Sherri votes...
and so should you!
November 2005:
This measure would prohibit smoking in buildings and vehicles open to the public and places of employment, including areas within 25 feet of doorways and ventilation openings unless a lesser distance is approved.
I recommend a YES vote on Initiative 901.
Initiative 901 is remarkably uncontroversial. In 1998, when California enacted a smoking ban in workplaces, including restaurants and bars, I remember many complaints from restaurant and bar owners that such a ban would hurt them economically. Since then, nine more states have enacted smoking bans of various kinds. A survey of studies of the economic impact of smoking bans shows that despite the fears of restaurant and bar owners, such bans do not result in a negative economic impact.
The risks of second hand smoke are well known. The economic impact of a ban seems largely positive. The only argument left against a smoking ban is the one that government shouldn’t be telling us what to do; we should be free to make choices. The problem with that argument is that it assumes that your choice impacts you alone. Estimates are that second hand smoke is responsible for 3000 deaths of non-smokers a year. Feel free to make the choice to smoke; just don’t do it around me.