Last November the citizens of Manhattan voted to ban smoking from all established businesses in the city. After this vote was approved, people who voted for the ban soon realized some of the fine print that they failed to read. This ban lasts 10 years. It cannot be voted on or brought up for discussion until January 4, 2019.
Also, there is no smoking outside of a business for a 10 foot radius. While although this may not seem like much, think about this many business's properties go up to the curb of a street, meaning that even out in the street people cannot smoke. Another clause that is in the bill is that the OWNER of the business must pay for the fine if a person (client, friend, stranger, whoever) is caught smoking and given a ticket. This might seem appropriate, but think about how many times a boss might be away on business and has no idea that some punk kid is smoking behind his office building, ALSO let's say there's a wreck in front of an establishment; one of the parties involved is smoking to reduce their stress level as the police show up - the business owner (even though they had absolutely NO part in the wreck or even KNEW that this person lit up) must pay a smoking fine.
(Last smoke in Auntie Mae's in Aggievile)
People often wonder why they need to be informed about voting or the details of voting. Here is a prime example of why you should learn all the details and discover the fine print on things like this. The idea of "Vote YES for the Smoking Ban" sounds wonderful (cleaner air, less second-hand smoke, a more joyful experience for many people), unless you think how this might effect others; like business owners. It would have been ok to vote NO on this and then have another ban drawn up and voted on. Instead, the Little Apple has shot themselves in the foot because some self-uninformed citizens voted on something that they took only for face value.
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