Well, that's not exactly what she said. She said:

... As a physician, I have already seen how this ban has helped people who work in bars finally quit smoking. I have patients who struggled quitting because they were around smoke at work. They have been more successful in quitting now that they are able to completely avoid secondhand smoking.

There are many other states starting to look at banning smoking in bars and restaurants.

I�m proud to live in a state that chose health and I hope that our progress helps other states make that commitment as well.

One person's benefits, though, are another person's costs:

• "Affirming what American Legion hall operators and mom-and-pop bar owners had warned, a new report shows that the statewide ban on smoking enacted last year appears to have cut into charitable gambling revenues from bar game pulltabs and bingo." Source.
• "The Viking Bar, a much-loved, sometimes-feared institution in Minneapolis' West Bank scene, closed its doors after a last hurrah Monday night with blues vet Willie Murphy. "The smoking ban did us in," said Mike Nelson, whose family has owned the bar for all of its 47 years." Source.
• "Larry�s Bar, an establishment which has operated along Pebble Lake Road on the south side of Fergus Falls since 1997, will officially close Dec. 31. The new nonsmoking law was cited as the biggest factor which led to bar owner Donna Seibel not applying for a new liquor license." Source.
• "Using geographic variation in local and state smoke-free bar laws in the US, we observe an increase in fatal accidents involving alcohol following bans on smoking in bars that is not observed in places without bans." Source.

The physician's answer?

I am not going to debate what is in the Bill of Rights we all hold so dear. Instead, I would like to bring forth evidence that is very well known to the medical community that supports a smoke-free workplace.

Some of us, obviously, hold it a little more dearly than others.

UPDATE: Phil Miller notes as well the passing of the Bandana Brewpub.

Labels: Minnesota, politics, smoking