I believe in freedom, but freedom under the law. That is our kind of freedom. We have been down this road on many times before. People used to smoke in cinemas, but then it was banned. Most small towns had two or three cinemas in the 1950's but with the rise of television, cinemas, one after another cinemas closed, but they would have closed with or without the smoking ban. But that didn't make the ban wrong. Public houses are going in the same direction.
Property ownership, whether private or public, is a legal concept. That ownership and its use are subject to law. In a civilised society that must always be the case. If publicans can decide for themselves whether smoking is allowed on thier 'private' property, can private bus companies, and train owners make the same decisions? Can smoking in the kitchens be allowed, whilst food is being prepared, on the grounds that eating in that establishment is not compulsory?
Working environments must be subject to law. The place of work has to be conducive
to the wellbeing of the employed and the residents in the immediate area. What other situation can be justified? Many laws had to be introduced because owners and employers failed to do what was necessary and reasonable of their own volition. That has been the history, particularly of urban society, over the past two centuries.
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