Smoker's rights: up in smoke

Earlier this year, I wrote two letters to the Tufts Daily protesting the ban on smoking in the workplace in Cambridge and Somerville. After receiving some very rude e-mails in reply and realizing that my letters would make no difference to the decisions made by authoritarian civil servants, I stopped my protest. I had decided that the puritan, just below the skin -- or sometimes on the surface -- of every American, was triumphing over old-fashioned champions of civil and individual rights in this country. The United States is meant to be the freest country in the world; this is quickly becoming myth, evidenced in everything from smoking prohibitions to immigration lines.

The 'ban smoking' trend began in California, a place from which good things rarely come (see happy-ending movies, hippies and feminism), and has now spread across the Atlantic to Ireland, a country with its own bizarre version of religious fervour. The rest of the world stands in awe of these archaic laws, but the politically correct governments of some Western European populations are watching the 'Irish experiment' closely.

Let us hope the Irish do more than the Americans in protesting this gross infringement of personal liberty. What is happening, with the smoking bans is, as The Daily Telegraph puts it, 'a very serious assault on the civil liberties of a substantial minority of the population.' Millions of people are being denied one of the finest delights of their lives by the nannies that are modern-day politicians; a nanny never pays heed to the wishes of children. You can still smoke, people say, just not in a 'workplace.' Besides being denied the enjoyment of smoking while relaxed, sitting down, in a civilized manner, think what is next. Soon, apartment buildings will become part of this intentionally vague 'workplace' category because of the man who mops the halls. Once the infringement on civil liberties begins, it is hard to stop the steamroller from continuing.

It is clear, however, that smoking is a dirty habit. Nevertheless, those who enjoy it should be allowed to do so at their leisure and for their pleasure. But, many people dislike the smell of tobacco and they should not be expected to endure the company of smokers against their will. It is possibly true, as well, that inhaling second-hand tobacco smoke is dangerous to the health of those who do not smoke, but the evidence is not nearly as strong as the anti-smoking lobby pretends.

Indeed, just last year, in the U.K., a study on second hand smoke proved that the effects are minimal to nil. In America there are much larger health problems to be dealt with, notably the increasing number of grossly fat people. Do not misunderstand me, I do not care about the health of the obese; that is their fault. I take issue with the fact that they take up so much space, but if the government wants to restrict activities -- like smoking -- on a health basis, what is next, eating?

To get back to the main point, the answer is not to ban smoking altogether, but to allow the market system to sort out this issue. In the United States, of all places, the capitalist market system would modify itself to a high demand for non-smoking restaurants, bars and nightclubs by creating a supply. Indeed, before the smoking ban, most restaurants did not allow smoking in this country except in a very small section, or at the bar. When it came to bars and nightclubs, however, their smoking rules represented fairly the proportion of clientele who smoked. In principal, minorities should be treated as equally as the majority; minorities should be allowed to freely practice their peculiarities just as the majority practices their more socially acceptable acts.

Smokers in this puritanical country and now in Ireland have a responsibility to freedom-lovers everywhere to make their discontentment known. America is falling short on its promise of liberty. One is no longer allowed to do a civilized thing in a civilized place in a civilized manner. Puritanical, authoritarian politicians on a moral quest, using the national obsession of health as a pretext, are cheating Americans. If you do not make your voices heard, political correctness will carry on, no bounds will be set and your civil liberties will be continually denied you. Everything that in theory is great about this country is going up in smoke. So, inhale for freedom.

Christopher Dungan is a Senior majoring in history.