what do you think of the smoking ban

Now your going to get Rotohead going!

The smoking ban is fantastic. It helped me quit smoking for good. I worked at a bar/restaurant that was notoriously smoky in Colorado. 3 months before they enacted the law, I committed to quitting and never looked back. After the ban, business didn't die because people had to step outside. Even in the dead of winter, people bundled up to go smoke a lung dart.

Businesses and non smokers benefit from clear air. Nothing worse than eating a slice of pizza at Smuggler's Cove or Off the Wall and having the guy next to you chain smoking.

from this ban i understand you won't be able to even smoke outside of businesses? is that correct?

Why lizard will rotorhead get going? did i miss something?

i hate being told what i can and cannot do.

i understand what noah means by being in a rest. and someone next to you smoking but i believe they have rights also.

I don't smoke. People who do smoke (a lot) stink from the smoke. My father smoked. it killed him. BUT, i don't think that a government should force non-smoking. It should be up to the restaurant owners. I just wouldn't go to places that were too smokey for me. I would exercise my freedom of choice and allow others the same freedom.

It is a sad commentary on smokers that a law has to be enacted to protect nonsmokers from them and their junk.

Disclosure: diehard smoker for 10 years before quitting 20 years ago---about 6 months before moving to stx. I tried hard to be conscientious about my smoking, but I'm sure I offended people to the same degree that I am now offended by smokers. Quitting was the hardest and best thing I have ever done in my life.

i agree bassman.

i am a smoker. (darn) but i know what it is like to be in smokey enviroments. it bothers me to be around it. i only smoke outside of home etc. but the point that bothers me is taking away anyones rights. ban smokers to outside or to certain sections.

my grandfather died from envazema(sp) and he never smoked, nor was he around smoking in his business.

i hate to breath the smell of cooking meat......or seeing people cut into a bloody steak.
where will it end.?

I was always a courteous smoker...I tried to blow my smoke straight up and paid attention to those around me. Some people don't even notice if their cig is burning away in the ashtray and slowly wafting to the next person.

I know in CO part of the ban was that you couldn't smoke within 10 feet of a business entrance, which is ridiculous. People hung out right outside the door and it was never a problem. How would they even enforce that on a mass scale?

I'd love to see the number of smokers decrease for their health and the folk's around them. I'm not gonna tell someone how to live their life, but wow life is different when it doesn't revolve on cigarettes, and "how many are left, and do I have a next pack"?

Rotorhead is by far the most anti smoking advocate on the planet!

i am a smoker and i dont smoke in my house or in my car. did smoke in the old car. i love the fact that my car smells good 2 years after i bought it and not like an ashtray. my bf appreciates it too.
i heard that at open air restaurants that you would still be able to smoke ( not rum runners, which banned smoking awhile ago except for at the bar.)
i dont like to be in very smokey environments, case place for one because the smell is crazy ( better ventilation, maybe). i believe in a work environment the rights of those who serve you should super cede yours as a smoker.
the casino went smoke free on monday only and the workers just love it.
and all of us as smokers think we are being respectful, but if i am in a smoking area, i will not have a non-smoker tell me or ask me not to smoke in that area. sorry, just aint gonna happen.

The law has to be defined much more clearly before it will pass, anyway. I'm particularly keen to see what they come up with for a definition of whether a restaurant is open-air or not.

The way I read the current legislation smoking would be banned from ALL public places including open air bars.

Pamela

I hate smoking but hate taking away people's freedom to set the policies in their establishments even more.

I do think a paradigm shift was needed, and has already really occurred that said the status quo was that a restaurant or bar would allow smoking automatically. It is now at least something that most proprietor's decide for themselves, even without a legal ban. Take Tavern 1844 for example, they are non-smoking and will probably do much better business partially because of this. Rum Runners is another example.

In DC my friends who own bars have all said that if the ban was to be removed tomorrow they still wouldn't go back to allowing smoking. Now that we've changed the paradigm I'd like to see a return to freedom whereby proprietors could decide for themselves. Some would probably go smoking, but I am pretty sure many if not most would not, which would give all of us more options and choices than we had either before the smoking ban and after it. To me that is one of the best parts about freedom, maximizing choices and options.

Sean

The way I read the current legislation smoking would be banned from ALL public places including open air bars.

Pamela

Yes, and hotel balconies, and sidewalks... pretty much anyplace except in your own home on your own property. It's incredibly vague as written.

I am a former 3 pack a day smoker. Quit 10 + years ago. Lots of Lung cancer in the family. I think the laws go to far in restricting smokers. Out doors should be allowed. At the very least they should be allowed to have an area at least equal to non smokers to enjoy themselves. Everyone is getting to a point of feeling if they are of an opinion they should force it on others. Enough! most of us are here because we believe in live and let live. I respect a smokers right to enjoy life. If the smoke bothers me I ask them to stop if they haven't already asked if anyone minds them lighting up. As to those who chose jobs in Bars that allow smoking it is their choice and they are adults who can find other employment. I did work in bars and restaurants and went on to other employment when you could smoke at your desk. We should worry more about what is going into the ocean around here, think WAPA and waste management sewage. We swim in it and drink purified water from it.

Getting more like stateside.

When does this go into effect?

amoford...i totally agree with you. i just hate having ANY rights being taken away. where will it stop.

The smell of meat repels me and it is certainly not healthy for you. LETS BAN MEAT!!

the killing of animals for out satisfaction......

Alot but not all non smokers smoke other things.....

The general rule of torts and criminal law is that "My freedom to swing my fist stops at the tip of your nose." Literally, when I smoke in public, I am invading your person.

This is not Big Brother. This is stopping people from committing offenses against others.

I was just thinking about the Miami airport.... you know that little glass/outdoor room for smoking. Everytime I walk by it, I'm grateful that I quit a long time ago, and I don't have to be confined to that. It's very unappealing looking. Do they even still have it, or is that now illegal, too?

Thank you Edward. I agree. I finally feel that my rights are being protected.

I'm pro no smoking I'll support the bill.

juanita, it was still there a couple of years ago, i believe in concorse d

Uh...yeah...comparing physical assault with smoking in an open air environment is a bit of a stretch. But, OK, if we're going to legislate everything then let me add perfume, cologne, and hair spray to the list 'cause that cr@p definitely invades my person and triggers some pretty severe allergic reactions. Up until now, I've just stepped away when I was close enough to smell the stink some people bathe in but if I can stop them from wearing it in public...cool...even better!

And who will enforce smoking bans if it includes things like not being allowed to smoke within 50 feet of a window? The police? Uh...don't we have a few more pressing issues here than wearing seat belts and smoking?

I just hope that no one tries to ban cookies 'cause those things are just too damned useful here! 😀

does anyone know the staticis on how second hand smoke in open air bars/rest. cause cancer or other health risks....??

interested to see some proven facts for the open air establishments

should we go after monseratte and africia for the dust and ash we breath??? i feel like that is going to have an effect on us in the future... we breath volcanic ash days on end.