[zedius]

I don't have time to read all this, so I feel a little crappy putting my two cents in but here it is:

I think bar owners should have the right to choose whether or not people can smoke in their bars, the same as anyone over 19 (21 if you live in crapsville) can choose whether or not to frequent the smoking bar.

At the same time I think smoking is bullshit. I used to smoke, still smoke occasionally, but I think generally it is about the most ignorant thing you can do. It's supposed to have this rebelious nature to it, but really it's just paying shitloads of hard earned moneys to fat greedy companies that are knowingly killing you. The worse part is that, at least where I am, most everyone who smokes is dirt poor working class. The dirt poor working class smokes because their friends smoke too, down at the shitty local pub where they drink to get their enjoyment out of life. (In the rain, since they're no longer allowed to smoke on the smoking patios that were initially created during the initial indoor smoking ban).

It ends up being, in some fucked up way, a license for the government to tax shitloads of money out of poor people. Most people smoke a pack a day, and at least half (probably more like 90%) of that goes to the government. $4 * $365 is $1460 blue collar dollars that are going to the government that buddy-rich-boy-happy-lifestyle-kayaker is saving for his trip to hawa'ii.