[Gabz]

Why shouldn't the majority of people in your town be able to decide if smoking will be allowed in public places?

I've got no problem with this......as long as you recognize that bars and restaurants and pool halls and bingo halls and bowling alleys are PRIVATE PROPERTY, not public places.

Public places are those paid for by the public, ie. courthouses, state buildings, municipal buildings, etc.

[TKDietz]

"Public places are those paid for by the public, ie. courthouses, state buildings, municipal buildings, etc."

That is not the accepted definition of "public places." Just for giggles I did a quick computer search for definitions for "public place" in my state's code books and found the following two definitions for "public place":

"'Public place' means a publicly or privately owned place to which the public or substantial numbers of people have access;"

"'Public place' means any area that is used or held out for use by the public whether owned or operated by public or private interests."

I suspect that these are similar to definitions used in other localities.

[cinFLA]

I've got no problem with this......

Then you have no problem restricting smoking on public roads and sidewalks?