4 I The Behrend Beacon
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i right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - The First Ammendment to the U.S. Constitution
Point and Counterpoint: Smoking in bars and restaurants
Bv Kate kelecsenv
There are numerous societal issues that are thrown
in our laces evervdav. The current Senate race
between Rick Santoruin and Boh Cases showcase
the problems that are evident within our district and
surrounding counties. Howeser. 1 find it amusing
that one of the most important issues lacing the pub
lic is absent from both of then proposed initialises:
smokini:.
According to the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). nearly 3.000 non-smokers die
from lung cancer and 33.000 non-smokers die from
heart disease each year due to second-hand smoke.
Cigarettes kill more Americans than alcohol, car
accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide and illegal drugs
combined. My perspective is not merely to approve
or condemn the practice. Hosveser. I feel that the
choice to smoke should be made by the individual,
and should not he forced upon non-smokers by a
restaurant, bar and the other customers.
Currently, there is no legislation in Pennsylvania
banning smoking in restaurants and bars. However,
after the first of the year. Philadelphia will ban
smoking in restaurants and in hats which also serve
food. Ten states have yet to take any stance at all on
the issue. Several states have been fighting the issue
for years, one of which is Ohio, which has banned
smoking in restaurants and in bars in Columbus
since February of 2005.
I understand that for most people, drinking and
bars are associated with smoking. With that in mind,
do most people also associate restaurants with smok
ing? I highly doubt that a thin glass wall placed in
restaurants in order to divide the two sections regu
lates the distribution of smoke within the restaurant
or prevents it from dispersing into the labeled non-
smoking areas. 1 find it unfair to
those consumers who choose a cer
tain restaurant, ask to lie seated in
the non-smoking area, and then are
placed in the proximity of that thin
glass wall, if there is ev en a barrier
at all.
I have heard that several estab
lishments, both restaruants and
bars, only permit smoking w ithin
certain hours and go so tar as to
limit smoking to certain days. According to the mg oi it in ptjblic places where not everyone ifl the
American Lung Association, a recent study facility chooses to smoke. In my opinion, barriers in
ed that second-hand smoke lingers in the air for sev- rcsta urants and bars aren't enough. I know that it is
era! hours after the cigarette is put out. I admit that jj||j L - u |i [ 0 disassociate smoking with bars and I also
restricting the hours in which one can smoke in a understand that it could be an inconvenience for
public facility is a step in the right direction, smokers to have to leave in order to smoke outside.
However, it seems rather foolish, considering smoke y ot pj s also an inconvenience for those who do not
lingers and is still harmful hours later. Why not ban sm oke. or are allergic to smoke, to have to be in the
it altogether? presence of it while eating dinner or socializing with
There are many arguments on the other side of the
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Cigarettes kill more
Americans than alco-
hol, car accidents,
suicide, AIDS, homi
cide and illegal drugs
combined
Copy Editors
Jordan Gilmore - News
Miranda Krause - Sports
Janet Niedenheraer - Student Life
Station Road, Erie, PA 16563
Contact the Beacon at:
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Fax: (814)898-6019
OPINI ON
V w "
issue, one being that business often feel threatened
and eould potentially lose business should there be
government legislation. There have been many stud
ies done to test how such a ban affects the revenue
of a business. In 2002. a study was performed in El
Paso, Texas comparing their income before and after
the ban. There was very little
change. A 2006 US Surgeon
General review of studies suggests
that businesses may actually
improve economically. Principally,
research indicates that business
incomes remain stable, if not
improve, as a result of a ban in
smoking.
Again. I am not condemning
smoking. I am, however, disapprov-
friends.
Student Life Editor
Sean Mthlo
Head Copy Editor
Rachael Conway
Photography Editor
Mike Sharkev
Calendar Page Editor
Jerry Pohl
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Have a Thumbs Up
Address it to the Beacon and submit it to the RUB desk
By Nick Underhill
co-sports editor
Not being able to smoke in a bar is like agree
ing to go out on a date with a girl after she has
already told you that there will be no goodnight
kiss, not tonight, not the next time you go out.
After you spend $5O on the date, you walk
home depressed and feeling as if something
were missing. Then you realize that you should
have just stayed at home or found somewhere
else to go where you could have at least got
what you desired and not had such a simple
inane pleasure withheld from you so that some
one else’s pursuit of happiness wasn't infringed
upon. ,
That's exactly what it might be like every
night for the smo|opg public in the near future,
after Pennsylvania passes House Bill 1489,
which would ban smoking in all public places
including bars, restaurants and sporting events.
It was bad enough when we were quarantined
to the dark, undesirable, back corners like a
bunch of trolls that weren't fit to be seen by the
beautiful people that got to sit in the lighted
areas, but now they want to get rid of us all
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Thumbs Down?
- No sunshine
- Wrigley's coffee-flavored gum
- Bruno’s lack of nutritional information
- Activities that start late
- Pulling all-nighters during the week
■■"""I
(circle one)
Friday, October 20, 2006
together. I can maybe understand the ban in
restaurants, or even at sporting events, but bars?
Bars?! According to Mothers Against Dumb
Decisions, only 23.6 percent of adult citizens
residing in Pennsylvania smoke. I'm sure that
number climbs a little among college students
when they go out to the bar and get a little
buzzed up; we all have those friends that sud
denly start asking us for a smoke every 20 min
utes when they're drinking. How can you blame
them though? The two go hand in hand, like
Laveme and Shirley or Bonnie and Clyde.
There's nothing better once you start drinking
than the smooth taste of a menthol cigarette.
except maybe getting that goodnight kiss, or
even an invite inside her house, but we’ll leave
that topic alone for now.
I just can't fathom how this will be a positive
thing, even for those that are worried about their
health and don’t want to be exposed to second
hand smoke; like a year or two is really that
much to sacrifice so that we can blow smoke in
your face. Seriously though, even those of you
that are health conscious, how much fun is it
going to be the next time you go to Jimmy-Z's
and the place is empty because no one is
allowed to smoke? A lot of bar owners feel that
this will increase business, but refuse to
acknowledge that this law might cause them to
take a hit fiscally. As a smoker, 1 would rather
go pick up a case and sit in my living room and
get drunk with my friends that also share my
bad habit. I'm willing to bet that the other
members of our clique would rather join us then
go out alone. Just imagine, the next time you go
to the Cell Block, Peccadillo’s, or even Teasers,
and every half hour your friends go outside to
smoke. By the time they have their Newport
and go back through security, nearly a half hour
has passed. I doubt that will be an enjoyable
night for you, and now your friends’ habit has
become an inconvience for you as much as it
has for them.
After the initial transition of getting used to
not being allowed to smoke in places where it
was once habitual. I’m sure that the smokers
will adjust and will tell many tales of the good
old days when they could sit around and take a
drag at will. But things are going to be rocky at
first. Its not that big of a deal to go outside and
smoke from April to September, but people are
not going to be happy once the winter months
hit. Also, once you throw a little alcohol in the
mix, there will be a few incidents before the
smoke clears on this thing.
What it all boils down to is the fact that my
pursuit of happiness is being blocked by your
need to be healthy. I'm already killing myself,
so why should I care who comes along with me?