Mich. House OKs smoking ban, but not in casinos

[wash_man]

Getting close now!

http://www.freep.com/article/2009052...not+in+casinos

[Johnnny5]

So second hand smoke is not harmful if we inhale it while in a casino?

I don't smoke, nor do I care if smoking indoors is banned or remains legal. That being said, I do think that the law should be enforced upon everyone and every business equally. It's beyond unfair to pass a law that gives casinos another government sanctioned advantage at the expense of surrounding bars and restaurants.

[MIRepublic]

Detroit's Big Three casinos have always gotten their way, and this is obviously no exception.

[royce]

Where are their balls? I agree with Johnny5. The ban should be for everyone. NO EXCEPTIONS. People who go to casinos will not not go to casinos because they can't smoke. They will either go outside or quit. Will they really fly all the way to Las Vegas if they can't smoke here? They can't smoke in Canada so there's no advantage for Ceasar's Windor casino. When the casino workers file a class action lawsuit claiming that their work environment is making them sick, then the casinos will reconsider their exemption.

[Linda from Detroit]

I wish they would ban smoking not only within buildings but within say 10 feet of an entrance. I have asthma and emphysema [[thanks to having to inhale others smoke most of my life) and it is very hard to even go in some offices after passing though a cloud of half a dozen puffers. If it was only a personal preference, I wouldn't care about the smoking, but I'm already on oxygen at night and have to take a little nebulizer with me all the time as it is.

[1KielsonDrive]

Yay!!!!!!!!!

[pffft]

This is their way of killing the bill, to insist that the casinos do it as well. Please...let's ban it in 99.99% of all Michigan establishments.

[Blarf]

Yay, more sissification of America

[DetroitDad]

I really think that smoking should be restricted to some sort of designated smoking lounge in these places. That sounds like it would keep everyone happy.

I can't imagine not being able to to have a cigarette with my beer at the bar. The two live in sin together. If you can't do that, what really is the point?

[Fury13]

Sorry, but contrary to popular opinion, smoking and drinking do NOT necessarily go together. Plenty of people who drink socially do not smoke [[smokers are only 20 percent of the population, remember), and still enjoy going to a bar or nightclub or restaurant. They'd enjoy it more if they didn't have to deal with the haze of smoke.

Anti-smoking laws work in New York, California, Chicago and in the entire state of Ohio [[yes, Ohio!). Why do we continue to lag behind the times?

[Blarf]

I can't imagine not being able to to have a cigarette with my beer at the bar. The two live in sin together. If you can't do that, what really is the point?

Exactly. If people are THAT concerned about their health, than why are they going to bars to begin with?

[Fury13]

Exactly. If people are THAT concerned about their health, than why are they going to bars to begin with?

Because people can choose to have a drink, or maybe two, at the bar. They can't choose the volume of secondhand smoke intake; that's forced upon them.

People should be able to walk into any bar or restaurant they please without dealing with smoke. Smokers will get used to having their cigarettes outside.

[Blarf]

People should be able to walk into any bar or restaurant they please without dealing with smoke.

They can, by going to bars and restaurants that don't allow smoking inside.

I don't like loud music. It gives me a headache and I could make a good argument that it's hazardous to my health by damaging my hearing. Instead of bitching and whining like a little girl that all bars should ban loud music, I simple choose to go to the bars that don't play loud music.

[pffft]

What if I want to have a drink and listen to music, loud or otherwise? I'm out of luck unless I want a pack of Camels in my lungs? I just don't choose to breathe in smoke.

Why should I have to, just because you're smoking? You don't have to taste the appletini the person next to you is slurping, why should they breathe in your Marlboros?

[Fury13]

They can, by going to bars and restaurants that don't allow smoking inside.

There are very few of those.

Don't be so dramatic. Nobody is bitching and whining like a little girl. Smoking in all public places is on the way out. Get used to it.

[Blarf]

There are very few of those.

Well, if owners can make more money by banning smoking, than there should be a lot more.

I'm not whining, I could care less if they ban it or not. All I'm saying is that it should be left up to the individual owners. We already have too much big government in our lives, this isn't something they need to get involved in.

[pffft]

Big government isn't doing a thing, it's the will of the people. The majority of folks want smoking banned in public places, and are hammering their state reps.

[One4Detroit]

Most states I go to already have a ban on smoking in public places. Its going to be a nation wide ban eventually. People who dont smoke shouldnt have to sit in smoke. If im at a restaurant I cant take my plate and go eat outside to get away from the smoke, but a smoker can easily take the cigarette outside. Problem solved. Its a health hazard. Take the hazard outside. What is so hard to understand about that?

[R8RBOB]

As a former smoker, I would like a complete ban of smoking in bars and restaurants and casinos. In regards to the casinos, the blackjack dealers who don't smoke should be praying for a ban. When my soul was at the blackjack tables, I woud see the dealers who were non-smokers dying from the second-hand smoke and I know it is their choice but we are living in a new day. The Senate should submit a bill for a total ban. No exceptions.

[rid0617]

Yay, more sissification of America

Exactly. If non smokers got their way and all of us smokers quit, would they be as happy when they hear the taxes they would have to pay to offset the loss in revenue?

[rid0617]

I love reading no matter where I go how it's ok to take a way a right from an individual if it disagrees with your wishes. Bet those rights will get real important when they take away the right to make a cell phone call driving down the road. All they have to do is say it's a safety issue and politicians will jump on it.

[rid0617]

What if I want to have a drink and listen to music, loud or otherwise? I'm out of luck unless I want a pack of Camels in my lungs? I just don't choose to breathe in smoke.

Why should I have to, just because you're smoking? You don't have to taste the appletini the person next to you is slurping, why should they breathe in your Marlboros?

Because it should be up to the business owner who stands to lose their investment [[especially bars). Go where it's already not allowed. They passed this type of law in Georgia a few years back. 23% of bars went bankrupt within the first year. My uncle owned one of them.

[wolverine]

I think impacts of smoking bans on bars/restaurants vary greatly from city to city.

What I believe...for example, a college town with a smoking ban would unlikely see any loss in alcohol sales at bars and clubs since students that smoke would continue to patronize these places with their friends regardless, primarily because they are better venues to socialize than their own apartment. I think the same would also apply to cities with a large young population.

I'd be really concerned for bars with an older crowd made mostly of smokers. If they are determined to smoke and drink with their buddies, then I can imagine them relocating to their homes.


Results from studies vary depending who is conducting them. Health organizations vs Restaurant associations.

Personally I'm a non-smoker, but I don't care what happens. I do enjoy the smoke free air of bars in Chicago and New York, but I'm not annoyed by smokers which is why I permit guests to smoke in my apartment.

[Pam]

Exactly. If people are THAT concerned about their health, than why are they going to bars to begin with?

I've been to lots of bars to see live music, but never to drink. [[or smoke.)

[pffft]

So we are against smoking because "it disagrees with our wishes" ...no, because it "disagrees" with our lungs. It's toxic and leads to cancer and death. Why should a small number of people feel free to poison the majority in an enclosed room?