Smoking ban

Being someone who never took up the habit of smoking, I never really cared much about it. People who decide to smoke know the inherent risks that are involved. So it is their choice, much like drinking. You may enjoy it, but in the end, it really is bad for you. Smoking kills your lungs and throat, drinking kills your liver and kidneys.

The smoke bugged me a little bit at the bars, but it never really deterred me from going out. It was one of those things that just came with the territory. Growing up in a smaller town, the bars harbor the smell of smokers of years and decades past. Small bars, local bars, are like that. The smell is in the carpet, the walls, the ceiling, the bar itself. If you drink there, you expect it.

A couple of years ago, Wichita put up an optional ban. Bars were given an option to put a ban or partial ban on smoking. Smoking rooms were established, or if the bar was small enough smokers were relegated to going outside. The other option was for the bar to say 'smoking is okay with us' and not even deal with this restriction. After this ban went into place, bars became more enjoyable. Smoke free meant waking up in the morning and not feeling like you chewed on a tobacco plant all night. But the option was still there for the smokers to stay in the building.

Now? Not so much. Kansas passed a full on smoking ban regardless of the establishment. The majority of the people rejoiced, and rightfully so. I guess you never realize how much something annoys you until it's gone. My first experience with a smoke free bar was in Dallas several years ago. I woke up the next day amazed that my clothes didn't smell like bar. After that, I was a proponent for smoke free places, but I wasn't going to stand up and shout that every place needed to be. It was their option to allow smokers, make them go to smoking rooms, or cut it out of their business all together. Personally, I think if a bar has a smoking room with doors and decent enough of a ventilation system, let them be. One bar that I frequent often has such a system, and it has worked wonderfully. There is no reason to mess with it.

There are a few businesses here in Wichita that are calling foul on this smoking ban. They are businesses that deal directly with smoking. A cigar bar, a smoke shop that allows patrons to light up, and a hookah bar just to name a few. They don't hide what they are, people know, it is plastered on the outside of the building. The owners and their lawyers are jumping up and down and screaming and at some points, calling this a censorship issue (for some reason) which violates their rights as Americans to do what they want. It's understandable why they are upset, this is their lively hood. This is their job. How else are they going to make a living if they own a cigar bar in a state with a public smoking ban?

Kansas should not have gone to a one hundred percent smoking ban, they should have gone with what was working. A partial smoking ban kept everyone happy. I know that a state wide smoking ban is a start to a healthier state because people will eventually stop smoking so they can go out and be with friends, but wasn't the tax hike on tobacco suppose to do the same thing?