Posted 8/28/2007 05:13:00 PM by Douglas

So the challenge to Houston's smoking ban in bars got shot down. Big surprise, yet something about the logic I find a wee bit disturbing.

"The city of Houston's smoking ordinance, in my view, does not conflict with the state law that regulates the sale of alcohol," Miller said. "The mere fact that Texas has enacted laws that regulate the sale of alcohol does not preclude the city from passing ordinances regarding establishments that serve alcohol. Otherwise, the city could not impose regulations, such as a health code or noise ordinances."

Catch that? The city can do whatever it wants, especially when it concerns public health. I'm no fan of the "slippery slope" argument, because for the most part, it's silly, but since that's precisely the logic the city is using, why don't they mandate two vegetable servings with every meal for everyone in Houston? How many lives would a 35 mph speed limit save a year in Houston alone?

"The law is very clear that, when you're talking ordinances enacted to protect the public health, the plaintiffs bear a very high burden to prevent those regulations from going into effect," she said.

Sleep tight, Houston, your health is going to be taken care of!

Look, I don't care about smokers and what their perceived "rights" are. This used to be America, and if I wanted to participate in behavior that's not good for me, that's my business. And if I want to get together with a bunch of other people that want to do the same thing, why the hell not?

Non-smokers, no one is going to deny your right to breathe air, but you also don't get the right to go anywhere you want to go without consequences. Are drinking and smoking inexorably linked? Apparently not anymore, but it should be the choice of the bar patrons, not the city of Houston.

And before I hear about how deadly second hand smoke is, why won't someone answer me this question: If nicotine is so dangerously addictive and second hand smoke is just as deadly as smoking, then why aren't these whining people becoming addicted to second hand smoke? They're not, because someone is lying to you.