Can't Smoke Here

How many of you remember the scene from the movie Forrest Gump where young Forrest was looking for a seat on the school bus and the kid told him can’t sit here? Well it seems to me the smokers of Birmingham are getting treated like Forrest did then.

This past Tuesday the Birmingham City Council passed a city wide ban on smoking. The reasoning behind the ban is an attempt to discourage people from smoking. Also Troy University and Auburn University passed smoking bans with Troy being the most restrictive by making it a campus wide ban. That means no smoking indoors, outdoors, anywhere on the campus of Troy. Auburn Universities isn’t as bad, it is just 25 feet away from any building, which if you have ever been on that campus is gonna be a really small area. I personally do not smoke, do not like the smell of cigarette smoke, and really don’t see the point of it to begin with. If you are of legal age to smoke, then it is your choice on if you want to smoke or not. It is also the choice of a business owner on if they chose to allow smoking in their establishment or not. The ban passed by the city of Birmingham will place a 7 foot perimeter around building entrances that will be considered no smoking areas along with the inside of the building. You will also not be allowed to smoke in hotel rooms, public parking decks, restaurants and almost all bars. While I do like the fact that being a non-smoker I will not be subjected to the smell of cigarette smoke when I go to eat, I do not agree with a city wide ban. Recently I had someone say to that if you would have had a family member die because of cigarettes I would feel different. I informed them I did have a family member die from diabetes, but I am not against sugar and sweets. This treating of smokers like second class citizens is a joke in my opinion. The city of Birmingham would not turn down the money they receive from the state cigarette tax, so why try to snuff out the people willing to pay that tax. Allow the people who own the businesses and properties to decide if a person can smoke there; it is not for the government to decide the rights of a legal citizen to do something legally. Until next time….