On Issue 5, use choices, not a hammer

You should reject Issue 5. We don’t need the hammer of state law to prohibit smoking in public places.
That’s a decision best left to businesses and workplaces, which are already exercising that right. Issue 5 would do it for them, exempting tobacco retailers, some rooms in hotels and motels, private clubs and the like.
Facilities all over the country that have voluntarily gone smoke-free have done well. But they had a choice, not a hammer. Life without smoke would be better for all of us, but that’s not a reasonable expectation. We need more education programs and cessation strategies. They work.
Tobacco retailers will love the passage of Issue 5 because they’ll just build smoke bars and keep a captive audience. And someone out there is already planning a chain of private smoke clubs.
Then what?
I'll tell you what. You may just see an uptick on smoking as private smoking clubs and expanded smoking rooms become more popular. We might take smoking out of the public square, but I'm not so sure I like the alternative, either.