The Smoking Debate, part zzzzz...

It seems as if the people we've appointed to run this city can't quite find the time to get the job done. It seems to be the story of our times....just not enough people available. Tim Horton's are closing at night, Burger King is closed for most of the weekend...and our city council can't find the time to discuss and decide on just when we will join with the rest of the modern western world and implement a comprehensive restriction on smoking in public areas.

12,000 people took the time to sign a petition to ask that these wunderkinds make the bold decision to move our implementation date ahead by a year, so that we won't die of a new malaise - embarrassment. It seems that the only thing that was decided was a pay raise. (yes, they did decide that that should go ahead)

I've heard the cry from the Mayor's office that city hall would loose credibility with the business sector if it were to change the implementation date that was established a few years ago. This is poppycock. If anything, it should instil a confidence in our elected officials - that they can actually respond to the will of the people, and that they can be counted on to improve on past decisions when the past decision was a poor one. If I owned a bar, I wouldn't be too worried - people across our continent who have lived in a non-smoking community continue to visit bars and drink beer. In fact, even more people come out for two reasons; 1) The majority of the population is NON-SMOKING and therefore will not be put-off by sitting in an ashtray while they enjoy a brew. 2) Many of the previously smoking customers will quit the habit and have more cash for beer, and most of them will likely live longer - giving bar owners even more revenue as they continue to visit for additional years. There are many other advantages to removing smoking in bars and all public spaces, but no doubt you've read them elsewhere.

Hopefully our city council will FINALLY decide on July 24th to move the implementation of our smoking ban forward by one year to January 1, 2007. If they don't, Calgary will become the ashtray of the nation as desperate smokers flock to our city for 17 more months of smoking freedom.