Boston has banned smoking in bars and restaurants since 2003. That legislation forbade lighting up indoors in almost all businesses. The only exceptions were for cigar and hookah bars and for tobacco shops, all of which must get at least 60% of their revenues from tobacco sales. Making more money from tobacco than from drinks is very hard to do, so as you can imagine it’s not easy for smokers to find a place to enjoy a Scotch with their stogies. Non-smokers have no trouble finding places to accommodate their preference, whether as employees or as customers.
This isn’t enough for the Boston Public Health Commission. They passed a new measure this week to ban smoking in businesses of any kind, including tobacco shops. Nor can smokers be told to step outside. A cavalier response in the Boston winter under any circumstances, even that cold comfort will be taken away under the law: Outdoor patios will be forced to go smokefree as well. Denny Crane will always have his grand balcony, but we lesser mortals will have no place left to gather in Beantown.
This measure goes beyond any plausible justification of improving the public health to attempting to stamp out an unpopular lifestyle. This is a direct assault on the property rights and freedom of association of smokers, who are now being told that their hobby is uniquely unworthy of legal protection. And this is exactly where we defenders of property rights warned we were headed when less restrictive smoking bans became en vogue.
[Hat tip: The Stogie Guys.]
Previously:
Smoking ban mission creep
Bans vs. freedom of association
The most decadent night of my life
Jacob Grier is a freelance writer, barista, mixologist, and magician in Portland, OR. He writes, eats, and drinks a lot. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Reason Online, The Oregonian, and other publications.
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That’s nauseating. Next thing you know they’re gonna ban trans fats. Oh wait. *sigh*