Update: Effective May 1, 2007 the State of Arizona implemented the voter approved Smoke-Free Arizona Act. This statute prohibits smoking in most indoor public places including restaurants, bars, billiard or pool halls, bowling centers, public buildings, grocery stores or any food service establishment (with certain exceptions).

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I received the following email from Rosalie:

Our family is new to the area and noticed Parson's family restaurant. We went inside and could NOT breath! An ALL smoking restaurant!!! I have asthma and I do not want my children exposed to all that poisen. I noticed they had health violations too. What is the latest on this? How could there still be an all smoking restaurant in the year 2006? Everyone in there looked like they were about ready to die.

Thanks for contacting me about this. Arizona does not at this time have a state-wide law prohibiting smoking in public places. Maricopa County, where most of greater Phoenix is located, doesn't either. The restaurant that you mentioned is located in the City of Glendale, Arizona. As far as I know, Glendale does not have nonsmoking laws. The cities in the greater Phoenix area that have such laws are Chandler, Gilbert, Goodyear, Guadalupe, Mesa, Surprise, and Tempe. Here is a list of smoke-free restaurants in Maricopa County.

Poll: Should Arizona ban smoking in all public places?
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Smoke-Free Arizona is a group that is trying to put together an initiative that would be voted on by Arizona citizens. According to them, "Restaurants are places of public accommodation, licensed to serve everyone, and must meet minimum health standards. Also, restaurants and bars are workplaces and employees there deserve the same protections as employees in other workplaces."

Hmmm. Maybe they're right.

Of course, a smoking ban impacts much more than just restaurants. The Cato Institute is a nonprofit non-profit public policy research foundation with an objective to "broaden the parameters of public policy debate to allow consideration of the traditional American principles of limited government, individual liberty, free markets and peace." Robert A. Levy, senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute, argues that "Smoking bans represent meddling, snooping, busybody government at its worst. Bans are dismissive of the rights of an unpopular minority -- namely smokers -- without any basis in the Constitution, science or logic."

Hmmm. Maybe he's right.

Smoking Ban Resources
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Want to join the discussion in the forum? Here's a separate poll and the discussion surrounding the issue.

(Photo courtesy of Ronnie Bergeron and morguefile.com)