Gov Gab: Your U.S. Government Blog

Smoke-free Establishments

By: Colleen | July 30, 2008 | Category: Health

no smoking During a recent trip home, I woke up one morning feeling different. It had nothing to do with the sunshine streaming though my childhood window or the buzz of suburbia's lawnmowers interrupting my slumber. No, I felt different because ... I stunk.

Some friends and I spent the previous evening at the local watering hole, and in the morning I was greeted by the stench of cigarette smoke—trapped in my fabulous recently cut hair and in the clothes I'd thrown in a pile on my floor. How quickly I forgot that even though many major cities (Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Los Angeles...) have banned smoking in all public establishments, many small towns and cities have yet to follow.

A quick shower and bottle of Febreeze later, my problem was solved. Unfortunately, it's not quite so simple to avoid secondhand smoke on a regular basis. Many business owners fear that prohibiting smoking will result in a loss of clientele and revenue. Although, since some cities' smoking bans have been in place effectively for a few years now, that argument is becoming less credible.

By now, most people are well aware of the dangers of smoking. For those looking to quit, there are many resources available to help you.

Want your town, city, or state to ban smoking? Write to your elected officials, and let them know your opinion.

A Gov Gab shout-out to office buddy, Walt, who is on his way to being smoke-free!