Two cents worth

Dear sir:
I have been following the ongoing no-smoking debate in the Fort Frances Times on-line. I was born in town and since we in Toronto already have had this shoved down our throats by the internationally renowned idiots who run Toronto city council, I thought I might add my two cents worth.
Smoking was banned in the workplace and shopping malls/stores several years ago and most smokers (myself among them) felt it was a fair practise.
Last year, however, smoking was banned in restaurants and, in 2004, will be banned in bars.
You can imagine the impact on smaller establishments that had neither the money nor the space to give over 25 percent of their business to an “enclosed, separately ventilated” area.
Neighbourhood coffee shops dried up overnight. Restaurants closed en masse. Some, with liquor licences, became “bars” and families no longer were allowed in.
The voice of reason, i.e., establishing “smoking” and “non-smoking” licensing of bars and restaurants so people could make a choice, was thrown out without a thought by council (with their egos, how could the electorate have a better idea than them?)
Well, seeing as how roughly 30 percent of the population still smokes (bad or good is another thing) and only about 28 percent of the population vote in municipal elections (in Toronto anyway), think of what we could do in the next election.
I noticed one of your letter writers mentioned the “bad” air in Fort Frances. Guess he/she has never been to Toronto. At least you can escape it in about 15 minutes by going in almost any direction.
(Signed),
R. Berg
Toronto, Ont.