The whole gang here is comprised of a bunch of ex/non-smokers these days (with one militant exception), so we were okay after recent chatter regarding a Beverly Hills smoking ban in outdoor dining areas. Of course we’ve all got the right to enjoy the lovely Southern California weather while we eat, but we’ve gotta draw the line somewhere, and a recent City Council decision in the California city of Belmont to ban smoking in multi-unit apartment buildings is just over the top. Not only does this present an incredible enforcement problem at a time when our law enforcement is already stretched to the limit, but it ought to be just enough to raise everyone’s libertarian hackles.

I’d love to think America is on a path to better, more health conscious habits, but let’s get real. Just because Whole Foods is doing business like gang busters doesn’t mean we don’t all eat the shit out of MacDonalds. Or better yet, do you wanna super-size that Jamba Juice? There’s a way to turn something healthy into…um….not so much. Americans in general have terrible dietary habits, and make incredibly poor decisions about what they put in their bodies everyday. But these are our decisions to make. My instinct might put me on the forefront of banning obesity so we stop the skyrocketing cost of healthcare in America. There are way more fat people than there are smokers, so isn’t that a worse problem than public smoking? Maybe it is, but in both cases, we’re talking about public enforcement of private activity on a scale and scope much larger than anything in my lifetime, and it’s starting to freak me out. After 9/11 we’re giving up civil liberties so fast it’s gonna take us years to figure out how deep in the hole we’ve dug down. This is a slippery slope situation, plain and simple.

Don’t get me wrong: I think everyone should quit smoking, and I’m quite happy that I have the right to tell them not to smoke near me while I’m eating my breakfast burrito on the lanai. But still, you’ve gotta put this stuff in context, and lately, the context is a dark, dark place.