No more second hand smoke

A new smoking ban was put into effect this past week in the well-to-do community of Calabasas, California. The mayor of Calabasas, who is also an environmental lawyer, proposed the smoking ordinance that was passed by the five-member Calabasas City Council on March 17.The ordinance prohibits smoking in all public places, indoor or outdoor, where anyone might be exposed to secondhand smoke. The ban includes outdoor cafes, bus stops, soccer fields, condominium pool decks, parks and sidewalks. Smoking is allowed in your car is allowed as long as all the windows in the car remain closed and no one else in the nearby area is affected. City officials call the ordinance one of the best attempts to regulate second hand smoke in the world. This movement of ordinances has spread nationwide and more than 700 cities around the world have enacted ordinances similar to this one.

This ordinance reminds me of the Prohibition attempts in the United States around the time of the progressive era. In December of 1917 the eighteenth amendment to prohibit the manufacture and sale of alcohol beverages was passed. Alcohol consumption fell drastically during this time. But, because Prohibition banned only the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol (not possession or consumption of it), some people/institutions who had bought or made liquor prior to the passage of the 18th Amendment were able to continue to serve it legally throughout the prohibition period. Both of these practices were meant to help the citizens of the Untied States and protect the country we live in. Prohibition resulted in being more harmful to the country and its economy than helpful. I wonder if the same will happen with these new smoking ordinances.