“The General Assembly took a nice step, but a half-step, this year by banning smoking in state-owned buildings. The legislature should take particular notice of the declaration by the nation’s surgeon general last week about secondhand smoke. It gives this state a compelling reason to ban smoking in all public places and, yes, that includes restaurants and bars. The report of Surgeon General Richard Carmona says there is no more room for debate. Secondhand smoke kills people. Carmona says it is ‘not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard.’ The report notes than more than 126 million nonsmoking people in this country are routinely exposed to secondhand smoke, which Carmona calls ‘involuntary smoking.’ When cancer-causing smoke is in the air, anyone who breathes it is inhaling toxic air.” [editor’s note: Research has shown this to be … nonsense! This is about aesthetics, and the right of property-owners to make their own decisions, and lose business if they choose wrong. I personally object to the smell of cigarette-smoke, so I mostly choose to avoid places that offer no means of avoiding it! No “nanny-state” needed to “protect” me! - SAT] (07/02/06)