is this a low anywhere else?

smiley21 · #1 03-05-2003, 11:56 PM

i dont know why i thought of this all of a sudden. it could be because i am incredibly tired, in the middle of a paper and my mind keep wandering. Anyway....
At the beginning of the year, a law was put into effect in Florida that put a ban on smoking in public places (restaurants, clubs, bars, etc....)i dont smoke but i was wandering what you people think.
is this fair to smokers? should it just be about the health of the non smokers??

smiley21 · #2 03-05-2003, 11:57 PM

i mean is this a law...man am i tired

Kevin · #3 03-05-2003, 11:59 PM

They just shot that same bill down here (in Oklahoma) in the House today.. I think it's fair to non-smokers. I'm one of those folks who is pretty laissez-faire about things until you start encroaching on my territory or harming me in some way. At that point it's my business to ask you not to. This law is the societal equivelant of that.

Cluey · #4 03-06-2003, 12:05 AM

I love the new law, personally. It makes going out to dinner so much more enjoyable.

Then again, I've never been a smoker, so I wouldn't know how the other half feel.

XOMichelle · #5 03-06-2003, 12:15 AM

It is in California. You can't smoke in bars, clubs, or restaraunts. And some cities have laws where yu must stand so many feet from the doors of buildings.
It sucks for smokers, but it's good for you anyway! Maybe you'll quit. ;-)
-M

XOMichelle · #6 03-06-2003, 12:17 AM

It's all aboout externalities..... if I could charge every smoker for the damadge they could cause to my lungs by smoking near me such a law would not need to be passes. But sadly, the Coase Theorem can't be applied here.
-M

smiley21 · #7 03-06-2003, 12:31 AM

i like the law too. my boyfriend the smoker doesnt. fortunately for him, some restaurants havent put the law into effect yet (not till a later date). so when we go out he wants to go to a smoking restaurant.
for some reason i voted against it. what the heck was i thinking?

Munchkin03 · #8 03-06-2003, 12:49 AM

I am an asthmatic. Therefore, I would love to go to a bar and not have to worry about triggering an asthma attack, or carrying three different inhalers in the club (because they just don't fit in my bar bag

). This is one law that makes me semi-proud to be a Floridian. Mr. Munchkin is a smoker, so he'll probably hate it. But, I love it...

damasa · #9 03-06-2003, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smiley21
i like the law too. my boyfriend the smoker doesnt. fortunately for him, some restaurants havent put the law into effect yet (not till a later date). so when we go out he wants to go to a smoking restaurant.
for some reason i voted against it. what the heck was i thinking?

I might not be an expert by any means in the terms of "law." But if such a law is passed and it rolls into place, don't all things/places/people that the law applies to have to abide by it? I mean, if a law is set into place, it's a law, something dictated by the government. How could some restaurants "not put the law into effect?" Either the law isn't in place yet, so some restaurants won't change until it does, or the law \ was passed and some restaurants are breaking it.

ADPiViolets · #10 03-06-2003, 01:16 AM

I think this is fabulious. It's about time something like this happened.

DeltAlum · #11 03-06-2003, 02:05 AM

A number of Colorado cities have enacted this kind of law. Some even in outdoor areas like public stadiums.

I've never smoked and I applaud these efforts.

PM_Mama00 · #12 03-06-2003, 02:45 AM

Not smoking in a bar??? I'm a smoker, and I would HATE this! Even some non-smokers smoke when they're having a drink.

CC1GC · #13 03-06-2003, 03:34 AM

The city of Ottawa passed this last summer....no smoking in any facility - restaurants, bars, offices, anything - at first all smokers were up in arms about it, but when it all comes down to it you'll decide if smoking in -30 degree weather is enough incentive to quit smoking (if the obscene pictures on cig packages aren't enough for you).

I love going to a bar with no smoking, it's a world of difference....in case any of you haven't realized yet, the shit is very bad for you. It's about damn time other municipalities took action vs tobacco companies.

Hootie · #14 03-06-2003, 03:37 AM

My coworkers and I were disgussing this and here's some key points we came up with.

If they (government) ban smoking in public restraunts or such they are limiting the rights of people. What happens when rights are taken away or limited? More rights are taken away or limited. It's like telling people they cannot drink alcohol at a bar after a certain time because then you're more apt to get in an accident. I believe that it should be up to the individual owner to choose if their establishment was smoke free or not. The same happened with most Malls...they are now smoke free. I know of one restraunt in town here that is smoke free. And their bar area....empty. People don't hang out at the bar when it's smoke free (sorry, but it's true).

This isn't a personal slam Munchkin. The perfume counters: should they be limited to the number of scents and such that is around? I mean, I have severe allergies myself and some scents trigger them. So does that mean that new laws should be enforced that target perfume counters? No, not likely. Does it annoy me...yes. Do I spend much time there...not really. But there are times when I have to walk through that area (no it's not my hangout) but I get over it. I can fully understand your medical concerns...my brother used to be asthmatic and could never go to places with clouds of smoke. But do people really find that restraunts have clouds of smoke?

mu_agd · #15 03-06-2003, 07:43 AM

It's going in to effect in May in Boston. I can't decide how I feel about it. I don't smoke, and personally I hate coming home from a bar at night smelling of it, but at the same time I don't think it's fair to the people that do smoke to make them leave a bar to go outside to smoke.