Today most Americans (53%) live in areas that restrict smoking, and my guess is that a much higher percentage is just fine with some restrictions. But the anti-smoking crowd keeps pushing to expand and tighten regulations. It seems that many lines that casual observers assumed would never be crossed are already being crossed. Will the folks who passively go along with the movement ever cry uncle? Naturally, California is doing a lot of the crossing:
The Calabasas ordinance elevates smoking violations to criminal misdemeanors, and if the Belmont proposal passes (as it almost certainly will) condo and apartment-dwellers will be forbidden from smoking inside their own homes. Remember the good ol’ days when the Bay Area wanted to keep government out of our bedrooms? Of course the banners don’t confine themselves to California. This article notes the growing movement to ban smoking inside public housing units and apartments in Washington state. (I’m fine with the apartment ban since apparently landlords themselves are pushing for it.) In December, Henry County, Georgia “voted to prohibit the use and possession of cigarettes and similar tobacco products in all parks owned by the county.” Second-hand smoke researcher and smoking ban crusader Dr. Michael Siegel has apparently cried uncle. He now has big problems with the movement he helped create:
Surely, one line that won’t be crossed is adoption. Then again: