TodaySmoke free is the way to be, Pennsylvania
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The smoking ban that goes into effect today can potentially save social smokers hundreds of dollars a year if they kick the habit. (Karissa Zimmer/The Sentinel)
Do you know how many bottles of Febreeze I have gone through since I started going out in downtown Harrisburg?
I’m not going to lie, it’s been quite a few. But, thankfully, today marks the end of an era — an era of scratchy eyes, stuffy noses and smelly clothes after a night on the town in Southcentral Pennsylvania.
The smoking ban that goes into effect today affects not only the wait and bar staff at area pubs who are fed up with second hand smoke and the musicians who are sick of braving lung cancer in the name of a good set at a popular pub, but also people like me.
Today, the casual bar hopper who enjoys checking out a good band, catching up with friends and downing a pint or two on Second Street — but who is tired of leaving her jacket out on her porch to air out or dousing her clothes with perfume after doing so will be vindicated with clean, smoke-free air in many of her favorite nightspots.
Today, the chain smokers who can’t bear to hear another song or drink another beer without lighting up will be stopped, but how are they dealing with it?
I have a friend who has been a longtime smoker who quit in anticipation of the impeding smoking ban — he was happy to have a reason to kick the habit. Another friend who recently moved to the area from a smoke-free town and picked up her old habit is looking forward to the ban to force her to stop lighting up.
But not everyone is happy — a guy I know was dreading his last light up at the downtown bars this week and is not looking forward to standing out in the cold for his nicotine fix come winter.
So where is the happy medium? Prior to today’s ban, no one was “making” me sit in smoky bars or directly across from the friends who can’t seem to make a pack of cigarettes last through the whole night. I chose to see bands, pick at appetizers and catch up in the less-than perfect conditions provided to me by area bars and nightclubs.
I made a choice not to smoke a long time ago — maybe because of all of the D.A.R.E. classes I was subjected to as a child — but regardless, should I be forced to risk my health to enjoy a drink with friends somewhere downtown?
My friends would have stopped smoking in my presence if I had asked them to — and have on occasion when my allergies were really acting up — but that wouldn’t stop the guy at the next table or the group of girls in the corner from lighting up. So it’s nice to have the state of Pennsylvania on my side on this one.
I’m sorry to those who will have to brave slippery sidewalks and bitter cold to enjoy a few puffs in a couple months. And I am sorry to those who feel like their right to light up after a meal has been impeded upon.
But I am not sorry that my little sister won’t have to brave smoky bars to see a show when she is finally old enough to go out downtown. I am not sorry that hundreds, who knows, maybe even thousands of potential serious health problems will be avoided with this ban. I am not sorry that this ban will save smokers hundreds of dollars a year and that tons of people will kick a filthy little habit because it’s no longer convenient.
And I am not sorry that I will not be buying Febreeze this weekend.
Looks like Pennsylvania just saved me $5 and a trip to the grocery store.
April Trotter is the Lifestyles/Entertainment editor at The Sentinel and can’t wait for a smoke-free weekend out in Southcentral Pennsylvania. You can e-mail her at atrotter@cumberlink.com
