For now, at least. This week Michigan’s long fight over a proposed statewide smoking ban came to a temporary end, with supporters failing to muster enough votes in the House to pass it. Concerns about its impact on state casino tax revenues and smoking related businesses sunk the bill; if passed, it would have banned smoking even in cigar bars and tobacco shops.
My May op/ed in the Detroit Free-Press arguing against the ban garnered more hate mail (and slightly fewer supportive emails) than anything else I’ve ever written. It’s archived behind a pay wall at the Freep site, but reposted here.
[Via The Stogie Guys.]
Jacob Grier is a freelance writer, bartender, cocktail consultant, and magician in Portland, Oregon. He writes, eats, and drinks a lot. His articles have appeared in the print or online editions of The Washington Post, The Atlantic, The Los Angeles Times, Reason, The Oregonian, and other publications.
