Posted on 06/04/2003 3:00:53 AM PDT by kattracks
PORTSMOUTH BREWERY owner Peter Egelston has decided to ban smoking in the pub. The decision came in response to numerous customer complaints about smoke, and it serves as another reminder that government bans on smoking in private businesses are an excessive intrusion.In a free market where competition exists, customers will support businesses that reflect their own tastes and preferences. The same goes for employees. Because no one is forced to eat, drink or work at restaurants, bars or nightclubs that allow smoking, prohibiting smoking in those places is an overly broad response to a problem best solved by the voluntary interactions of free people dealing with each other in a free market.
In Manchester, residents and visitors are able to choose from a wide range of dining and entertainment options. If they prefer to smoke, they can go to places like the Black Brimmer or Strange Brew Tavern. If they prefer a smoke-free environment, they can go to the Puritan Backroom, Baldwin’s, Piccola Italia and other places.
Letting individuals make those choices themselves is morally superior to forcing them all to make the same choice. Egelston’s patrons didn’t do as so many people these days are doing. They didn’t go and ask the city to ban smoking at Portsmouth Brewery. They went to the owner and asked him to accommodate their wishes voluntarily. And he did. The result is that anyone in Portsmouth who wants a smoke-free pub experience has a place to go, while those who still enjoy their pubs smoke-filled have options as well.
Both New York City and Boston have banned smoking in restaurants, bars and nightclubs recently. The next stop on the anti-smoking express would be Manchester if that north-bound train is allowed to stop here. Let’s leave it to pass on by and go straight to Canada. We’d be better off not falling victim to the urge to cleanse our lives of all risks and pleasures by eliminating freedoms.
I've been saying this for years.
But that's not the way of the antis. They want it ALL their way and ONLY their way.
Oh please, we in Canada have our own bunch of fanatics to deal with.
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