And many people believe that in the long run, people will get used to dining without smoking, just as they did with flying on airlines without being allowed to light up (Frumkin pp).
But not all New York restaurateurs are happy with the law, such as the owner of the Cellar Bar in Larchmont, New York and manager of the Willett House in Port Chester, New York, who claims of losing business to restaurants across the Connecticut border, and hopes that Connecticut and New Jersey do not follow the path of New York (Frumkin pp). Many believe that the ban is a bad idea, and as far as being a workplace issue, no restaurant or bar employees came forward to complain, mainly because they know that patrons who drink and smoke are often better tippers (Frumkin pp). Others believe that the property owner should have an option of whether to provide a smoke-free environment for his or her employees (Frumkin pp).
Journalist and author, Henry Louis Mencken, once said, 'The kind of man who demands that government enforce his ideas is always the kind whose ideas are idiotic" (Levin pp). The United States Constitution contains a Bill of Rights, which protects individuals from the power of government, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which was ratified in 1868, guarantees all citizens of the United Sates equal protection, and due process, under the law (Levin pp). With this dedication to freedom, one would assume that Americans would have the ability, the right, to perform a perfectly legal act in a private establishment, however one would be mistaken (Levin pp). The State of New York's ban on smoking furthers its position that benefits to public health justifies limitations on the freedom of New Yorkers (Levin pp). The legislation prevents competent...
Despite medical research that links smoking and second-hand smoke to numerous health disorders, people still smoke, yet the New York State Legislature believes that ETS is so dangerous that it has banned smoking in all indoor areas, except homes (Levin pp). However, the health of the smokers is not protected, but the rights of the smoker to smoke a legal product in places where smoking has always been welcomed has been eliminated, and moreover, private property owners who may want to permit smoking in their bars and restaurants are prevented from doing so (Levin pp). Lawmakers would not dare ban smoking altogether for the tax revenue loss would be disastrous for the state, not to mention the loss of tobacco industry contributions (Levin pp). The law does not really protect human health in New York and it forces many private business owners to ban smoking when they may not wish to do so (Levin pp).
Works Cited
Frumkin, Paul. "New York state outlaws smoking in all enclosed workplaces: as in Calif., Del., law snuffs habit in restaurants, bars, hotels." Nation's Restaurant News. April 7, 2003. Retrieved September 19, 2005 at http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_14_37/ai_100074787
Levin, Justin C. "Protect us or leave us alone: the New York state smoking ban."
Albany Law Review. September 22, 2004. Retrieved September 19, 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.
MacNeil, A. "State smoking restrictions for private-sector worksites, restaurants, and bars -- United States, 1998 and 2004."
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. July 08, 2005. Retrieved September 19, 2005…
