Patio smoking ban would hurt businesses - Mathew Ralph

There’s been a lot of talk in the news lately about banning smoking on the patios of bars and restaurants. 
I know the council has recently banned smoking on most public property and, to be honest, I was relieved that they had. Nothing is worse than going to the beach and digging your toes in the sand to upturn a nasty cigarette butt.

That being said, I strongly feel that the city has no right whatsoever in interfering with the private sector to this extent.

If the public hates smoking so much, they will stop spending money at establishments that allow smoking on their patios.

Those businesses will then be forced to ban smoking in order to appease mass concern and attract more business. That’s how that should work.
Furthermore, public opinion on this issue is only about 50/50, which means there’s no great outcry demanding these restrictions be enacted.

By intervening in the public sector like this, city council is directly affecting the future of business operations for many bars and restaurants, most of which are independent and non-franchised, and owned by local citizens.

But then again, our current city council has never really shown they care about anything but their own agenda.

So, bar and restaurant owners of Sudbury, get ready for a summer full of cigarette raids and inspections of your property.

It looks like city council won’t rest until they’re telling you how many times your customers are allowed to use the bathroom.

Mathew Ralph
Greater Sudbury