Yearning to breathe free

I am 20 years old and I have never done it before. I'm not ashamed of this. In fact, I am proud that I've resisted the temptation of so many people around me.

I almost did it once by accident. While with a girl in an abandoned building this past summer, I failed to notice what she was doing with her hands. Before I knew it, she was taking a drag of a cigarette that she had lit behind my back.

In a split second, she had inhaled a lungful of smoke and was moving toward my face to blow it right into my mouth. Without thinking, I turned my head to the side, pulled myself away from her and sealed my lips as the blast of smoke passed by my face.

I may have been a bit overdramatic, but cigarette smoke just grosses me out. Yet the real kicker is that she was actually offended at my unwillingness to intimately redefine second-hand smoking with her. Nonetheless, I held my ground.

While most people probably do not hate cigarette smoke as much as I do, the fact remains that 75 percent of Philadelphians do not light up.

Yet this majority gets lost in the smoke when people begin to debate the Philadelphia restaurant and bar smoking ban that City Council will debate this fall.

"It will hurt business," this oppressed smoking minority cries!

The examples of New York, Boston, California, Italy and Ireland (to name a few places) demonstrate that the restaurant-and-bar industry does not collapse when smokers are asked to simply smoke outside, instead of in my face.

In the case of Philadelphia, many naysayers warn that nightlife will simply go to New Jersey. New York has proved that nightlife will stay put even with a smoking ban.

"Restaurants can make separate smoking sections," we hear!

It is indeed possible, but only if the government forces restaurants and bars pay thousands of dollars for ventilation equipment and related renovations. Anything less allows unacceptable levels of second-hand smoke to drift between smoking and nonsmoking sections.

This is the conclusion of Philadelphia's former commissioner of health, Walter Tsou, who himself is a smoker and backs the ban.

"It infringes on my personal liberty," cough others!

The reality is that the regulation of activities -- notably those that adversely affect others -- has long been an acceptable role of government.

Just as government regulates liquor access, maximum occupancy and other aspects of running a bar, it can also regulate smoking. This is not tyrannical.

Smoking has an immediate health impact on people who are around smokers. The so-called "right" to make me gag during meals simply does not exist. If the day ever comes when the government lets me huff cans of DDT in bars, then we'll talk about personal liberties.

"If people really don't like smoking, they will not patronize bars that allow it. Leave it up to the bar owners and customers!"

This issue has never been that a majority of people actually enjoy smoke-filled bars. The reality is that the majority of people do not want to look like dorks for avoiding bars because of the smokers inside who are willing to fight for their addiction.

That time is over. Emboldened by the success of other local measures, people have begun mobilizing to finally pass a smoking ban bill in Philadelphia this year. These efforts are long overdue.

If you agree with me, there is a simple way to help. Attractive, smoke-free students have been passing out card-sized flyers on Locust Walk for the past week. The flyers are meant to be left with your restaurant or bar check.

When owners or managers see the flyers coming in next to their money, they will finally hear the voices of the silent majority who will continue to be their customers after the implementation of a smoking ban.

A smoke-free environment for eating and drinking will lead to the greatest possible benefit for the greatest number of people.

Clean indoor air is just one of the many things that Philadelphia can do to catch up with our rival cities. So, take some "Breathe Free Philadelphia" cards on Locust Walk and have a blast -- of fresh air.

Eric Obenzinger is a junior history major from New York. Quaker Shaker appears on Wednesdays.

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