I have seen this pop up a few times on this forum and I wanted to point something out. It is not "the democrats" which are going to take away smoking rights. This is coming from both parties.

Just to show you the facts, here are some examples.

Detroit smoking ban bill with both democratic and republican sponsors http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/05...met-156736.htm
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...WS04/504190339

Citywide smoking ban in new york city, proposed by Bloomberg (a republican) http://www.kiiss.org/rest/articles/article_newyork.html

The state-wide ban in new york was started by governer Pataki, a republican http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/...moking.ban.ap/
If you read that article you will also see a quote at the bottom from a democrat condemning the law.

Pennsylvania "State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, a Republican from Montgomery County, has repeatedly sponsored legislation that would have banned smoking in all public places in Pennsylvania, including restaurants and bars." http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/s_112050.html

Indianapolis bi-partisan smoking ban http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...WS02/505240460

Georgia ban patterned after Florida ban introduced by a republican http://www.tobacco.org/news/192297.html

So if anyone for a moment thinks that smoking bans are some left wing agenda, think again. It can come from anywhere.