[[sniff, sniff) Aaaaaaah, clean air! Thank you Lansing; for once, you got something right.
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[[sniff, sniff) Aaaaaaah, clean air! Thank you Lansing; for once, you got something right.
OH WELL! Maybe some businesses start building those underground 'Smoke Easies' Say a password and the bouncer will let you and friends in to enjoy the show while you all smoke.
The smoking ban in Michigan SUCKS!
Take a look this commercial from this 'I HATE MY THIRTIES BUSINESSMAN'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLoGcSo6xq8 You might want to quit soon.
WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET
Thank you for not smoking for Neda Agha-Soltan's sake.
Nope, it's logical. A lot of nonsmokers enjoy sitting outdoors while eating and/or having a drink. If you're sitting outdoors and the guy at the next table is smoking, the smoke is going to waft on over.
And once again, remember, nonsmokers are 80 percent of the population.
2 comments:
[[1) Wow..so if 80% of the population is opposed to smoking [[an addiction which is at best unhealthy and at worst deadly) in places where eating or drinking is the intention, WE'RE the nazi's? I would think that those who want to force the smoke [[and potential health hazards that accompany it) on others would be the ones demonstrating the more "nazi-like" behavior.
and
[[2) I understand the power that this addiction has over some, and their apparent inability to control it. I myself was a smoker for 10 years before I was able to stop. Smokers just need to understand that there is no way for them to feed their addiction in public without it potentially affecting the health of others - and that is something that they should not have the right to do. The right of smokers to kill themselves STOPS when it affects the health of those around them.
Oh, and by the way everyone, it's May 1st. The restrictions went into affect. The world did not end.:D
wouldnt everybody bitch if we were talking about bars and restaurants full of asbestos ? it would be better for the owners of the business to fill bars and restaurants with asbestos for its fire retardant benefits - and who cares about dying employees ?
right ?
I quit ten years ago. And I apologize today for those I offended in the previous forty. Sincerely.
[[Nothing worse than a reformed smoker.)
I quit eight years ago. And I too apologize today for those I offended in the previous 17 years.
I was reading the various comments in the Free Press and even ESPN and I have to ask this curious question.
When did smoking become a right?
Fair question, right? I ask only because smoking should be classified as a privilege. If smoking is a "right" then the Founding Fathers would have placed that right in the Bill of Rights. Maybe if the government wanted smokers to have the right to smoke anywhere they pleased then they could have placed an amendment to the Constitution that states that banning smoking in a public place is a violation of a smoker's right to smoke.
I understand that smokers want their cigarettes with their drinks but that day passed a long time ago. To claim that it is your "right" is nonsense. It is a privilege to smoke your cigarette but it is not a right for you to share your smoke with me.
Recognizing the Democratic process I do believe if it were put to a vote, there would still be a smoking ban. Do you like smoking? Vote yes or no. Marijuana? Vote yes or no. Gay marriage? yes or no. etc etc
One question- why can't 20% of the establishments allow smoking at the owner's discretion?
I smoked for about 40 years. A total ban on smoking would certainly help me with my will power to stay away from cigarettes past this one year mark, but I could not bring myself to become an anti-smoker. AA members do not lobby to close all the bars and liquor stores.
I rarely take air trips to avoid unpleasant screening lines, same with border crossings. And alot of smokers will go to bars less rather than revert to becoming pariahs smoking by the doorways.
To be dramatic, that's a lie
I lived in the state of California which was the first state to ban smoking and I will state as fact that smokers had no problem smoking by the doorways. [[though they had to move to the side but still)
Smokers did not go out less because they couldn't smoke. The same will apply here. Smokers will learn to adapt.
This isn't a prohibition on smoking, merely a dictate on where you are allowed to do - much like sex.
I hope that this not only clears the air in public spaces but also reduces the number of butts I see all over the ground, though I'm afraid I'm going to be seeing more as people light up as soon as they leave someplace.
Some cars are going to be so smoke filled now the drivers won't be able to see.
Smoking is no longer fashionable.
Therefore, Californians did not smoke as much anyway.
I have seen surveys that about 10% of Californians smoke. One of my brothers was able to quit many years ago because it was no longer fashionable.[[ If only that were my motivation)
And Utah had very few smokers, Mormons do not smoke.
I recently saw a guy on a Gold Wing texting at a stoplight. He had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, too. Nothing like feeling like the rules don't apply to "you."
I smoked from the moment I was conceived thanks to 2 smoking parents. I started doing first-hand smoke when I was about 14 and continued for the next 38 years. As of the day I quit 2.75 years +/- ago, I have been breathing smoke-free air in my home and my vehicles for the first time in my existence.
Anything that keeps it easy for me to stay quit is fine with me. Lord knows I'd need a second job to afford the habit anymore, anyway.
I wonder how many establishments are going to try to clean their buildings to try to get the smell out. I remember Skipper saying that he scrubbed all the nicotine off everything while getting ready to open his "Hamtown Pub" to get rid of the smoky smell. The ban is good for non-smokers, but at places like bars & bowling alleys where there has been thick smoke for ages will probably still reek.
Apples and oranges. No one is moving to close tobacco shops, or ban the USE or SALE of tobacco - only regulate the use of it in places generally occupied by the public. Not a single smoker is prohibited from lighting up period - they are only being regulated as to where they can do it. They can still purchase tobacco products.
Speaking for myself as a former smoker - it's not the end of the world for smokers. They should stop the whining and just get used to it. It's habit versus health, and health has finally won one.
Went to my favorite bar tonight. Wonderfully smoke free and packed.
Smokers stepped outside when they needed to exercise their right to smoke and partake in a self-damaging behavior. No Nazis arrested them.
I myself will adapt, Have too, But I myself feel this is another "FLUFF" law. If I owned a bar where the majority of my patrons smoked, Well I would be damn right pissed.But I think people will get over it, Maybe cause they have to. I myself have not seen any more or less customers in the parking lots of the Bars I do go too.
But if I was a regular at either of the two bars I do go to and some wise ass non smoker came in and decided to act like a drama queen and say "I am so glad I can come in to this Bar and not breath smoke" I,d say to them " them you shoulda moved away from here long ago"
i didnt read all the dribble in this tread but the thing is that is law/controversy actually has NOTHING to do with smoking... stop clouding the issue with smoke
its about the rights of the PRIVATE individual business owner to make decisions regarding a legal product use on their own PRIVATE business property
PEOPLE, its not about SMOKE, its about freedom and choice...
further, you had the choice previously, to go to or NOT, to go to a smokey bar..... i guess the nanny state knows whats best for you, you CANNOT deny this: you HAD a choice before, now they made the decision FOR you........
I get your point Goose.
Dang, the little dive bar I go to occaisionally, will no doubt go out of business since the owners and employees will all be outside smoking.
I still think it should be a business decision to be smoke free or not. Our legislators really should have better things to try to do.
Controlling crime in our neighborhoods and schools, helping the mentally ill and helping the homeless come to mind. How about balancing the state budget?
Or maybe taking the "no kid left behind" seriously.
I will not bother to go out much anymore. I have a rich diversity in friends and will mostly just do "at homes" going forward. My house is large and there are smoking areas and smoke free areas. People can choose where they want to hang out when they come to visit.
Since it is all about the business then I have this thought.
A business must adhere to a set of guidelines or rules that are mandated by the state to obtain a license to operate a business in said state. Somewhere in the wording there's that catchy line "subject to change." Well, the business may be "private" but the license to operate belongs to the state. If a PRIVATE individual business has a problem adhering to state law then said PRIVATE individual business can close up shop and move to an Indian reservation.
Freedom and choice have not been taken away from anybody. Smokers can still smoke. The state have not banned cigarettes. There will be no cops confiscating your cigarettes. You just can't smoke in enclosed areas with non-smokers.
$$$ for the state is there. Sell smoking licenses to businesses that don't want to enforce the ban. Post outside, SMOKING ESTABLISHMENT, so non-smokers don't wander in by mistake. Employees have to assume the risk of second hand smoke. That is the hardest part. Sure there are restaurant and bar employees who smoke themselves who are probably fine working in places that reek.
I don't smoke and I don't care if others want to. If I didn't want to deal with smoke in a certain establishment I voted with my wallet. Yes, you should not smoke and it's bad for you but why does the state have to take away their rights? Let them all smoke themselves to death in their bars & I'll continue to avoid them by spending my money elsewhere. What's next - banning drinking in bars because it's bad for you? Oh I forgot - here the teetotalers will totally agree with that sentiment.