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October 11, 2006
Some Common Sense In Local Government?
A couple of members of the city council in response to Mayor Rocky Anderson's proposed outdoor smoking ban:
Councilwoman Nancy Saxton, a former respiratory therapist, said Tuesday the idea is "fabulous," but she wonders if it is enforceable. "I'm not in favor of having anything on the books that we're not going to enforce and just makes us look good."
Councilman Van Turner, who has a daughter with asthma, which is aggravated by smoke, had the same concerns. "How would you ever enforce it when a cigarette takes five minutes [to smoke]? I don't see how you can enforce it. I'm all for it, believe me."
And let us not forget the token environmentalist:
And Councilman Soren Simonsen said officials need to tackle the bigger culprit of environmental health problems, which is poor air quality from vehicle emissions, he said. "We can pat ourselves on the back for doing something about this. It seems it's really not going to solve the problem of air-quality issues."
The whole idea is a joke. If they really wanted to do something about smoking, they would start the (admitedly long and difficult) process of making tobacco illegal. That will never happen as they are addicted to the tax revenue provide by the sale of tobacco products, so they propose, again and again, feel good measures to place restrictions on something they secretly want more people to use. The irony will forever escape them.
Posted by Jonathan at October 11, 2006 10:33 AM
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