Ed Felien is right: the tobacco companies have scammed
businesses into needlessly fearing public smoking
bans. Even though mounds of evidence and examples
prove consistently that:
1. Seconhand smoke kills tens of thousands of
nonsmokers each year in the U.S. and
2. Public smoke-free air laws do not hurt business,
(they in fact can increase bar/restaurant sales) and
3. Ventilation systems do not adequately protect
people from secondhand smoke;
the tobacco companies have lied and tried to do
anything possible to convince business owners and the
broader public otherwise. For a fantastic web site on
this, check out www.tobaccoscam.com and read all about
it. Right here in Minnesota, the tobacco companies
work hand in hand with the state restaurant
association to fight smoking bans. Check this out at
www.smokefreecoalition.org/truth and see for yourself.
The only business hurt from smoke-free laws is the
tobacco business. The city-wide poll conducted by
Clean Air Minneapolis found that 30% of Minneapolis
voters said that they would go to bars and restaurants
more often if the smoking ban were instated and only
8% said they would go less. Most said it would not
greatly change how often they go out. (BTW, for you
skeptics, the poll was conducted by a respected
national polling firm that is also used by the Kerry
for President campaign and had a 95% reliability.)
Check out www.cleanairminneapolis.org for more.
I can't wait to breathe smoke-free air at First Ave,
Fine Line, Uptown Dinner, or other places to see great
local bands. It's time we join Ireland, New York,
Lexington (KY), and hundreds of other cities and get
this toxic pollution out of our public places and work
sites. My right to breathe smoke-free air trumps any
so-called right to smoke. I want the freedom to go to
any bar or club and not risk lung cancer or smell like
crap afterward. I want people with lung disease or
heart disease to have the same rights and freedoms.
The right to breathe and the right to smoke are
mutually exclusive and we need to choose. I vote for
breathing.
Jer Hanson
East Isles
=====
Jer Hanson
phone: 612.306.5274
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"if you asked me what i came into this world to do,
i will tell you: i came to live OUT LOUD." --E. Zola
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