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Public Smoking Ban: Eroding your freedom

Posted February 22, 2008

"This is the bittersweet essence of freedom, and I believe it’s something worth preserving — even when personally distasteful to me." — Jim Amrhein

by Jim Amrhein

Baltimore – (TFN):  Because I know everyone will be wondering about it as they read this, I have to disclose something right up front: I’m one of the few people you’ve ever met (if one can say that writers and their readers have “met”) who has never used tobacco in any form. Never smoked any, chewed any, snorted any, whatever. Not once. That means I don’t know what it’s like to crave a cigarette, nor what an addiction to nicotine feels like…

But I know all too well what such things look and smell like. That’s because for my entire adult life, I’ve been in the presence of a good number of smokers. Most times I’ve chosen (an important word, as I’ll explain in a minute) to go out to local pubs, concert halls, clubs, fairs, festivals or sporting events with friends or dates in my home state of Maryland…

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No longer, though. As of February 1, 2008, smoking of any type is now banned in the Old Line State’s bars, restaurants and many other venues — including American Legion halls and other such private clubs.

Public Smoking Ban:  Exorcising liberty

Like with a lot of other states where indoor smoking has been banned in public places, poll results show that most people consider this a victory for Marylanders. And in truth, I personally will not miss the passive-smoking headaches and congestion I get from nights out in smoky bars or concert halls. Nor will I miss my clothes reeking of smoke in the laundry hamper — or my truck’s upholstery smelling like an ashtray simply because I’m not in the habit of stripping naked to drive home (not typically, anyway)…

However, what I will miss is yet another way in which we Americans can exercise our liberty to do what we want to do, even when it’s arguably not what’s best for us. This is the bittersweet essence of freedom, and I believe it’s something worth preserving — even when personally distasteful to me. I also lament the demise of yet another opportunity for the free market to accommodate both personal liberty and the varying preferences of individuals. This was what the Constitution’s framers had in mind, after all…

Not the arbitrary domination of The State to serve politicians’ majority-pandering — or even bona-fide cost-benefit calculations. Read on to learn more.

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