Butting out in Victoria

Its natural beauty notwithstanding, Victoria is rapidly gaining a reputation for gloom. In January, the toughest anti-smoking laws in North America came into effect there: Smoking is prohibited in bars, restaurants, hotel lobbies, bingo halls, bowling alleys, and long-term care facilities. Dr. Richard Stanwick, the region's medical health officer, declared firmly: "Smokers are asking for their space and we do have one for them -- but it is outside."

Those who dared to indulge their vice inside were fined heavily for a first "offence." But things did not work out quite as Dr. Stanwick had originally hoped. Businesses went bust, workers were laid off, and numerous establishments even kept ashtrays on the tables. One manager said that when a squad of smoking police raided his bar to hand out fines, they were jeered. In the end, police had to be called to rescue them.

Now, however, Victoria's city elders have rustled up a new wheeze to save the bylaw. No longer will patrons shoulder any personal and financial responsibilities attendant on illegal smoking. Instead, owners and employers are threatened with jail or the closure of their businesses for permitting patrons to smoke on their property.

True, owners/employers are already legally obliged not to serve alcohol to minors. But minors are assumed to be incapable of making an adult decision on whether to drink. Those of age who frequent bars and restaurants, however, are well aware of the risks of smoking. If they defy the law, it is they who should pay the price. Shifting the fine onto restaurateurs is not only unjust; it further erodes the idea of personal responsibility, which underlies all law.

But the larger question is: Why do the smoking police and regional legislators presume they know better than both restaurant owners and customers? People have a right to choose a short life but a merry one. And the simple solution to Victoria's Gordian knot is a law that would license both non-smoking and smoking areas. If they wish, owners might ban smoking on their premises; or they might declare them one big smoking zone; or some mixture of the two. It would then be up to the customers (aka voters) to decide which restaurants they cared to patronize. Our right to live our own lives --and to meet our responsibilities in doing so -- is too important to be left to doctors.