I live in the Chicago area, and like most cities, Chicago is working on putting in place more and more restrictions on smoking. No smoking in restrautns, no smoking in bars, no smoking outside. Yes, outside.... I am not making this shit up. Yet, at the same time, everytime these city politicans/crooks needs more money, they add tax onto cigarette sales.
So, in one hand, you have a bunch of assholes trying to restrict smoking and thus, limiting smoking and the consumption of cigarettes. On the other hand, you have the same bunch of assholes counting on tax revenues from the sale of cigarettes to fund their next pay raise.
These two actions seem somewhat multually exclusive. I mean, not only has the cost of a pack of cigarettes gotten so high in Chicago, ($7 in some places), that many people go to the surrounding surburbs to buy cigarettes. They usually pick up a few packs of smokes while they are at the suburban gas station buying gas and escaping the higher city gas tax. (a whole nother story).
The city expects to make money off of selling cigarettes yet, is passing laws to prevent people from smoking and thus, needing to buy cigarettes, which reduces the amount of money they can get from the sale of cigarettes.
I am not a smoker, and definitly not one of these anti-smoking nazi's. If someone wants to smoke, let 'em. A restraunt does not have to be NO SMOKING. A smoking section (with better air flow and filtration maybe) is more than enough. And, as far as bars go, I expect to see smoking at a bar. No smoking in a bar is retarted. Soon, you will not allow drinking in a bar.
All this from the same city that already has a ban on driving and talking on a cell phone, the same city that is trying to make illegal the sale of Foie Gras, or fattened duck liver because itis cruel to the ducks, and who also kicked around the idea of making french fries illegal because they are bad for you.
The only thing bad for US is Greedy-Ass, Knee-Jerk reaction, corrupt, ignorant, scumbag politicians who are taking away from us every last freedom, a little bit at a time. Pretty soon, it will be only legal to die and pay taxes, and I am not sure about the dying part.