where these laws have been passed bar patronage temporarily dropped off and then picked back up again, with some owners reporting increased customer bases. And some bars closed their doors. Good luck to all you bar and restaurant owners. Ciao for now.