A smoker's expulsion

By now, we all know the harmful effects that smoking can have on the body. Lung cancer, heart disease and emphysema are usually in the array of warnings found in the Surgeon General's note on the side of every pack of a tobacco product. The television ads funded by different anti-smoking campaigns, like Truth, have also been implemented to raise awareness to the big bad tobacco companies finding ways to sell their product more efficiently. For many people, these warnings and ads have probably helped stop addicted smokers and have prevented future smokers. However, others still disregard the warnings and want to enjoy a smoke in public while the opportunities are available.

Just recently, the state House voted 62 to 56 in favor of banning smoking from restaurants and bars in North Carolina. The vote comes from growing concern of the effects of secondhand smoke on employees and patrons of establishments where smoking is allowed. This ban will include fines of $50 to people who continue to smoke in restaurants and fines of $200 to the owners who do not enforce the new law. By the end of the year, North Carolina will be one in 31 other states to have similar legislation.

While I do agree that secondhand smoke is hazardous to employees and patrons, I believe that if cigarettes are a legalized drug, then they should be allowed to be used in public. In response to New York City's strict smoking ban, comedian Denis Leary asked, "What's the law now? You can only smoke in your apartment under a blanket with all the lights out?"

There should be alternatives that create a happy medium for smokers and nonsmokers. Bartenders have complained that the smoke at the bar has been harmful to them. Better ventilation and seating arrangements would seem like a reasonable solution even if smokers would have to sit behind a closed door. A second solution would be to have smoker friendly times of the day, preferably during slow periods when there are fewer patrons. No job is 100 percent free of health risks. If one chooses to work in a restaurant that allows smoking, then that is what he or she must put up with. The same goes for people who work in factories where there is possible exposure to harmful chemicals and unsafe working environments.

When I first read about the ban, the first restaurant that I thought about what Jerichos on 3rd and Cotanche Streets. Besides their outstanding food, the other reason I frequent Jerichos is that they sell hookah. With this being a major sale in the restaurant, would it seem lawful to destroy a decent business due to their use of the hookah inside the building?

Choosing to smoke or to abstain is a personal choice that we all make. However, some choices have better rewards than others. Yes, smoking does kill, but it is not an instant death. Occasional exposure to cigarette smoke is as dangerous as occasional exposure to the sun. Both cannot be totally avoided. Banning smoking from public places tiptoes on a double standard. If tobacco was not the cash cow that it is, then cigarettes would probably be outlawed like any other drug. If this trend of legislation keeps up, then the consumption of tobacco will mirror the secrecy of the recreational drug user.

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.