Restaurants owner should have freedom of choice

This letter is in response to yesterday's story "Campus-area restaurants could suffer from proposed smoking ban."

First of all I am an ex-smoker so this allows me to see this issue from both sides. No, I'm not one of those people that quit smoking and then go on some lunatic fringe campaign to destroy anything that reeks of tobacco. I feel that we all have rights. I have the right to smoke or not, and definitely do not have the right to blow smoke in someone's face.

Smokers should have areas where they know they can go and smoke while they eat. I think that restaurants should be able to make their own decisions about whether or not they allow smoking, with two caveats. The first is that the there would not be a smoking section. The restaurant would either be smoking or non. Second, the restaurant would be required, by law, to conspicuously post in any and all advertising that they allow smoking.

This way, one could make a decision prior to driving all the way across town only to determine that they have a choice: Either share their $20 meal with a smoker or drive all the way back across town to somewhere else.

The smokers want a choice. I too only I want to make an informed choice - before I waste time and money. The only thing worse than having your meal ruined by a smoke-filled restaurant is going to a movie and sitting in front of some bozo who talks during the entire flick. And, when you finally ask him to be quiet, he grins stupidly and says "Guess you'll just have to wait for the video, huh!"

Dave Keal
Mathematics and biochemistry sophomore