What gives government the right to regulate cleanliness in a restaurant? To rate establishments? To close down unclean places? Common sense, that's what. It is entirely appropriate. Does a person have a right to blow a known carcinogen into the air in a restaurant? Of course not. No more than a person would have a right to bring a rat into a restaurant. Or to run a restaurant dirty and unclean and unhealthy in any regard. A private place is still public in the sense that government does have authority there. If a crime is committed in a private place the police still come and investigate. By what authority? It is private. This shows the fallacy of the argument that government has no business telling a business not to allow smoking. It not only has a right to do this, it has a duty to do it. A restaurant is a quasi-public place even if it is private owned. The same government that insures food safety, can and should ensure air safety as well. People have a right to expect that when they are in certain places they are protected form harmful situations, within reason. Government doing what it can to stop a carcinogen from being blown into the air in a restaurant is within reason. As is it doing what it can to make sure the food is fresh and the place is clean. It's a no-brainer.