Ban on Smoking?

Many states, my own state of Arizona included, have recently passed laws that ban smoking within a certain distance of public places. While I am not a smoker myself, and am in favor of the spirit of the law, I am not in favor of this ban.

I think that this is a very sensitive subject for many people on both sides of the issue. Although I used to be on the side of this debate that was in support of the ban, being a non-smoker and knowing the health problems caused by smoking, I think that the larger issue is a moral imperative issued by the government. To me, it is about the government reaching into our lives in order to make moral decisions for us. Especially moral decisions that have little to no effect on the lives of anyone but those who have chosen to smoke. Gun control is different and needs government regulation because guns can be turned and fired on individuals who have nothing to do with the gun-holder. But smoking can be avoided and establishments that allow smoking do not have to be entered.

Even still I do not think that the issue is black and white. A complete ban is what I am talking about, such as banning smoking from bars. I am not talking about banning smoking from places like restaurants. I am in favor of that for the simple fact that no banning at all would have the same effect on non-smokers as a ban does on smokers.

But back to the issue, I think that by banning smoking we are allowing the government to determine what is best for our bodies and our health (and it is clear by their choices on the international stage that they are by no means experts in determining what is best). The second we allow the government to determine aspects of our lives that involve morality and free choice, we enter on to a slippery slope. At what point does it stop? Do we allow the government to determine EVERYTHING that is healthy and unhealthy? What if, and I am not saying that they are with smoking, they are wrong some time in the future? Like I said, I am a non-smoker, but that is my choice, not my mandate. If we allow our government to tell us how to live our lives in something small like this, what will be next?