Smoking bans in bars

[sugar and spice]

Starting tomorrow, you will no longer be able to smoke in the bars in my hometown. We've had a restaurant smoking ban for a while, but there's been a lot of drama about the bar ban.

I can see both sides of the argument, but I've never been a smoker and I have a couple friends who have pretty severe smoke allergies and there have been nights where we've had to cut our night short so they can go home and, you know, not die -- so from a personal standpoint I'm all for it.

What other cities have these smoking bans? I get the impression that it won't be long until most cities outlaw it. What do you guys think about it?

[AlphaSigOU]

[i]What other cities have these smoking bans? I get the impression that it won't be long until most cities outlaw it. What do you guys think about it? [/B]

All of California (designated smoking section is in the state of Nevada, next door... )

Florida (most public places)

City of Dallas.

[RACooper]

It's been outlawed up here too... and I gotta say that I'm a fan.

I can now see across bars or clubs... my eyes aren't burning from the smoke... less temptation for me to grab a smoke... and the smell of old smoke doesn't cling to my hair and clothing anymore

The City and County of Honolulu passed a smoking ban in restaurants a few years ago. They were going to make it so that it extends to bars and clubs too, but many businesses strongly went against it...saying that it would hurt sales.

So here in Honolulu (and for the rest of the state, anyway), if the establishment's revenue is made up of at least 75% alcohol sales, smoking is allowed.

I doubt that we'll ever have a complete smoking ban. Hell would probably freeze over first. Still, I'm fine with it either way -- whether or not there's a ban, I'll still get to smoke my cigarettes and I don't care if I have to go outside.

As a smoker, I like being able to have a cigarette when I'm having a drink. I try to be as considerate as possible, but I've had random people come up to me and tell me that they have a problem with my smoking. I tell em what I tell everybody...

"If you don't like cigarette smoke, don't fucking go to bar. Stay home."

[mu_agd]

It's been banned in Boston for at least three years, although I'm not entirely sure for how long it actually has been in effect. I love it in bars here and I can definitely tell hte difference when I go to places where it's not banned.

[ZTAngel]

Florida and Georgia both have a smoking ban. You cannot smoke in a restaurant or bar that gets its revenue from a certain percentage of food. I know that California, New York, and a few states in the Northeast also have smoking bans. Personally, I love it. I like being able to go to a restaurant and not have to smell the smoke that wafts through the non-smoking section from the smoking area.

[valkyrie]

Boulder, CO has one. I don't know -- although I'm in a quasi-smoking phase right now, I normally don't smoke and don't like the smell of it. However, I think it's kind of lame to not allow it at bars. It really should be up to the owners, and then people can choose where to go.

[sugar and spice]

Originally posted by valkyrie
It really should be up to the owners, and then people can choose where to go.

The problem here is that while some of the owners would love to ban smoking in their bars, they know they will lose out on business if they do so because their smoking patrons only have to go down the block to another bar. That's why these particular owners have been supporting the smoking ban, because they know that in this case someone will have to go out of town in order to smoke -- and let's face it, most people will go an extra block, but they won't go an extra 20 miles. It's wishful thinking to imagine that banning smoking would happen on anything less than an all-or-nothing level.

It would be interesting to know the percentage of bar owners who would outlaw smoking in their bars if it wouldn't affect business, though. I have no clue if that percentage would be large or small.

On the whole, I think it's a lot of excitement over nothing. There are plenty of people who smoke now who are bitching about how they won't go out to the bars after this, or they'll go out of town to do it -- but they won't. They all said the same thing when the restaurant ban went into effect, and they still go to all those restaurants. And there are a lot of non-smokers who claim that they'll go out a lot more often now, but honestly I doubt that'll happen either. I don't think it's going to cause a significant change either way.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
The problem here is that while some of the owners would love to ban smoking in their bars, they know they will lose out on business if they do so because their smoking patrons only have to go down the block to another bar.

That's pretty lame of them, though. If they want to ban smoking they should ban smoking and deal with it, but if they want the money from smokers, they should allow smoking and STFU. It's like they want it both ways.

I guess I don't understand why anyone would even OWN a bar if he really hated cigarette smoke if there was no smoking ban in place. It kind of reminds me of the people who move next to a music venue and then bitch about the noise, you know?

[DolphinChicaDDD]

Originally posted by sugar and spice
....I can see both sides of the argument, but I've never been a smoker and I have a couple friends who have pretty severe smoke allergies and there have been nights where we've had to cut our night short so they can go home and, you know, not die -- so from a personal standpoint I'm all for it....

Thats me!!
I have to carry my inhaler with me whenever I go out. And if I forget it, I'm screwed. Which is why I LOVE taking the PATH over to NY any chance I get. I'm all for smoking bans. I hate the way my hair smells and my clothes smell after a night in a smokey bar. The first thing I do when I come home, regardless of the time or how gone I am, I have to take a shower.
I wish more places would ban smoke. Let's face it, smoking is dangerous, and I just mean on the second smoke level. Back in college, I auditioned to be a cocktail waitress in a nice casino in AC, I was hired but couldn't make it through the training because of the smoke. I also couldn't get a job waitressing because the places couldn't garuntee that I would always be in non-smoking section. Forget bartending. I can't imagine how lungs of people people who work in bars or resturants for long periods of times are suffering.

[hoosier]

A stricter ban starts in GA tomorrow (7/1).

One of my favorites - the Vortex - has decided to ban children and anyone under age 21, finding a loophole that allows smoking if no children are present.

The Vortex, two locations, has great burgers and a menu similar to Applebys, and has been attracting a lot of families - but owner says he really doesn't want children, that families are not spending as much as adult customers, and they think they'll do OK.

[Kevin]

More power to 'em. I believe we have some new regs that will appear here in Oklahoma sometime in 2006. Personally, if I could go my life without ever having to smell another cigarette, I'd be a happy camper.

[moe.ron]

In South Africa, they have the 80-20 rule. 80% of the bar must be smoke free and 20% of the bar can be a smoking area. It works marvelously. All the smokers goes to this little room and smoke then joined the rest of the crowd when they get done.

[winneythepooh7]

We have this in NY and I totally love it!!! Especially in the winter so I don't have to worry about cleaning my coat the next day. My boyfriend and half my friends are smokers and they have gotten totally used to just going outside to have a cigarette. Some bars do occasionally let you sneak in your cigarettes for a bit though .

[bruinaphi]

In California our law is a part of the labor code. You cannot allow smoking in any area that has 4 walls, a ceiling and workers. Bars still allow smoking outside. None of the bars seem to have suffered and smokers have gotten used to going out front or to the patio to smoke. As one of the people who is severely allergic to smoke, I really appreciated when this law was put into full force while I was in college.