Actually, you don't, unless you know them personally. I personally know many of the people on this thread and know whether they are smokers or not. I have also known many anti-smokers (a different breed than non-smokers) who have gotten on message boards and forums and posted as "smokers" in order to discredit the smokers by being absolutely over the top jerks.
You make many good points, but once again I must ask you a question in regard to this type comment:
This goes back to an earlier point I made about the people deciding rather than the government.
What right do you, as a potential patron, have to determine the clientele of a business you do not own?
You seem to agree with voter referendum on how a business is conducted, would you agree with a referendum that determined seafood could not be served in restaurants, after all thee are many people with (possibly life threatening) allergies to seafood?
You’re right, I don’t know for a fact that people here are smokers. Most people acknowledge it. I can only take people at their word. I haven’t seen any obvious frauds (at least I don’t think so). Personally, in my opinion, if you have to resort to that sort of tactic then your argument is weak to begin with.
I’m sorry I didn’t answer your question before. I don’t believe I have a right to ask government at any level to interfere with the legal business operations of another citizen. I do my “voting” with my business; if I don’t like it I don’t go there. In a free society we aren’t forced to patronize businesses we don’t like (well, in most cases). Now, it isn’t totally free, as restaurants, for example, have to follow certain safety and health regulations. (You can safely assume that the food you’re eating isn’t poisoned.) People do have a right to vote on the clientele or business operations of places that they otherwise pay for with their taxes; unless a restaurant is subsidized they don’t apply. (I’m sorry I never made clear of that before.)
In general I don’t believe people need government to save them. If the people want to ban something then in most cases the free market can fix that. I just pointed out a differnt situation in which I think something is necessary and people also have no control over (distracted driving).