The Invisible Hand

So it seems the Alberta PCs, led by the Minister of Statism, have decided to ban smoking on certain types of private property. They're also going to ban tobacco displays in retail stores, ostensibly to keep kids from starting to smoke. (Raise your hand if you or someone you know started smoking simply from seeing pictures in a store. Anyone? Anyone?)

Hancock also reveals some blatant scientific ignorance with the statement "no amount of smoke is safe". No matter how deadly a substance is, there's always a level below which it has no effect.

Speaking as a life-long non-smoker, this disgusts me. If you don't like restaurants and bars with smoky air, then just don't go there. Patronize those establishments which are (voluntarily) smoke-free, and you'll encourage other businesses to (voluntarily) do the same. It's incredibly arrogant to go around demanding that the government force other people to conform to your preferred ambiance.

I'm especially disappointed by how many conservatives sign on for stuff like this. For example, Diane Colley-Urquhart is supposed to be the leading right-winger on Calgary's city council, yet she not only supported, but actually spearheaded the move to push Calgary's smoking ban up by a year.

(Update: I forgot to mention how the Calgary Sun, another allegedly conservative publication, rejoiced at the news and claimed that this meant the PCs were finally showing some "backbone". Given that the anti-smoking lobby is at least ten times more powerful than the pro-smoking one, I'd say that it shows a complete lack thereof.)

Actions like this make me hope that the Alberta PCs end up losing today's by-election in Calgary-Elbow. If the "Conservatives" are just as statist as the Liberals, what's the point?

Labels: Alberta PCs, statism