Ban, baby, ban

Gov. Mitch Daniels says there's a chance a statewide smoking ban will pass next year:

Daniels has said in the past that he would sign a statewide smoking ban bill if it passed Indiana's General Assembly. But he has stopped short of making it part of his agenda.

Still, the governor said Wednesday that he wants to see the percent of adult Hoosiers who smoke drop to 20 percent by the end of his term on Dec. 31, 2012.

A new report from the 2010 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System has shown that the smoking rate has dropped for the second consecutive year and now stands at 21.1 percent, a historic low.

He may have a point. As smoking has decreased, support for a smoking ban has grown. On the other hand, Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary has introduced the ban five years in a row, and they've always said "there's a chance." A chance for a smoking ban in Indiana has almost become like, "Next year, the Cubs win for sure!" And the ban could have passed in the most recent session, but advocates didn't like all the exemptions that were put it? Is there really strong sentiment for leaving those exemptions out? Once you grant one to the casinos, how do you say no to other petitioners?

This is amusing:

Rep. Peggy Welch (D-Bloomington) blamed the bill's demise last session on the number of new members in the General Assembly. She said that forced supporters to "start over" in explaining the bill's importance.

Yeah, the arguments are so darn complicated and hard to understnd. One side says a ban will make the state healthier. The other side says the marketplace should decide. Couldn't we have somebody real smart explain that tp the newco