September 28, 2007

Nanny Knows Best-Massachusetts Itching to Ban Smoking at Home

For now, they're playing it carefully, and trying to set up voluntary programs and registries with smoke-free apartments, but make no mistake, they want to drop the banhammer,

Still, health authorities in New England are treading lightly, concerned that if they push for measures that are considered draconian - backing laws that ban smoking in all homes, for example - they will be dismissed as the "public health police," their efforts derailed. Instead, they are championing an approach that combines education with voluntary smoking prohibitions.


This statement is more than enough proof they they want to impose a ban, they clearly would love to, but they know they can't get away with it right now.  I guarantee they get bolder over time, and smoking gets entirely banned in 15 years.   People always support what seem like "reasonable" anti-smoking measures, and when they're warned that the Nanny Staters will use them as the excuse to tighen its grip, its always brushed off, up until their ox gets gored. 

Of course, cordoning off smokers like they are a bunch of lepers helps the Nanny Staters in their efforts, its much easier to impose obnoxious bans on people you have no contact with than if you have to look at the decent guy down the hall or next door who happens to smoke and basically give him a big screw you, I don't care if it makes you happy.

 I don't smoke, but I feel obligated to argue against this sort of thing because I know how this story ends, and its not good, it always starts with frivolous crap like this and moves to restricting critical rights.

And before I get the b-b-b-b-b-but, this program is voluntaaaary!!! Yeah, except its obvious they're being pressured to do it (before the Nanny State zealots get brave enough to move to coercion), I'm fine with people banning smoking in their apartments, homes or businesses, its a reasonable business practice, and its your property, but the government has no place pushing you around. 


http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x73/doubleplusundeadmeenu/robreiner.gif
Goddammit there will be no smoking!

Posted by: doubleplusundead at 10:35 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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