TO THE EDITOR:
The Smoke-Free Public Places ban the Orange County Board of Health has proposed is a great idea in theory, but in practice may prove to be an unrealistic and unreasonable solution to the problem of second-hand smoke.
The ban would outlaw smoking in all public places so as to reduce the effects of second-hand smoke on the general public.
However, it would be extremely difficult to enforce. A police officer cannot be placed in every public place to catch every offender.
Additionally, the severity of the law is unreasonable for smokers. They are likely physically addicted to smoking, and they have a right to smoke if they please, as long as they are not harming others.
There is a way that they could smoke in public without posing a threat to nonsmokers’ health.
Designated smoking areas would provide a place for people to smoke without denying them their right to the choice of whether or not to smoke. Nonsmokers could simply avoid the designated areas.
This way, it remains an individual’s personal choice whether or not they choose to harm their body, and that choice doesn’t have to affect those who choose not to do so. A more extreme policy would be neither effective nor necessary.
Lauren Edwards ’16
Business administration
