Smoking Ban? Drinking Ban!

[MadMax]

For one, bars are not public places; they are private businesses.

Secondly, there are few health concerns over secondhand drinking!

Lastly, most cities have ordinances against public consumption of alcohol. In 1993, the Texas Legislature enacted Section 109.35 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code which states that a city council can petition TABC to adopt an order to prohibit the possession of an open container or the public consumption of alcoholic beverages in the central business district of the city. "Central business district" is defined as a compact and contiguous geographical area of a municipality in which at least 90 percent of the land is used or zoned for commercial purposes and that is the area that has historically been the primary location in the municipality where business has been transacted...

Sec. 109.35. ORDERS FOR PROHIBITION ON CONSUMPTION.
(a) If the governing body of a municipality determines that the possession of an open container or the public consumption of alcoholic beverages in the central business district of the municipality is a risk to the health and safety of the citizens of the municipality, the governing body may petition for the adoption of an order by the commission that prohibits the possession of an open container or the public consumption of alcoholic beverages in that central business district.
(b) If a municipality submits a petition for an order of the commission to prohibit the possession of an open container or the public consumption of alcoholic beverages in the central business district of the city and attaches to the petition a map, plat, or diagram showing the central business district that is to be covered by the prohibition, the commission shall approve and issue the order without further consideration unless the commission finds that the map, plat, or diagram improperly identifies the central business district.
(c) The commission's order may not prohibit the possession of an open container or the consumption of alcoholic beverages in motor vehicles, buildings not owned or controlled by the municipality, residential structures, or licensed premises located in the area of prohibition.
(d) In this section, "central business district" means a compact and contiguous geographical area of a municipality in which at least 90 percent of the land is used or zoned for commercial purposes and that is the area that has historically been the primary location in the municipality where business has been transacted.
(e) In this section, "open container" means a container that is no longer sealed.

San Antonio only recently elected to create a law prohibiting the public consumption of alcohol; but my point is that your claim that it isn't regulated as much as smoking is erroneous.

Oddly enough, I was flying out of Munich, Germany Monday morning and noticed that Camel (the manufacturer of cigarettes) had built "smoking dens" (for want of a better term) there to allow smokers to enjoy that nasty habit, as it is also illegal to smoke in that airport. I took some pics and will post them up later, but I found it to be an amusing compromise.

However, having spent the previous week in southern Germany, and eating most nights in gasthauses (restaurants) were smoking still allowed, I was appalled at how badly my clothes reeked of smoke afterward. I for one am happy that smoking is prohibited in many if not all public places. Smokers tend not to realize how offensive their habit is to others...whereas unless someone spills their drink on you, there is no after-effect from someone else drinking in a public place!

Cheers! M2