Next, They'll Say That We Can't Smoke In Our Own Homes and Cars-Chapter Two, Beware January 1, 2009, Oregon

Saturday, I talked about the proposed outdoor smoking ban in San Luis Obispo, California. The city council wants to ban smoking on city streets and parks.

What I had neglected to mention in the entry was that Portland, Oregon- where this blog originates- already has a law on the books. Well, sort of.

Last year, Portland passed a resolution that banned smoking in city parks- and that included the square that's referred to as 'Portland's Living Room', Pioneer Courthouse Square. If you want to smoke that Camel�, you'll have to go across the street- SW 6th, on the east sidewalk; SW Yamhill, south walk, SW Morrison, north walk, and SW Broadway, west walk. The more unique thing about this is the fact that there are light rail stations on Morrison and Yamhill.

Speaking of light rail stations, you can't smoke at any of the light rail or bus stops of TriMet (Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District), which serves Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington counties in Oregon.

And to add salt to the wounds, come January 1, 2009, smoking is banned in all Oregon bars and taverns- which means that I can't light up my American Spirits at the Yamhill Pub or Yuri's (two of my favorite bars here in Portland). Exceptions are made to cigar bars and smoke shops, and 25% of hotel/motel rooms.

Further proof that smokers' rights are being eroded. The anti-smoking lobbyists, in their efforts to save approximately 490,000 lives, are doing more harm than good. They say it's for the protection of the bar workers, but what they're forgetting is that the majority of us who light up are adults. Adults who are capable of making our own choices, and if we choose to risk our lives lighting up or drink to excess, we have that right. Would I like to see zero smoking-related deaths? Sure. But the reality is that we choose to take that risk. Some of us win, others lose.

If the workers knew that the bars would be smoky, then they should've looked for different jobs. Of course, some of those workers smoked themselves, and some of them quit- and still work in those bars. True, they needed the money to support their families (I'll hand them that), but many of them had the choice to change careers.

But now, come January 1, they get to stay at those bars- and we smokers have to go out in the rain to light up. Nice work, anti-smokers. You've taken away one of the last places smokers feel safe (some of us can't smoke in our homes thanks to family members). And when you look at it, smoking and bars go hand in hand. Now, here in Oregon, they'll go through a forced divorce.

(C) 2008 by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.