Smokng In Bars

Smoking in Bars

Within the last several years, health issues toward smoking have become a very popular issue. All over the nation, college students are having to deal with secondhand smoke any time they want to go out and socialize with their friends in a bar. Secondhand smoke can be very detrimental to anybody that it encounters. It is associated with an increased risk for lung cancer and coronary heart disease in nonsmoking adults (TIPS). For years communities have been working to get smoking out of their workplaces, restaurants, and now they are pushing to ban smoking from bars. If you are a non-smoker, this is a very positive movement. It is never very much fun when you go into a bar to hang out with some friends and the whole place is covered with smoke. The whole next day, on top of maybe having a slight hangover, you will probably be coughing up a lung. Where is the fun in that?

This law has already been passed in many places all over the United States. Only a select few are against what is trying to be done. When these laws were being debated at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, some bar and restaurant owners showed up to voice their opinions. They called it extremist, draconian and overly broad, saying it would cause the loss of jobs and the loss of city liquor taxes. They also said the law would set an uneven playing field because it allows smoking at restaurants with outdoor patios (Cooper). Of course, you might upset a few customers, but are people going to quit coming? Troja, a manager at Johnny's Tavern in Lawrence, does not foresee the ordinance chasing customers away. "When it comes down to it," he said, "they're not going to stop going to their favorite tavern just because they can't smoke there" (Cooper, par.7).

An estimated 1,700 cities across the country restrict smoking, but only 74 have smoking bans that, like in Lawrence, include the workplace as well as restaurants and bars. (Cooper) This is great. Why can't more people follow suit? An estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 heart disease deaths occur annually among adult nonsmokers in the United States as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke (TIPS). College students do not realize that they are putting themselves at risk every time they step foot into these bars. What kind of numbers is it going to take for students to understand that these smokers are not just killing them self, but they are also killing the people that they are surrounded by?

After New York passed laws that banned smoking in bars they had one bar owner that would not comply with these new laws. Patty Glanville claims that, "She should have the choice since she is the sole proprietor in this matter" (Stith B1). What is she doing wrong? She is the owner and the only worker in this bar. In the writing of the law this lady is right. In this case the law was designed to protect employees, but the intent is also to minimize the effects of secondhand smoke on the public in public places. At what point do you draw a line between the laws and the owners' choice. You would think if these laws are being designed to benefit the welfare of their employees, than more bar owners would be more accepting to these laws.

One thing you could prove wrong with these laws is that, if you pursue this type of ban, it could hurt