Smoking Bans

Iowa is prepping for a smoking ban which is going to go into force this Tuesday- and bar owners aren't thrilled. There's a preview from the Press-Citizen in Iowa City and they're predicting that 'townie' bars are going to be the ones that are hit hardest. There's the usual griping from smokers- but I have to say that as a long-time albeit now ex-patriate of Iowa City, I fret a bit about the cool bars I like, to whit:

(And feel free to frequent some of these bars if you ever happen to be in the I.C., you won't regret it.)

1. The Deadwood: (Dubuque St., across from Prairie Lights and Mickey's) Described to me as 'a grad student bar' the Deadwood became a favorite from the very first time I went in there. Don't get me wrong: the haze of cigarette smoke wasn't appealing, but the Deadwood was dark. People jammed out to music and had conversations and smoked tons of cigarettes. It had the kind of dark, cynical atmosphere one would expect from 'a grad student bar.'

2. The Foxhead: A bar that might straddle the line between 'downtown' and 'townie' bar, it's a favorite haunt for those that like a chill place to hang out. It's got character, creaky wooden floors, wooden boothes that have been carved into for decades now- and it has Pabst on tap. Plus an awesome jukebox with a great selection of music. (Market St, across from Dirty John's.)

3. Dublin Underground: Right next to Pizza on Dubuque, you go downstairs instead of up and the magic happens. A tiny, basement bar it can cramped in a hurry, but if you luck out on a chill night,you can get a booth, grab some Guiness, scope out the ragged paperbacks that line the walls and maybe play a sticky, alcohol soak, ancient game of Monopoly, Pictionary or Risk. Has tons of character.

4. George's: A writer bar. No, seriously- it's just up Market St. from The Foxhead and it's small, out of the way and apparently serves the best burgers in town. Plus I believe that Raymond Carver (noted short story author and writer) used to drink there. So that's some Writer's Workshop trivia for you.

5. Quinton's: I like Quinton's. The food is good (it's on Washington, next to the Java House downtown), the atmosphere is kickin' and the music is always good. (Ranges from classic rock, to mellower new stuff, to random stuff you haven't heard since junior high.) Chill bar, but it's a downtown bar. But it's a downtown bar you can live with, if conversation and chillage instead of bumpage and grindage is what you're after.

So there you have it. Five 'must-go-to' bars in Iowa City, that hopefully won't get screwed by the smoking ban too much. I've pondered on the subject before, and I've come down on the side of public health, but reluctantly. I don't like the precedent of the government making laws against the dumb choices people make sometimes. It's not going to make smokers quit any faster and the government shouldn't be about controlling people's stupidity. Of course, that's a debate in American politics that's older than time. The old 'trust the people' or 'why on earth would you do something as crazy as trusting the people' debate. I tend to take the view that government should help the people that need the help and leave everyone else alone. (Somewhat libertarian of me.) But the smoking risks to public health are well known and I can't justify forcing non-smokers to inhale cigarette smoke just because smokers can't be bothered to quit.

People might say, well they can just get different jobs- but they might not be able to do that. The economy sucks and the middle class ain't what it used to be- so reluctantly, even though it jibes against every principle I have, I'd have to reluctantly say yes to smoking bans. As long as they don't start outlawing smoking outside.