Simple Smoking Solution

Tonight I will be gathering with some other liberty oriented folks at Stimley’s Town and Country Bar in Michgan City for the annual LPLP  Sam Adams Kickoff.  One of the topics that likely will be discussed is the current attempt by some nanny-staters on the Michigan City Council to enact a  smoking ban.  A ban  that will further strip away the basic property rights of the small business owners who operate bars and restaurants inside the city limits of Michigan City.

Smoking is bad- everybody gets it.  But lost in the heated arguments between rude smokers and the busybody anti-smokers is the fact that the smoking ban debate is NOT about the rights of either smokers OR non-smokers. They both have the right to take their money and spend it where they choose at a dining etablishment that best meets their needs.  But the real debate IS about the fundamental property rights of small business owners. 

Small business owners take risks and work hard to run a successful business.  It is both their right and their responsibility to provide an environment that best serves the needs of their customers, not a handful of electeds on the Michigan City Council.   

As usual, the first thing lost in the political battle is basic common sense. But there is a truly simple and effective solution that does not require any involvement by government at any level.  Restaurants, bars, and other private businesses  can simply post a sign on the front door that indicates if smoking is allowed or not.

Smoking Advisory Sign 

Customers can then decide before they ever open the door whether they want to spend their money there or at someplace else that will happily provide the type of dining environment they are looking for.

If any private, for-profit small business would like a “Smoking Advisory” label for their business, please drop me an e-mail at gregkelver@sensiblealternative.org and I will be happy to drop one off to help you better serve your customers. 

Competition works, government doesn’t.

This entry was posted on 6. August 2008 at and is filed under Government, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.