The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Argument up in smoke

With due respect to Ms. Kusper and Mr. Hoff, I must disagree with their Feb. 14 Viewpoint asking the Milwaukee Common Council to pass a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. To the contrary, I hope that the Common Council will respect the rights of businesses and individuals to make their own decisions, perhaps finding a middle ground in incentives or grants to create smoke-free environments.

I have worked in bars and restaurants for years, and after graduation I moved to Minneapolis where I continue to work in a bar. I know the realities of bar owners and managers and the effect that a ban would have on these businesses. And it is not negligible.

Let us be clear: business owners already have the option of creating smoke-free atmospheres. Just as fast food chains have the option of serving fat-free food. Few have chosen this option, because it is not the will of the market.

This ban will indeed hurt businesses. Here in Minneapolis, some 40 bars have closed since the county-wide ban was enacted. How much easier would that be to do for a ban passed in the city of Milwaukee? The bar I worked at while going to school at Marquette was the life's work of a man who invested everything he owns into it. And if this ban were to pass, he would likely have to close his bar. Unlike the other bars in his area, he is one of the only that does not have an outdoor patio where people could smoke. Knowing the bottom-line that this small-business owner faces, I know taking away his choice to regulate his own business would shut him down.

People who ingest secondhand smoke say they are victims of the cruel smoker's choices. As Kusper and Hoff put it, "Why do a majority of us (non-smokers) continually allow ourselves to be exposed to the secondhand smoke of a few?" Good question: Why do you continue to walk into those smoky bars? The reality is that these "victims" have openly chosen to walk into that smoky bar, the same as they may choose to walk into a McDonald's and ingest copious amounts of saturated fat. Both are choices.

I worked in smoky bars with full knowledge of the harm to which I was exposing myself. No one lied to me about it, no one hid the truth. I lost my complaining rights when I made that choice.

Further, "smoke in your hair?" Let's see these arguments for what they are: calls for legislation by aesthetic. I don't like when people wear strong cologne in bars. Can we legislate that too? If this is a health issue, let it be just that.

This issue is not black and white. While I fully understand the desire to create areas for non-smokers to feel comfortable and for the general health of the community to be shielded from the hazards of smoke inhalation, it should be done in a manner which respects business interests and private rights. Rather than enacting a ban, the Common Council should create incentives or grants for businesses that choose to go smoke free.

Show your support for a smoke-free Milwaukee if you like, but please do it in a manner that is less invasive to business and citizen rights.

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