A safer state

Clearly, the cradle of mass cigarette manufacturing has turned over a new leaf. North Carolina's legislated ban on smoking in bars and restaurants takes effect today (having allowed one last smoke-filled holiday), and as of yesterday, all cigarettes made or sold here must be of the "fire-safe" variety.

Both measures dovetail with broader trends: a growing number of states and countries (even Ireland, with its pub culture) now restrict indoor smoking, particularly in eateries. And the move toward cigarettes that go out if they're not actively puffed has become so widespread that such products will soon be standard.

Still, for North Carolina to embrace smoking restrictions and to set fire-safety rules for cigarettes is heartening and even courageous. Tobacco may be on a downward trend in this country, but in North Carolina growing and turning the nicotine-rich leaves into smoking material have long been profitable and important, and remain so.

Profitable and important, but not healthy or safe. That's the bottom line that persuaded a majority of legislators to enact the smoking ban and the fire-safe requirement. Even allowing for a smoker's right to choose his or her own poison, the case for restrictions in public settings is strong. Research has convincingly shown that secondhand smoke, which restaurant and bar patrons and employees breathe in when smoking is allowed, is a health hazard. And, to state the obvious, fires caused by discarded or unattended cigarettes do harm to smokers and nonsmokers alike.

So the issue is public health and safety, and those concerns outweigh owners' rights to run their businesses solely as they see fit.

Yes, the 20 percent or so of adults who smoke are indeed in for a change. But everyone will be better off for it.