Philosophy 101

I took the liberty of a small break after a crazy semester and the time to prepare for the coming, also crazy, one. Hence, my posting was a bit sparse these past few weeks. But all should return to normal rather soon. In the meantime, I shall briefly vent my outrage at Illinois’ smoking ban that went into effect January 1. The act is conveniently referred to as “an act concerning public health” and bans smoking from bars, restaurants and other public places. Of course, the ban is predicated upon the much touted ills of second-hand smoke. The Act itself states that

Secondhand tobacco smoke causes at least 65,000 deaths each year from heart disease and lung cancer according to the National Cancer Institute.

But the question is under what circumstances is that really true? Most studies investigating the effects of second-hand smoke looked at people who are exposed to it on a daily and prolonged basis, such as people who live with smokers, and did not always find that it did harm them. In fact, one long-term study published in the British Medical Journal found that its results

do not support a causal relation between environmental tobacco smoke and tobacco related mortality, although they do not rule out a small effect. The association between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and coronary heart disease and lung cancer may be considerably weaker than generally believed.

Never mind that many restaurants had already become smoke-free without any force of law but simply because their customer base appreciated it enough. Small bars and restaurants relying on smoking clientèle will most likely be hit hardest by the economic effects of this ban. But most importantly, what ever happened to personal responsibility? If you don’t want to be in a smoky environment, don’t frequent such an establishment. And, those working in places where many people smoke also have a choice. They don’t have to work there if they think it will harm their health. The fact is, the mechanisms of the market were working in the direction of making many places smoke-free and would have left enough places offering the opportunity to smoke for those people who choose to go or work there. The aftertaste of this law in my mouth is worse than cigarettes.