The Newark Advocate has reprinted an opinion piece from the Wausau (WI) Daily Herald. U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona has declared that “the debate is over” on the dangers of secondhand smoke, so the writer of the article demands that the government impose a comprehensive workplace smoking ban on all businesses.

The writer should be reminded that government is not the only incentive for proper behavior and often does a terrible job trying to be the most powerful incentive. My company has a self-imposed smoking ban. Why? Insurance. As companies purchase insurance, the policy writers pass along the risks of insuring workplace smoking to the companies through higher prices.

Some companies may want to pay the higher price to insure workplace smoking. As long as employment is a voluntary contract between employee and employer, the employee can weigh the risk of working in a smoky environment. Secondhand smoke may be acutely dangerous to asthma sufferers, but nobody is forcing asthmatics into bartending.

For most people there are far more acutely dangerous workplace hazards in industry than secondhand smoking. The petroleum industry has lots of safety issues, from drilling to high pressure pumping to toxic chemical storage to refinery operations. Companies and their employees choose to accept that risk. I don’t see anyone wanting to ban those dangerous activities (and for my job’s sake, don’t start :) ).

People have plenty of incentives not to smoke or work around smoke. Government should let you and your employer decide what is best for you.