Scranton's Smokin', but not for long!

Scranton Smoking Ban
December 1, 2006
A smoking ban is one step closer to becoming a reality in Scranton.
At Thursday night's council meeting an anti-smoking ordinance moved forward. The proposed law would ban smoking in most city bars, restaurants and enclosed public places.
A final vote is scheduled for next week.

Scranton, Pennsylvania, my hometown, is the place where I was born, raised, and educated. That is until I moved away for grad school all the way down to Bethlehem...a whole hour and fifteen minutes south of good 'ole Scranton. So, yes, the City Council of Scranton is trying to ban smoking in restaurants and bars as suggested to them by a bunch of high school students. The details can be read here.

Now, I don't know where everyone stands on banning smoking in private businesses and I would surely like to know, so comment, but I myself was first against it and then I was for it. I'm what the Republicans call a flip flopper...John Kerry Jr. perhaps. Unlike Mr. Kerry though, let me explain where I stand and why.

I felt that a business should be able to allow smoking or to not allow smoking. If people gave a crap about second hand smoke, they would go to restaurants that did not allow smoking at all. People could make the choice for themselves and if enough people cared, these businesses would do better than the others. The other businesses would catch on and become smoke free. So, I figure the only reason that there aren't many smoke free restaurants is because the people don't care about smoke free environments, so why should businesses? I guess that's a pretty Republican view for me to have, but I had it, I cannot tell a lie...very non-party of me.

Then someone pointed out to me that the employees who work there are subjected to this second-hand smoke throughout their entire shift. I had neglected and forgot about the employees, another Republican view. :-) The argument can of course be made that they don't have to work there, but it's not quite the same at choosing to eat at a different establishment that is smoke-free. Jobs aren't quite as easy to find when you need them. So, with the employees in mind, I have flip flopped and now support banning smoking in restaurants and bars. The most amusing comment in the linked article has to be this one:

Smoker Joseph Dembowski of Scranton is against such a plan. "It would be a pain in the neck for us. Why should we suffer for people who don't smoke? It's not fair," he said.

I wonder if he realized what he said. A pain in the neck of all things. hehehe You can't come up with stuff that witty on your own.