It's a truism in politics that by the time Congress acts on something, it is too late -- look for the evidence, and you'll usually find that whatever problem being addressed is already on the way to a solution from somewhere else. That probably applies to state legislatures as well. So, with city after city in Indiana enacting public-smoking bans, the General Assembly suddenly discovers a problem needing a statewide solution:
Health advocates on Tuesday hailed a proposed statewide smoking ban as a positive step for public health, while others opposed it, saying that government shouldn't be involved.
At the same time, at least one health expert wondered what agency would enforce the ban, and what penalties those who violated it would suffer.
Health advocates on Tuesday hailed a proposed statewide smoking ban as a positive step for public health, while others opposed it, saying that government shouldn't be involved.At the same time, at least one health expert wondered what agency would enforce the ban, and what penalties those who violated it would suffer.
And, of course, by the time the cities got around to their bans, the marketplace was already moving, with establishments responding to customers' wishes by banning smoking or creating non-smoking sections. So many states have now enacted bans that Congress is bound to determine any day now that there is a problem requiring a nationwide ban. But wait:
He noted that bans across Ireland, Scotland, Italy and soon in England, show global consensus: "We all have seen that we can't have people harming people with secondhand smoke."
I have obviously been thinking too small. This is clearly a mission for the United Nations.
Comments
"Politicus Nostralus UpintheAirus"......
As the winds blow, so do the politicians...
It just seems odd to me that the legislature would consider a proposed statewide smoking ban during the same session it considers a proposed increase in the cigarette tax.
Isn't that hilarious? They're like the keystone cops buzzing around in circles at the Statehouse bumping in to one another with that oblivious wide eyed Charlie Chaplin look...
Your tax dollars at work.
I get the impression that the state ban would be more permissive than the one being considered in Fort Wayne, allowing smoking in bars, for example.
I hope and expect that the state ban, if enacted, will not prevent Fort Wayne from enacting its planned tougher restrictions.
We could not trump state law with a weaker local law, of course, but there should be nothing to prevent Fort Wayne from passing additional restrictions if a new state law is too permissive by comparison.