Effective July 1st, Kansas will join many other states in banning smoking in almost all enclosed public places. Prohibiting smoking in enclosed public places is part of a growing trend nationwide that makes the habit more of a hassle for smokers.
Many smokers are being forced to pay higher premiums in health insurance and other acts that are being protested as discriminative. As more anti-smoking laws get passed, the debate between legislature that promotes public health and boundaries of citizen rights presses on.
Republican Representative Ray Merrick has suggested that smoking restrictions remain a local option, which gives businesses a choice on following the ban. Giving local businesses an option may be a way to find a middle ground between personal freedoms and public health, however it may not be an option given the recent momentum in the anti-smoking campaigns.
