Atlantic City is currently trying to pass an ordinance that would limit smoking in casinos to smoking lounges where there can't be any slot machines or gambling tables. Right now a compromise exists between the city and the casinos where no more than 25% of the casino floor can allow smoking. Many vices exist under the same roof in the casino and somehow smoking is seen as the worst of them.

Almost no one has been persecuted as much in the last decade as the American smoker. They have been tossed out of most private establishments throughout the US. I hear my friends who smoke talk about the trials they have faced trying to find a place to light up.

What happened to the rights of the business owner, the private establishment, and the smoker?

A business owner no longer has discretion over their own smoking policy. Private establishments cannot cater to people who enjoy smoking. And smokers have been maligned by the general public.

I don't smoke besides the occasional cigar and neither does my wife. I hate the smell of people smoking cigarettes. So if I went to a restaurant where there was smoking I might fore go eating there and search for one that doesn't and enjoy my meal there. And this is the way it should be! Let the market decide, not the government. Allow businesses to cater to smokers and to nonsmokers. If all bans were lifted guess what? Some restaurants would allow smoking while others wouldn't, some bars would allow smoking while others wouldn't, some cafes would allow smoking while others wouldn't, and everyone would have the opportunity to choose.

The right to choose, that is what the government is taking away from us. And what do we get back in return, a little comfort. Well I don't know about you but I would choose the former over the latter every time.

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