A Stitch in Haste

The city of Calabasas, California, has banned outdoor smoking:

"The California Air Resources Board, which is the agency which regulates air quality in California, has adopted a regulation to treat secondhand smoke as a toxic pollutant of the air, like the kinds of things that come out of petroleum smoke stacks and out of the tailpipes of cars,” said Michael Colantuono, Calabasas city attorney.

Which invites the question: Why doesn't Calabasas ban cars and their "toxic pollutant" tailpipes?

More:

The city said it would relax the ban at times when non-smokers aren’t present in a public area.

Huh? How would that work?

Still more:

Business owners will be responsible for ensuring that all employees and patrons comply with the new law.

Of course, businesses will also be responsible for not doing business in Calabasas, California if they decide that it's not worth it anymore (or, if they must do business there, then they will be responsible for passing on the cost of compliance to others in the form of higher prices, lower wages or lower profits).

A local government certainly has the authority to ban smoking inside its own buildings, as well as in parks and playgrounds and other public property. But I think sidewalks are a stretch, and outdoor businesses are way over the line — he who pays the property taxes should call the tune.

Still, the celebration of all rights other than property rights is the trend these days, so expect more hack politicians across the country to follow Calabasas' lead.