Cigarette laws in Detroit/Michigan

[R8RBOB]

I smoked a pack a day for forty years. On November 9, 2001, I fondly caressed my last one, lit it, and enjoyed it. I then quit cold turkey. Found double bubble gum to be a help for a few months, but no other crutches.

Best damn thing I ever did.

If I can do it.....YOU CAN TOO!

June 10, 2002. Just an ordinary day but this was the day that changed my life. Woke up, got dressed, went to work, stopped at a gas station brought a pack of cigarettes. Got to work, went on a smoke break, went back to work took another smoke break and so on and so on. Sometime before 1PM, I was smoking with a co-worker shooting the breeze when holding the cigarette in my hand I spit out the these famous words: "these cigarettes are going to kill me." Took another drag then I put it out went back upstairs sat at my desk and right then I knew I was done. Done after smoking 3 cigarettes out of the new pack. Eight years later, I never looked back.

I understand that smokers hate the inconvenience but the world is a different place from the 20th century when smoking a cigarette was considered sexy. To, Detroitnerd, I understand you are trying to defend your father's habit but his habit which was accepted back in the day is frown on now and trying to make people accept it is like trying to stop the flow of water. Smoking is a filthy habit and it had its day but that day is slowly coming to an end.

[jcole]

In April of 97 I was on my way home from school at OU when the gas tank fell of my beater car. I needed a car to finish the semester, and the cost of the two cartons a week I was smoking was enough to make the monthly payment on a used Neon. Haven't smoked one since.

[sumas]

Just want to send love and holiday cheer to Lowell and so many others Really nice to chat sometimes with someone, somebody, who can agree, to not agree, in a civil fashion.

[Thames]

Last I read, [[and I admit, I haven’t looked into it recently) tobacco users contribute over a billion dollars to the states “coffers”. [[ha, ha)

From what I remember, that money is divvied up by giving about 40% to the school fund and about 20% to the general fund. A measly 3 or 4% goes to something called “Healthy Michigan”, whatever that means. I know that the money also funds Medicaid, but I don’t recall how much.

Also, a federal tax that’s about 60 cents a pack [[ I think) goes to fund SCHIP, a program that provides health care to uninsured children.

IMO, the government [[state and federal) and the 80% of the population in Michigan who don’t smoke, really don’t want the smokers to stop. Might as well exploit their addiction and let them keep paying for all that stuff, right? :-/

If there were a serious push to really end smoking, all that money would be [[could be) spent on cessation and prevention. Very, very little is dedicated to that cause. Why? Just sayin...

[p1acebo]

Last I read, [[and I admit, I haven’t looked into it recently) tobacco users contribute over a billion dollars to the states “coffers”. [[ha, ha)

From what I remember, that money is divvied up by giving about 40% to the school fund and about 20% to the general fund. A measly 3 or 4% goes to something called “Healthy Michigan”, whatever that means. I know that the money also funds Medicaid, but I don’t recall how much.

Also, a federal tax that’s about 6o cents a pack [[ I think) goes to fund SCHIP, a program that provides health care to uninsured children.

IMO, the government [[state and federal) and the 80% of the population in Michigan who don’t smoke, really don’t want the smokers to stop. Might as well exploit their addiction and let them pay for all that stuff.

And why not? It was their decision to start smoking in the first place.

[Augustiner]

And why not? It was their decision to start smoking in the first place.

I don't necessarily care about the taxes in themselves, but I think they're symptomatic of a larger problem with our relationship to government.

Most citizens want certain government services, and aren't willing to do without them. Most citizens also don't want to pay for those services, to the point where any talk of a tax increase is political suicide across the political spectrum. Since no politician wants to significantly cut the budget for fear of losing votes, and no politician wants to raise taxes for fear of losing votes, they just paper over the holes in the budget by raising taxes on smokers over and over and over, because apparently it's the one type of tax increase that's politically safe.

We as citizens need to take a more mature view of government that recognizes that lower taxes and improved services are mutually exclusive, no matter what any politician tries to tell us before the election. If we're going to raise taxes, we should fucking raise taxes, not pull a bunch of shenanigans to make it "painless."

[wolverine]

Went back to Michigan for the first time since the smoking ban. It was nice. I'll admit the hometown bar was just a bit quieter than I a remember it [[typically an older crowd), but it was nice I could finally sit down when I typically had to stand. They are still business. So far so good. People will adjust and the bars will fill back up.

It's all about the lifestyle of the younger generation, not the older folks who seem to be overwhelmingly against the ban. As bad as that sounds to some people, it's the truth...no disrepect. I'm in my 20's and my friends that do smoke say the ban does not bother them at all, and they've taken this new habit home as well and only smoke outside their place....same with the people in my apartment building who are willing to travel 20 floors down late at night to step out in 15 degree snowy weather, despite that they are allowed to smoke in their apartments.

[Ravine]

I don't smoke my pipe around anyone who is a non-smoker. The law didn't cause that policy. I just don't do it.
Do I get to do anything about people smelling up the break-room, at work, with the smell of their microwaved meals, packed with grease, onions, cheese, & garlic, a smell which is attractive to many but obnoxious to me? No.
People wearing a neck-coating's worth of horrendous perfume or cologne, an odor which, quite literally, seeps onto my nasal membranes and irritates them? No.
The guy at work who smells like he stores his clothes in Hitler's casket? No.
Many are fond of attaching the word "filthy" to smoking, as though that adjective has a natural bond to the noun "habit," but there are plenty of things that some of you non-smokers do that are grotesquely offensive to me, the guy who never even considers lighting up in front of you.

[gazhekwe]

I'm with you on the perfume, for sure!

[wolverine]

Yes. At my last apartment, the tenant down the hall would cook absolutely revolting smelling food. Everyone complained and the landlord handled it. Some offensive smells a polite notice...others a law.....

[Ravine]

Well, this is 21st-Century America, where people act like opossums. If common sense and consideration for others both need to be legislatively enforced, then guys like me will just have to adapt to certain things, same as we have adapted to a bunch of other unfortunate conditions in our lives.

[R8RBOB]

Many are fond of attaching the word "filthy" to smoking, as though that adjective has a natural bond to the noun "habit," but there are plenty of things that some of you non-smokers do that are grotesquely offensive to me, the guy who never even considers lighting up in front of you.

After I quit smoking, I was at work and a couple of co-workers were coming up the stairs. The same stairs I went down and up when I was going to the back dock to get in a square. Well the female was saying something to me and I could smell the tar coming off her body and I realized that was me for 17 years.

One day I was entertaining a lady and she was smoking a cigarette on the patio. [[I wouldn't allow smoking in the apartment) Well, after a spat we was into the kissing thing and it was like I was licking an ashtray. I had terrible thoughts for days afterward. I thought I was tasting nicotine. I realized I punished my ex when I kissed her and years later I apologized to her for that.

Yes, smoking is filthy. Filthy as fuck to be more like it. As an ex-smoker who tasted and smell like tar and nicotine I verify that it is filthy.

[Zacha341]

I hear you. 'Hilters casket' LOL! That's funny. And yes I've been offended by other odors and scents as much as I have been cigarette smoke. I work with a really nice woman who reeks of a very, very dense strong perfume she wears daily. She seems oblivious to it.

Personally, I'm mindful of that kind of thing as allergies are real and the problems of second hand smoke are as well. I think smoking while pregnant and around children is just plain stupid. And it was not something I engaged in. The 'reasoning' [[emotional and habitual) for smoking is for another thread, as most by now should understand the obvious health risks.

Over my life I have been a moderate smoker and a non-smoker [[by personal choice) and sometimes an occasional smoker. I prefer to be a non-smoker, but I don't get too upset about those who do who as I don't live with them. Occasional smoke I can handle, as I'm an incense burner [[in my home) and that's smoky too.

I have a problem with 'concentrated' smoke like at the casino but as I no longer go, it's not a problem. I don't ride with people who smoke in cars as that's too concentrated too. When I was a smoker I didn't subject people that way. But some people are walking 'chimneys' and don't care. I did.

When I smoked I was courteous as I have some allergies etc. I wasn't the type that had to smoke wherever, all the time.

Withstanding ones politic on the subject it's hands down that the smoking 'prohibition' will spread. Some are offended to see someone smoking in their own home as they walk by outside.

To quote comedian Cedric the Entertainer "Can you smoke anywhere on earth...?"

Most of the brave new world, sci-fi future-world flicks have smoking as a banned item, except for the elite leader[[s) or dictator [[sic) and those within their 'royal enclosure' who of course retain privileges no longer available to the 'protected' masses.

That's about right -- LOL! We see that already with policies passed by those who will not have live under or abide by them!

I don't smoke my pipe around anyone who is a non-smoker. The law didn't cause that policy. I just don't do it.
Do I get to do anything about people smelling up the break-room, at work, with the smell of their microwaved meals, packed with grease, onions, cheese, & garlic, a smell which is attractive to many but obnoxious to me? No.
People wearing a neck-coating's worth of horrendous perfume or cologne, an odor which, quite literally, seeps onto my nasal membranes and irritates them? No.
The guy at work who smells like he stores his clothes in Hitler's casket? No.
Many are fond of attaching the word "filthy" to smoking, as though that adjective has a natural bond to the noun "habit," but there are plenty of things that some of you non-smokers do that are grotesquely offensive to me, the guy who never even considers lighting up in front of you.

[Zacha341]

Hah. Then we best hold our breath and let 'em keep on puffin' away! Thus there will always be a two-sided coin here. Raise the tax on one hand for the few die hards [[pardon the pun) who will smoke no matter what, while at the same time restricting where smoking can occur. What a world! ------

Last I read, [[and I admit, I haven’t looked into it recently) tobacco users contribute over a billion dollars to the states “coffers”. [[ha, ha)

[Zacha341]

I agree the law is not going anywhere. The prohibition on smoking is going to increase and I do believe that second hand smoke is a problem.

No exceptions and go after a casino ban next. I have absolutely no objection to anyone smoking anything, as long as innocent workers, myself and anyone else who doesn't care to share/be poisoned by their smoke doesn't have to endure it. The public is overwhelmingly in favor of the ban and those who try to nibble at it around the edges will find themselves very disappointed. They law is here to stay and will only grow stronger.

If smoking is that important to a business then let them build heated outdoor shelters for their smokers. They already do sometime similar for other non-toxic odors - they're called restrooms.

[george_babbage]

This law has been the best thing to hit Michigan in a long time. Going to bars and restaurants is a much better experience now.

It's funny to watch Mad Men and see a world with no restrictions on where one could smoke -- at the office, on airplanes, hospitals. Sorry smokers, but the tyranny of the minority isn't coming back. I have no interest in softening the smoking ban, nor does just about anyone I know. I don't see compromise in our future, only further restriction [[eg. the casinos). Good for detroitnerd and sumas for finding their rogue bars, but I really enjoyed this story:
http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/23656168/detail.html

[canuck]

The fact that only one person who smokes a cigarette in a restaurant or bar with a hundred non-smokers is enough to damage those 100 folks' night out. Sorry, but I have no sympathy for the smoker's habit. I have to tolerate it out of politeness with co-workers who do smoke. The smoke isnt just lethal, it just doesnt fit with the experience of eating and drinking, never mind the public place ban on smoking in the workplace. Smokers want to be able to smoke in public places because they are addicted. I think the culture of victimization we have leaned on for some time now shows through in the comments about respect for smokers and freedom of choice. BS

An ad for Eve cigarettes from the early seventies...

Farewell to the ugly cigarette. Smoke pretty. Eve.

Hello Eve! The first truly feminine cigarette-It's almost as pretty as you are.Rich with pretty filter tip. Pretty pack. Rich yet gentle flavor. Women have been feminine since Eve. Now cigarettes are feminine since Eve.

[R8RBOB]

. Smokers want to be able to smoke in public places because they are addicted. .

Now that sums it up nicely. They are addicted like I was addicted. I had to have my smokes. Damn any non-smoker who complained. Well, the day has changed.

[Gannon]

Most chronic smokers never make it to their 80th birthday. And if they did, I doubt you'd see them hang out in a bar.

Which is WHY that European study proved that smokers cost the health care system and/or society WAY less...not MORE, the lie that was forced down our throats.


That study was conveniently ignored...


...and don't get me started on the falsehoods of the so-called 'secondhand smoke' research. It was all done in order to support this discrimination.



All of this could be solved with a forced-air heating system designed with outlets at the BOTTOM of the bar and returns directly overhead the smoker's section...and a carbon filter that would ELIMINATE the harmful things in the air before it was recirculated.


But I said that before.


IF a place makes a special room that is 'negative pressure', when the door was opened to go in or out...that air would NOT escape. This technology has been used for many decades in laboratories. A smaller version is now standard in home lavoratories as well, for the scat-phobists. Heh.


Cheers...I see how some dig in their heels...but they are doing so with their emotions...not with logic. And their logic is not being fed enough data to over-rule that strong emotion.


There COULD be compromise here...if we let it happen.

[Islandman]

My fear is what the place smells like without the smoke to cover up the other odors.

It smells worse. Went there about a month ago. Horrid.

[lincoln8740]

I see you guys are still talking about this. This thing has been beaten down to the ground. I will be honest. I am for the ban and I hope the ban will one day extend to the casinos. That said, I am not all heartless only because I once smoked but been clean now for 8 years. For you opponents of the ban, if you feel that smokers should be able to smoke at the bars, to go back to where we used to be then you have a GOP House, a GOP Senate and a GOP governor. If smokers feel that they have a right to smoke then let the legislature repeal the ban and we can go back to a time before May 1st.

Thank God for the casino exemption without that there would be no way for a challenge in the courts to overturn the whole law

[R8RBOB]

Thank God for the casino exemption without that there would be no way for a challenge in the courts to overturn the whole law

Sorry Republican, no court will overturn the law. It can only disappear by way of the legislature.

[Gannon]

Why can't they be fucking Libertarians? Why do you have to get all political here?!

Free your mind, man.

[lincoln8740]

Sorry Republican, no court will overturn the law. It can only disappear by way of the legislature.

Really----I didn't know courts couldn't strike down legislation
Proponents of legislation for traditional marriage will be really happy to hear that!

[Augustiner]

Why can't they be fucking Libertarians? Why do you have to get all political here?!

Free your mind, man.

Hey, no name-calling.