Anti-smoking bills.
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I am actually pretty saddened but only found time now to write about it.
As many of you in Virginia may or may not know, a bill was sent to the general assembly a few weeks ago regarding the ban of smoking in restaurants.
As a smoker, I am all for this bill -- I believe it to be an issue of workplace safety, public safety and women's rights -- as most waitresses are women, and just because they chose the job does not mean they deserve anything less than a healthy, wholesome workplace.
Of course, Virginia being backed by the tobacco industry, the bill died. But I am getting petitions around campus, starting next week -- we'll reintroduce this to the legislatures of Virginia. We'll start at my school and go to our neighboring school. 20,000 college students at each campus, I'll make sure anyone who votes no against the bill pays for it during the next election.
In fact, I see it as a weapon -- if we can get progressive students to start speaking on this issue, across campuses frin Virginia to Washington state, we can probably get the attention of these tobacco industry people.
Watch out -- Marc is going to make a splash in Virginia politics. My fellow students are my weapons.
I am confident we can do it. All we need to do is believe.
As many of you in Virginia may or may not know, a bill was sent to the general assembly a few weeks ago regarding the ban of smoking in restaurants.
As a smoker, I am all for this bill -- I believe it to be an issue of workplace safety, public safety and women's rights -- as most waitresses are women, and just because they chose the job does not mean they deserve anything less than a healthy, wholesome workplace.
Of course, Virginia being backed by the tobacco industry, the bill died. But I am getting petitions around campus, starting next week -- we'll reintroduce this to the legislatures of Virginia. We'll start at my school and go to our neighboring school. 20,000 college students at each campus, I'll make sure anyone who votes no against the bill pays for it during the next election.
In fact, I see it as a weapon -- if we can get progressive students to start speaking on this issue, across campuses frin Virginia to Washington state, we can probably get the attention of these tobacco industry people.
Watch out -- Marc is going to make a splash in Virginia politics. My fellow students are my weapons.
I am confident we can do it. All we need to do is believe.
!
But I do not like the gov telling me where I can smoke. Let the owner of resturants make that call. If you don't like the smoke, work somewhere else. There are plenty of places around ODU( I live in Newport news) where you can find work.
Let the gov stay out of our lives. And womens rights rights has nothing to do with this. I can buy into the workplace safety thing a little but bad point on the womens rights issue. That would also mean that it is a mens rights issue( i know we don't think about those things... those evil men) because most bar tenders are men.
This is not an issue for our state gov. It is a personel choice issue.
The idea of "if you don't like places that allow smoking, don't work there", is nice in theory - and as a guy who leans toward libertarian positions, it appeals to me. But in reality, if we adopt that stance on public health issues such as secondhand smoke, the economy becomes much less efficient as a whole.
Why?
When you're deciding where to work, whether they allow smoking or not is a lesser-order choice - that is, it doesn't matter nearly as much as how much you get paid, what kind of work you're doing, whether it's the only job in town you can take, that sort of thing.
By pitting people's economic interests against their personal health, you are creating a tension that systematically forces people into irrational behavior - they'll tend to take the short-term benefit (economic gain) over the long-term benefit (their health) in greater numbers than they should. As a result, you place strains on the healthcare system, strains on people's work-lives, and grind down the efficiency of the economy overall.
I agree that it's unfair to inconvenience smokers by making them go outside at their place of work; a world where each employer chose what their employees were allowed to do would be perfectly 'fair'. But when problems of collective action are involved (such as with public health), it makes sense to be a bit unfair at times in order to further the greater good, and by extension the efficiency of the overall system.
I am opposed to the bans because I see them as just another way for the government to be doing nothing and make us all feel that they are doing something. Public health is all well and good, but if we are really concerened about it, lets put everyone on single payer health care. I personally am tired of the health police telling me what I can and can not do with my body.
And as to the commment about the majority of Bar-tenders are men, again not in my experiance. In fact I do not remember the last time that I had a male bar-tender...At least all the places that I go they are female, at least mainly female. There are a couple of places that I go to that have both, I just also seem to get the women.
Anyway, just my two cents.
CM
perhaps, to help your case you should look at the bill that was passed in Louisville KY which is just as beholden to the tobacco industry as Virginia
here's to hoping it doesn't die again in Virginia.....
It's easy to say, "Work somewhere else." But when a mother of two is struggling to make ends meet, she'll take any job she can.
I don't care if you smoke. It's your own choice and it's the tobacco industry's rights to make money, but those with little or no choices have rights, too.
Government is needed sometimes to intervene in situations like these. I believe in a big government, in which policies are put forth and controlled for the betterment of America.
Besides, this doesn't lead to a slipperly slope. All it does is protects the innocent.
I think it's kind of selfish to say that so long as you get to smoke, you don't give a damn about anyone else.