Smoking ban's time has come

On its face, the new law that forbids smoking in most public places seems more California than Montana.

This is, after all, the state that allowed people to legally nip on a bottle of tequila as they drove on the state's highways and back roads. That Wild-West, we-don't-want-your-laws part of Montana history ended Saturday, however.

And so did the act of legally touching a match to a cigarette inside restaurants, private office buildings, and other areas that previously could decide for themselves whether or not customers and visitors could smoke.

Except in bars and casinos - which are mostly exempt from the law for another four years - lighting up at a business establishment can mean a fine of up to $100 for the smoker and up to $500 for the business.

The new ban legislates what some businesses and institutions had already imposed on themselves. It was almost 15 years ago that the Flathead County Detention Center forbade prisoners from smoking, a much more strenuous prohibition than that imposed by the state at the time. Inmates couldn't even walk outside to indulge their habits. It was immediate, enforced cold turkey. And it worked without a riot, said Sheriff Jim Dupont, who's only half joking when he says the smoke-free jail is as much a deterrent to crime as incarceration itself.

And so we have faith that nicotiners will survive the ban that inhibits their inhalations during the time they are dining out, visiting a friend's store, or waiting for a repair.

And more importantly, other customers will be able to breathe easier.

Some local restaurants had already independently declared themselves smoke-free. Others had designated non-smoking areas, but wafting cigarette fumes visited themselves upon "smoke-free" diners more predictably than the most attentive waitress.

The argument made by die-hard smokers at those places was always that if non-smokers didn't like it, they didn't have to go there.

Now the state has turned that around. If smokers can't sit through a meal or a business transaction without lighting up, the onus is now on them to not go there.

We think that's fine. The people of Montana have spoken. That's what the legislative process is for.

The new law doesn't stop the sale of tobacco products to people who want them. But it does stop the absorption of unwanted tobacco smoke by people who don't like it, are allergic to it, or are unwilling to subject themselves to the health risks of second-hand smoke.

It's a good law, even if it seems out of character for Montana.