Smoking is bad for you. That is well documented. And a U.S. Surgeon General’s report released earlier this week said secondhand smoke, “causes premature death and disease in children and adults who do not smoke.” The only way to stop the negative effects is to ban smoking indoors.

But the report does not change the fact that smoking is legal.

Local anti-smoking advocates renewed their call to ban smoking in bars and restaurants following the release of the report Tuesday. They say a ban is a workplace safety issue. But it’s not. Employees are not slaves. Those who do not like working in smoky bars can choose to work elsewhere.

Anti-smoking advocates also cite studies funded by other anti-smoking advocates that show that smoking bans do not hurt sales. But a smoking ban’s economic impact is not the point.

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The issue is about choice. Restaurants are free to ban smoking if they choose. Many already ban it in their seating areas. Local favorite Metropolitan, in Federal Hill, is one of a growing number that bans it entirely.

The government must not force restaurants and bars to act against their will and alienate a certain group of customers.

And we are free to eat at restaurants where smoking is allowed or to take our hunger elsewhere.

What’s next, banning trans fats, which clog arteries like cholesterol? That would be better for public health but how far must the government intrude into our personal decisions?

It would be better for the government to spend its time and effort educating people about the dangers of smoking than to force restaurant and bar owners to ban a legal substance.