Readers around the country fume over new law

An ordinance by the city of Calabasas to limit outdoor tobacco use in order to reduce secondhand smoke recently sparked national interest.

A link to a story in The Acorn about the city’s controversial ordinance was posted on the the Drudge Report (www.drudgereport.com), a wellknown Internet site devoted to hot political topics. In January, The Acorn reported 279,778 page views on the newspaper’s website, www.theacorn.com. By way of comparison, there were 144,584 Acorn page views on Feb. 16 alone, the day the story was linked to the Drudge Report.

The following is a sampling of letters regarding the smoking ordinance from out-of-town readers.

I just read your article online about the ban on smoking outside. It’s so ridiculous I don’t know where to begin.

The city council calls secondhand smoke a pollutant?

When they outlaw cars, buses and all industry pollutants, then and only then can they make the argument that smoke from cigarettes should be banned. Otherwise it’s total hypocrisy targeted toward a certain group of Americans.

This is social engineering and discrimination, pure and simple. Dave Silvey Tennessee

You people out there are nuts.

I don't even smoke, but I do believe in freedom. You guys forget about tourism and just live on your own little “make-believe” planet. Sue Thompson Chattanooga, Tenn. instead.”

This decision has been reached due to freedoms being eroded through city officials driven by agendas and political correctness rather than the facts. The fact is, there is not one death certificate recorded in California that lists secondhand smoke from tobacco as the cause of death.

Shame on the city council for not doing their homework and allowing themselves to be used in this sham on the public. Vic Conkle Unique Marketing Media Laguna Niguel, Calif.

As a partial nonsmoker (I smoke on rare occasions) it is distressing to see the civil rights of those who choose to smoke outdoors being taken away.

I do not like bad-smelling perfume, but I do not ask for a law outlawing them. I am fiercely allergic to dogs and cats, but do not ask for a ban on dogs and cats outside.

This is a fairly ridiculous law and hopefully it will go the way of “no alligator walking” laws and other outdated laws around the country. John DiDonna Sanford, Fla.

Why not just ban smoking everywhere? You know, it is bad for your health, as is secondhand smoke. And ban alcohol, too, It destroys people and families.

You people on the West Coast are nuts. I thank God I don't live anywhere near you. Don Myers St. Charles, Mo.

I read your story on the smoking ban. Being from Pennsylvania it will not impinge on my life, but someday it will I fear.

Back in the beginning of the 20th century the U.S. gave a shot to a new way of life called the Volstead Act, better known as Prohibition. It didn't work for booze and I don’t think your law will work for tobacco. Vince Orend Freedom, Pa.