Casper City, Wyoming - The Pro-smoking(?) and Anti-Smoking groups acting just like the Pro-AA and Anti-AA groups

How many similarities can you see in this salvo of the smoking and non-smoking groups going at it trying to make laws controlling people? Can you pick out the sloganized defenses? Was this written by an AA or NA member?

Smoking ban hurts businesses
Posted: Sunday, May 27, 2012 12:00 am
Open letter to Casper City Council members on the proposed smoking ban.

First, the ban you already have in place has accomplished its goal of making Casper almost 100 percent smoke-free. The only few places left in town for smokers are private clubs and a few eateries, bingo halls, one bowling alley, and Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous smoking rooms. Is this not enough to satisfy the anti-smoking people?

I don't believe that this will do anything more then cause undue stress and revenue losses on business owners who are already struggling to stay afloat in a trying economy. This will affect bingo halls, owners of vending machines who supply smokes, the 12/24 club, schools with smoking teachers, factory workers and shops.

All these places, whether you like it or not, have employees who smoke, and sell and use tobacco products. All these businesses will lose money if this is enacted as it it today.

I just read the online version of the anti-smokers' reasons. They mention leveling the playing field. I thought this was an odd statement to make, because it's already not level, since in town there are only a few places to smoke and in the county there are many.

Now if you make in town all non-smoking, where are people going to go? The county -- that's right, you're essentially allowing one business to prosper and another to fail based on cherry-picked studies and less-than-accurate polls.

Is this your goal, to break certain businesses?

Do others have a right to tell you how to run your business? I do not believe they do, nor should they be allowed to do so. They have no money invested in these private entities, and suffer no loss if they fail. They talk about the employees' health. Well, no one forced anyone to work in a smoking establishment. It's their free choice to work or not work in one.

Source: http://trib.com/opinion/letters/smoking-ban-hurts-businesses/article_4df...