[SheLion]

In January, our pure do no wrong legislation, Guv Baldacci and the PARTNERSHIP FOR A TOBACCO FREE MAINE have further put their filty claws into the "private" bar and tavern business's in Maine. They just won't quit!

What with the economy in Maine and business's struggling, all our lawmakers can think about is keeping the adult smoker out-of-site.

The wait person knows beforehand that if they take a job in a bar/tavern, there is going to be smoking. This goes without saying. I just received the following letter (in response to my letter to Gov. Baldacci), from Health and Human Services on this issue:

“This letter is in response to your correspondence to Gov Baldacci regarding the legislation banning smoking in bars. Because the earlier legislation banning smoking in restaurants didn’t include bars, we did have an UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD. With this legislation bars have the same restriction.

This law is about PROTECTING WORKERS and the PUBLIC FROM THE HEALTH HAZARDS OF SECONDHAND SMOKE. The law only bans smoking in public places as defined by law. While YOU MAY FIND THIS NEW LAW UNACCEPTABLE, (JUST ME??? I DON'T "THINK" SO), the VAST MAJORITY of citizens in Maine, including MANY SMOKERS, are in FAVOR of such legislation.

Smokers have not lost their right to smoke. (HEH) Adults who smoke have a RIGHT to smoke where their SMOKE doesn’t harm the non-smokers.

Sincerely,
Mary Bourque, Public Health Educator
PARTNERSHIP FOR A TOBACCO-FREE MAINE”

Level playing field my arse! Is Health and Human Services going to reimburse the Par and Grill for the separate glassed in non-smoking section? Will Health and Human Services reimburse the Par and Grill for the huge smoke eaters that they invested in? Oh no! They could care less.

Can you see ANY of us going outside in January, February or March to grab a cigarette in the harsh bitter cold winters that WE GET?

Nothing is good enough for these people. They take the taxes from the adults who choose to smoke and use that money to stick it to us.

I still can’t believe they think they can go into a private business and tell them how to run it. They just won’t leave well enough alone. A lot of us smoke in Aroostook, and until the Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine put ideas into the non-smokers heads, everyone was happy.

Like I said: if smoking is so bad for us why doesn’t our Maine government just ban it! Pull it off the shelves. Oh! But wait! Then they wouldn’t be lining their pockets with OUR MONEY!

Anyone can voice their displeasure at the following email address's:

Consumer Health - Maine

Partnership For A Tobacco Free Maine

[Just another Joe]

She, why is "PARTNERSHIP FOR A TOBACCO-FREE MAINE” answering your letter to the governor as if they were "Health and Human Services"?
I think I might be asking that question to the "Health and Human Services" folks.