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News: I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that smoking bans kill people

Here’s some statistical evidence that nanny-state thinking backfires, via a study done at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee:

By comparing data from a variety of locations around the United States where laws requiring smoke-free bars exist with locations without bans, economists Scott Adams and Chad Cotti found a relative increase in fatalities caused by drunk driving following ban enactment.

…

While the results at first seemed surprising to Adams, a UWM assistant professor of economics, and Cotti, now at the University of South Carolina, literature on consumer behavior suggests an explanation: Smokers are willing to drive longer distances to an establishment that allows smoking.

“Like they would to buy fireworks, lotto tickets or, in some cases, alcohol, people will often go to a neighboring jurisdiction that doesn’t have a ban,” says Adams. The number of smokers willing to drive extra distances offsets any reduction in driving from smokers choosing to stay home following a ban, he adds.

My two cents: The obvious solution: Ban bars. In fact, we ought to ban driving. Make people walk everywhere. Wearing padding. And mandatory home inspections are needed to make sure they aren’t smoking there, either. And let’s ban bacon too.

smokefree.jpg

This entry was posted on May 22, 2008 at 4:13 pm and is filed under Hot off the wire . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed Both comments and pings are currently closed.

8 Responses to “News: I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to learn that smoking bans kill people”

  1.   Mahkno Says:
    May 22nd, 2008 at 6:56 pm

    Ban Bacon?

    To the armory !!!!!!!

  2.   Jang Says:
    May 22nd, 2008 at 9:37 pm

    WOW. Imagine that! Laws intended to curb a certain behavior actually encourage it. Where have I heard that before?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Quinn

    Liberalism always generates the exact opposite of its stated intent.

  3.   sctobrien Says:
    May 22nd, 2008 at 10:47 pm

    Are you nuts? Or is this a parody or your attempt at idiotic humor?

  4.   postsimian Says:
    May 23rd, 2008 at 8:49 am

    Wow Jang. No comment.

  5.   Knight in Dragonland Says:
    May 23rd, 2008 at 10:04 am

    First, smoking bans will still save far more live than they end. Nice selective quoting from the article you link to, Billy:

    It still appears that the positive health effects of smoking bans outweigh the negative.

    Two, it’s ridiculous to blame the smoking ban for the irresponsible behavior of drunk drivers.

    Finally, the obvious solution, and the solution proposed by the authors of the quoted study:

    the real conclusion is that a universal smoking ban would eliminate the danger of people trying to avoid the individual bans.

    This solution ends the tyranny of the smoker … and good riddance!

  6.   vonster Says:
    May 23rd, 2008 at 10:52 am

    Nanny state.

  7.   Michael Davis Says:
    May 23rd, 2008 at 11:28 am

    I couldn’t help but comment on this wonderful post. Check it out here:

    http://www.michaeldavisband.com/justathought/?p=169

  8.   Jimi Says:
    May 23rd, 2008 at 4:20 pm

    It’s worked just fine in New York. Here’s an article about it.