In a unanimous ruling the N.C. Court of Appeals upheld a smoking ban at four Greenville nightclubs. The decision overturned an earlier ruling by District Court Judge Galen Braddy that ruled it was unconstitutional to allow smoking at non-profit establishments while banning it at the for-profits. Chapel Hill attorney Adam Stein, who represented the Pitt County Health Department pro-bono, said, “smoking in bars and restaurants is illegal and continues to be illegal. And I think that’s good for the health of the people of North Carolina.”
He’s right. Nobody in their right mind could question the toxicity of cigarette smoke, including second-hand smoke. As a non-smoker I always detested the stench of smoke while eating in a restaurant. Despite my repulsion I cannot bring myself to support the smoking ban. Am I the only person who has grave concerns about the ever increasing power of the government?
As repulsive as I find second-hand cigarette smoke I am more repulsed by the degree of power the state has over private businesses.
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Comments
you REALLY contradict yourself
No, don't do away with all laws & regulations. However restaurant owners should be the ones to decide whether or not to allow smoking in THEIR business! If they're smart they will ban smoking because there are alot more of us non-smokers than there are smokers. It makes good business sense to go smoke-free. Regardless it should be the owners decision. Yes, there are many positives stemming from the state-imposed smoking ban. I can't help but worry though. We've only seen the beginning.....
you contradict yourself?
Any reasonable person would draw a distinction between smoke from a cigarette in a privately owned business & toxic fumes being discharged from a smokestack. Foe starters I do not have to go into the " enclosed area " (ie the restaurant), I will take my business elsewhere. Smoke coming out of a smokestack is instantly in the environment. Same is true with toxins discharged into the river.That affects all of us. Whether or not I go into a business that allows smoking is a decision that I can make.
Thats fine..........
However, by allowing smoking in restaurants, where are those to eat that don't wanna be harmed by it and have to deal with it have to go?
There are far more positives out of this law than there are negatives.
A nonsmoker
Promote the general welfare and SECURE the blessings of liberty. Every law and regulation takes away a liberty.
By George!
Let's do away with all the laws and regulations then!!!
LIBERTY!!
You really contradict yourself............
"Certainly there should be bans on the discharge of toxic chemicals into the air and the waterways. That’s common sense. But whether or not to allow smoking in a restaurant is a decision that should be made by the owner."
What do you think 2nd hand smoke and the fumes from a smoldering cigarette are? That IS the release of toxic chemicals into the air. Just so happens that the 'air' in this case is an enclosed area.
Personally, I'm glad the smoking ban is being upheld.
Preamble to the Constitution
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
This seems to fall under the "promote the general Welfare" clause of the preamble......Everyone is so super sensitive to government regulation. Sometimes it is needed and this is one of the items that should be regulated.
Also,
alcohol needs to be regulated. But I don't hear people talk about that. How many people's lives have been changed because someone went to a bar and had too much to drink, drove home, and killed someone? We have laws against that, but that does not stop it from happening. It should be against the law to consume alcohol anywhere other than the confines of your home. And a drunk disgusts me much more than smelling smoke. You also are one of those people who want to pick and choose what you want the government to regulate. You have the right to stay away from any place that people smoke.
Just one more down the slope
I agree also. I am, nor ever have been a smoker, chewer, dipper.
I did work in it one summer. A pretty girl, later my wife, was a "stringer". We worked on her uncle's farm. One of my jobs was a "hanger". I took the strung tobacco leaves on the stick climbed to the top of the barn on poles and hung them between the poles in the tobacco barn, then tended the fire. Then, days later, I carefully climbed back up the poles and took the dried tobacco down, loaded it on the truck where it was driven to the warehouse for auction. It was a good year for tobacco prices that year as I recall. But, it was a very dirty job. The girl's aunt took all us boys, black and white, made an outdoor shower where we hosed each other down after work while the girls made supper. I had two sets of overalls and underwear, one clean, one dirty. I recall we never wore shirts, or shoes. Then, cleaned up, we all sat down together for a meal on an outdoor long table. We both made enough to buy school clothes. It all mechanized now, no more mules and sleds, no more singing songs as we worked. I learned a lot that summer, found my lifelong wonderful beautiful wife, made some other lifelong friends, some who could not eat in the same restaurant or go to the same picture show with me during those times. I guess, looking back, that summer made me stay away from tobacco products.
If anyone saw how we made sausage in those days, there probably would be less sausage eaters too.
100%
I too areee.
The government is really
The government is really overstepping here. It's time to put a stop to it.
amen
agree 100%
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