Smoking Ban Debate Hits Conservative Blog

James Widgerson lets his readers huff and puff about the cigarette tax increase.

It all began on the blog The Other Side Of My Mouth, which looked at so-called smoker's rights. An excellent post, by the way.

Alot of the debate there on Widgerson's site is choked in ideology, and avoids the health side of the issue, which should be the major focus.

Government regulates hundreds of toxic substances, from lead in gasoline to pesticides in food - - on behalf of the public interest.

Tobacco is a proven killer and its effects waft on to non-smokers, passersby, and so forth.

If it were up to me, I'd keep raising the tax because studies show it deters younger would-be smokers, and that's a good thing all around.

And I'd ban smoking in any public place or around minors.

If people want to smoke, they can do it in the privacy of their own space.