Iowa’s statewide smoking ban goes into effect today. It goes even further than I’d realized, banning not only smoking indoors in all bars and restaurants, but also on the patio of any place that prepares food. To allow smoking in its outdoor areas, a restaurant can only serve prepackaged foods like pretzels and frozen pizza. So the state’s smokers are not only forced to go outside, they also have to eat lousy food.
Among the few places smokers can still stay inside are the casino’s, a hypocritical bit of protection for Iowa’s gambling revenues. Bar owners who see their own revenues decline won’t be offered any relief.
Previously:
Iowa’s smoking ban hypocrisy
Or they could, you know, not smoke at dinner.
Comment by Matt — July 2, 2008 @ 1:34 pm
True, why is that smokers are being “forced” to eat lousy food but non-smokers have a “choice” to stay home rather than go to smoking bars? It seems like in Iowa, smokers can “choose” not to smoke through dinner or “choose” to just stay home and smoke through their dinner all they’d like.
So how do you feel about cell phone bans while driving? CA just enacted one starting last week.
Comment by AS — July 7, 2008 @ 6:26 pm
Or they could, you know, not force one preference on to the entire state. Nobody’s proposing banning smoke-free patios.
I’m not opposed to cell phone driving bans in principle, but I’m not convinced it makes sense to single out cell phones. Changing radio stations, talking to another passenger, talking on a headset, eating, and lots of other activities also impair driving. Plus the ban needlessly forbids legitimate activity, like calling for directions when lost. I’d rather just see stricter enforcement of reckless driving instead of such a specific ban.
Comment by Jacob Grier — July 8, 2008 @ 1:05 pm