To Ban or Not to Ban?

A WebQuest on the issue of Smoking in Restaurants

Restaurant Owners and Tobacco Companies:

 

	There are a number of letters from restaurant owners and others who oppose the ban on the Gazette.Net: Issues and Ideas  site. Skip the first few letters and scroll down to the letters that are in BOLD TYPE and read the first four letters that are in BOLD.
	This article in the Washington Post, Montgomery Council Passes Smoking Ban, explores both sides of the issue.
	There is a brief write-up on Phillip Morris’s site on what this company perceives to be Reasonable Public Smoking Restrictions.
	Phillip Morris USA provides suggestions for Reasonable Approaches to Public-Space Smoking.
	RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company discusses the issue of Secondhand Smoke.
	Giants Accused of Smokescreen details the efforts of the tobacco companies to prevent smoking bans.

Non-Smokers and Related Organizations:

	Americans for Non-Smoker’s Rights, a national lobbying organization protecting the rights of non-smokers, has issued  Protecting Non-Smokers from Secondhand Smoke.
	There are a number of letters from supporters of the ban on the Gazette.Net: Issues and Ideas  site. Read any three of the letters.
	Read Clearing the air: New smoking proposal makes healthy sense for Montgomery County's bars and restaurants in the Gazette.
	This article in the Washington Post, Montgomery Council Passes Smoking Ban, explores both sides of the issue.
	GASP has published Excerpts on Study of Smoking Ban in Restaurants, which analyzes the economic impact of a ban on smoking in restaurants in NY and Massachusetts.
	KIISS Smoke-Free Restaurants  A website dedicated to eliminating kids’ involuntarily inhaling secondhand smoke.
	The organization Action on Smoking and Health has a website and has issued the ASH Press Release.

Newspaper Journalists and other Media:

	Editorial in The Washington Times: Montgomery County's junk science.
	Editorial in The Gazette: Ill- Conceived Ban.
	Editorial on Junk-Science.com:  Cherry-picked Science on Secondhand Smoke.
	Opinion in the Detroit Free-Press:  Should restaurants throughout state be smoke-free?
	Editorial in the American Council on Science and Health: Warning: Overstating the Case Against Secondhand Smoke is Unnecessary—and Harmful to Public Health Policy.

Public Health Officials:

	Editorial in the American Council on Science and Health: Warning: Overstating the Case Against Secondhand Smoke is Unnecessary—and Harmful to Public Health Policy.
	Statement of Alfred Munzer, MD,Past President, American Lung Association, to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Environmental Tobacco Smoke.
	Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada:  Health Effects of Secondhand Smoke. This article provides an overview of diseases and deaths caused by second-hand smoke.
	Other Studies Support EPA on Secondhand Smoke, an article that appeared in The Washington Post.
	Article in the Health/Fitness Section of the Daily Camera: Secondhand Smoke’s Danger Strikes Quickly.
	Smoking and Indoor Air Quality on the Health Canada site examines the effects of secondhand smoke on health.
	Kickbutt.org, an anti-smoking advocacy group, has a Learning Center devoted to facts about tobacco. Read their article Secondhand Smoke.
	Kickbutt.org, an anti-smoking advocacy group, has a Learning Center devoted to facts about tobacco. Read their article Secondhand Smoke in Restaurants.
	In Passive Smoking: Nowhere to Hide, Health Canada examines the consequences smoking has on others.
	Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada:  Ventilation of Second-Hand Smoke is a page devoted to Questions and Answers on Ventilation of Second-Hand Smoke.

	Which interest groups support the ban? Which oppose it? Why? In your opinion, which group has the most at stake?
	In a real-world scenario, how would each group seek to influence the lawmaking process? Which group do you think would be most influential? Which group do you think would be the least influential? Why? What does this tell us about how public policy is made?
	How would the executive and legislative branches be involved in the process? Can they be influenced? If so, how?
	What responsibility do you as a citizen have to get involved in the decision-making process? What opportunities are there for citizen involvement in the lawmaking process? If you as an individual citizen wanted to influence the local legislature about this matter, how would you go about doing so? What other types of organizations or groups will be competing with you to influence the process? How can you share your knowledge with others to convince them to become involved?
	How does this issue represent the balance the government seeks to maintain between protecting rights and the common good? What does it tell us about the relationship between government authority and individual liberty? Regardless of how you feel about secondhand smoke, do you think it is the government’s job to limit it by placing restrictions on where people can smoke?
	In general, should the government have the authority to limit some people’s rights in order to protect the rights of others? What are some examples that support your opinion?

Works Cited