It's selfish to see an anti-smoking coalition is obviously targeting all Grand Strand region communities just to get total smoking bans passed in as many of them as they can, just because they suddenly got a federal anti-smoking grant. I can obviously tell(even very long in advance) that they're setting their eyes on 2 major targets: the cities of Myrtle Beach and Conway. Myrtle Beach, IIRC, has never debated the smoking ban issue, and Conway's city council once studied the issue, and chose not to pursue a citywide ban about 3 years ago. Currently as of now, there is only one community in the Grand Strand region with a total bar and restaurant smoking ban, which is Surfside Beach. (and will gladly not spend even one penny in Surfside Beach, if I ever succeed in revisiting the Myrtle Beach area)
I was reading an article about this, and this one commenter totally hit the nail on the head! Enjoy(it's the 3rd comment from the top, from poster thejournalist, my favorite part is in bold, and this is such the truth I always see on online review sites about businesses(i.e. Yelp), the thrill of smoking tourists from smoking-banned cities and states once again enjoying their former pleasure of being able to smoke inside):
Well said, mizar5. Will someone please explain why these people are recieving federal grants for a partisan cause? This state was built on tobacco, like it or not. Tourists from other areas of the country enjoy smoking inside, rather than outside in the rain or freezing weather like they are forced to in their hometowns. This is just another example of an oversized government chipping away at private enterprise and personal freedoms. Is it good for people? No. Is smoking ultimately a bad idea? Yes. Does that give the government the right to dictate people's individual choices? No. I have to wonder how upset these lobbyists would be if the grant was given to pro-smoking causes. All this is doing is providing career opportunities for lobbyists. Of course, it is providing medication for those trying to quit. Like the kinds that caused people to have suicidal thoughts and tendencies, depression and anxiety? Those? Or are they going to pay for my $150 AdVair prescription for the asthma that I don't whine about every month? How about my birth control? Or my gas that I spend driving away from places with cigarette fumes? Or my home mortgage, which is cigarette free?
I think somewhere, I saw an article that a similar wasteful federal grant was also given to an anti-smoking coalition in Florence, SC(just a little ways west of Conway), where their council has bravely voted down 2 smoking ban proposals in the past, the most recent ban attempt in Florence occurring last fall, and the first one was several years ago(forget what year it occurred in, at the moment). Articles:
http://www2.wjtv.com/jtv/ap_exchange/special_-_medical/article/national-anti-smoking-effort-targets-horry-county/205908/
http://www.thesunnews.com/2010/10/13/1750093/smoking-foes-step-up.html#disqus_thread
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