Smoking

[Sam_Fear]

Maybe the smoking laws as affecting workers should be considered along side sweat shops? Puts a whole 'nother kink in my line of thinking....

As far as patrons, how far should their safety be guaranteed? Smoke in the air, tainted food, or collapsing ceiling - is there a difference?

 

[cantwell.colton]

well - for instance - at the college i was attending they had a "hearing" or whatever you would call it concerning making the campus completely non- smoking --and it was agreed after some debate that smoking would not be banned, but limited to certain accessible and "fair" areas designated for smoking - that is to say - that some areas designated were covered from sun and weather, etc but general walkways, entrances, and traffic areas were non smoking -- NOT A PROBLEM... but this is a State College Campus - not a privately owned casino or bar -- Im a smoker and dont mind restaurants being non smoking and most other areas - ie... im not going to complain about not being able to smoke in the grocery store - but telling a business owner that they HAVE to be a non smoking bar when 90% of the individuals who go there are smokers is nonsense....

as far as other jobs go for people working places --- there are PLENTY of jobs available - and anyone who says differently is full of it -- pizza delivery, night stocker, security guard, any 24 hr restaurant store or other like business, i could go on all week- my point is bar tending/backing - is NOT the only option -- and to the individuals who work there - they were very certain that smoking was going to occur there when they had applied for the job --

my final words on this are - anyone who voted to have smoking banned from public places should also be eligible to make up for any lost revenue the businesses were subjected to --- it seems real unfair for a private business owner to suffer while making all of the correct business choices and it not be their fault -- yet they are suffering from it...

why dont we tell starbucks theyre no longer to sell coffee?
or better yet ban alcohol from public places? -- bc im dang sure
that there are FAR more injuries and deaths relating to having a few
to may drinks at chilis or "the club" in one month, than will ever occur from
the second hand smoke at your local bar in 15 years... or a people smoking on a bench in a park in 100 years --

 

[donsrods]

as far as other jobs go for people working places --- there are PLENTY of jobs available - and anyone who says differently is full of it -- pizza delivery, night stocker, security guard,


Sure, if you can live on the same money you made when you were 17! Plus, while you are working those minimum wage jobs you are locked in and unable to look for a proper job that pays enough to support yourself. And you are missing another point, some employers are reluctant to hire an over qualified worker because they know as soon as that person finds a decent job they are history. (Been there, done that ) In the past I have had employers tell me "I'd love to have someone of your qualifications, but in a few months you would walk out on me and I would have to start all over again."

Don

 

[bob w]

There has been, is, and always will be a constant struggle between individual rights and the "common good"
Example: You buy a house near a major airport. Then you complain about the noise. The necessity or common good of the airport trumps the individual's right to a quiet environment. Yes, there will be some help from the "common good" to midigate the noise problem for the homeowner, but the airport will not be closed.

Example: A drag strip is built in a field miles from a city. Over time the city expands and many homes and businesses are built near the drag strip. The residents as whole complain about the noise from the drag strip. The drag strip does not serve the "common good", merely a small, specialized sub-section of the population. The many residents of the area become the "common good" and the drag strip is forced to close.

Over time some behaviors that were acceptable become less acceptabe or unacceptable, i.e. smoking is less acceptable and racial segragation is unacceptable.
Conversely, some beaviors that were unacceptable become acceptable, legally or by social standards. Alcohol consumption became legal after the repeal of prohibition. Wearing skimpy clothing in public is now acceptable.

The issues change, but the struggle to balance individual rights verses the "common good" never will.

 

[dmw56]

Very well put Bob!

 

[moparcowboy]

They banned smoking here in Colo. some years ago, bars, etc. cried like a bunch of babys" we're going to go bankrupt" etc. guess what they still in business, all back to normal only I don't have to eat a steak that smells like a Camel. It is sad that they had to make a law to control those rude few smokers that had no repect for others.
I've always said you don't blow smoke in my face I don't spit my chew in yours.

 

[hotrod preacher]

Bob W that was the most intelligent post in this whole thread IMO......

well said! [cl[cl[cl[cl[cl

 

[cantwell.colton]

They banned smoking here in Colo. some years ago, bars, etc. cried like a bunch of babys" we're going to go bankrupt" etc. guess what they still in business, all back to normal only I don't have to eat a steak that smells like a Camel. It is sad that they had to make a law to control those rude few smokers that had no repect for others.
I've always said you don't blow smoke in my face I don't spit my chew in yours.

did they outlaw chew from public places? bc too many times do i see folks spit on the ground or leave a spit cup laying around and that is JUST as disgusting - especially if the user has the nerve to use an acutal glass that needs to be washed and not something disposable... in fact its even more of a hazardous material as well...

as far as my comment on finding another job it was in response to the 2nd Job thing - so yes - there are PLENTY of 2nd jobs for people - sorry i didnt clarify that lol

 

[Willowbilly3]

They banned smoking here in Colo. some years ago, bars, etc. cried like a bunch of babys" we're going to go bankrupt" etc. guess what they still in business, all back to normal only I don't have to eat a steak that smells like a Camel. It is sad that they had to make a law to control those rude few smokers that had no repect for others.
I've always said you don't blow smoke in my face I don't spit my chew in yours.

I'd much rather roll on a cigarette butt than a wad of chew/spit when I am under a car. There are always rude and inconsiderate smokers and chewers both. When I smoked, I would never smoke in the presence of a non smoker, except in a bar. I never blowed smoke in anyones face and I doubt that many smokers would. I never smoked in the house or where my kids had to smell it or get any smell on them.
The argument that you had to work in a bar is thin, or that you had to eat in a restaurant where there was smoking. Those are free choices you made to put yourself in the presence of smokers. If a dining experience sucks for any reason, I don't go there again. If a job is putting my health in jeopardy, I might tend move on and find another job. I did work as a roughneck for a couple years, the money was great and the risks were known, people got killed and maimed on those rigs. I was young and figured the money was worth the risk.

 

[CR55]

They banned smoking here in Colo. some years ago, bars, etc. cried like a bunch of babys" we're going to go bankrupt" etc. guess what they still in business, all back to normal only I don't have to eat a steak that smells like a Camel. It is sad that they had to make a law to control those rude few smokers that had no repect for others.
I've always said you don't blow smoke in my face I don't spit my chew in yours.

They banned smoking in restaurants, bars, ect. here in Delaware a few years ago too. All of the owners were worried about their business losing revenue, but after a matter of weeks, the business was back to normal. My gripe is that when people go outside to smoke (that's your preference if you want to kill yourself) they have to stand right in front of the entrance! I don't want to smell your smoke or have to ask you to move over so I can go inside. I'm probably the most anti-smoker you'll ever meet! I watched it kill my first wife at age 38 as well as my father too, along with a host of other family members and friends! As a former smoker I can't relate how someone can say they can't quit. I did, along with a former business partner who smoked for 50 years. He just decided to quit and he did. But it was too late as he died from lung cancer a few years later. It's a dirty, disgusting and costly habit.....Just quit. You know it's going to kill you. If you have a family, you owe it to them as well as yourself to find a way to quit! Rant over!..CR

 

[donsrods]

It must be a very powerful addiction because I know some people who are strong in every other way, yet they can't give up smoking. I have even heard people say they gave up hard drugs easier than cigarettes. My ex-wife is an RN, worked with people dying of lung cancer, her own Mother is on an oxygen tank every minute of the day, and yet she smokes 2 cartons a week!

My ex GF and I would go to the Nursing Home to visit her Mom and these old ladies would come out onto the patio to sit down with their oxygen bottles on wheels. Then they would sit down and light up a cigarette!!! [S I thank God every day that neither I nor my two Sons ever took up that habit.

This year it was my ex wifes turn to have Xmas at her place, and no one wanted to go there because of how it smells. She aired it out and smoked out on the lanai for the entire evening, but we all still smelled like smoke when we left.

Don

 

[Willowbilly3]

They banned smoking in restaurants, bars, ect. here in Delaware a few years ago too. All of the owners were worried about their business losing revenue, but after a matter of weeks, the business was back to normal. My gripe is that when people go outside to smoke (that's your preference if you want to kill yourself) they have to stand right in front of the entrance! I don't want to smell your smoke or have to ask you to move over so I can go inside. I'm probably the most anti-smoker you'll ever meet! I watched it kill my first wife at age 38 as well as my father too, along with a host of other family members and friends! As a former smoker I can't relate how someone can say they can't quit. I did, along with a former business partner who smoked for 50 years. He just decided to quit and he did. But it was too late as he died from lung cancer a few years later. It's a dirty, disgusting and costly habit.....Just quit. You know it's going to kill you. If you have a family, you owe it to them as well as yourself to find a way to quit! Rant over!..CR

CR, I agree with the doorstep smoking, that is what is going on at the casinos now so every doorway is a stanky ashtray. I did finally quit too but I bet I tried dozens of times over the years. When I finally quit the last time, it was because of my 9 year old daughter begging me not to die like her brother did ( he didn't die from smoking). I know some people who just laid them down and never looked back and some that died with a cig in one hand and the oxygen bottle in the other. Some people are just way more OCD than others I guess.
I have no argument about the negatives of smoking. I do have a problem with taking the freedom of a business owner to choose whether or not they want to cater to that segment of the population.

 

[earthman]

don here is how i handled the smokers gettin more time to smoke . I only worked inside for short time while waiting for a truck to drive . I picked the person who went out side to smoke the most .then when ever she went out side i went with her and stood on the loading dock till she finished . She was the office manager so who was she gonna report me to worked for me .

excellent!!!!!

 

[donsrods]

But businesses always have been regulated about how they conduct business. They are limited to what hours they can sell liquor, how many people can safely occupy the building, if they are a restaurant, the quality and cleanliness of the food they serve, how much they must pay their employees and the hours employees may work, etc. This is no different.

Believe us guys from States where this no smoking law has been in effect for years, 6 months or a year from now it won't even be an issue in your State. People get used to it and simply abide by the law. Even smokers who resent it end up complying with the law and going outside if they can't wait to have a smoke. I've gone to dinner with groups and the folks who want to smoke slip outside for a quicky and just go along with the program.

It is just fresh to you now, but that will wear off.

Don

 

[Torch]

gak!

Banning chewbacca?

Nothing says drink Dr Pepper like a mistaken pull from a can of tobacco spit
there's an epic steve-0 vid on you tube too icky to post here

I never accidentally consumed someones ash tray at a poker game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfLUvnLR5IE&feature=related

 

[Willowbilly3]

Don, you are right, the smokers are already adjusting since it has been a gradual thing over a period of years. They got used to not smoking on airplanes, in the teachers lounge at school, in other public places. Now they will get used to not going to the casinos. We laugh that at one time the teachers lounge was a blue haze of smoke all the time and now a student gets expelled for a couple days if they see a tobacco product on the dash of their car. We don't want to go back to that.
But this is also another step towards eliminating everything that might be dangerous. How will we feel when the majority has spoken and voted out the ownership of certain firearms we now enjoy owning? After all who needs a handgun anyway? Unless they plan on shooting someone. And for sure there is no sporting use for assault type weapons so let's get rid of them. Other countrys have done it and they are still getting along. My life as I know it now, really won't change when they take away the right to own handguns or assault weapons but I will never agree with loosing the freedom to own one. Of course you can argue that isn't the same on some detail or another but it is only different when one affects you more personally than the other. I have lost at least 4 people close to me (one being my own stepson) to fire arms too but they would probably have found another way to die if they didn't have a gun.
When I first moved to Anchorage you could ride your snowmobile anywhere in town. Then more people moved in from outside, the city grew and changed and pretty soon that was outlawed as dangerous to some other people. We adapted and after a few years forgot that we ever had that freedom. Some day we will live in an anesthetized world with all immoral and dangerous activity outlawed. No more free style dirt bikes, skate boards, sky diving, hotrods, car racing, rodeos, eating greasy food, loud music. Then we can sit home and watch reruns of reality tv to remind us how it used to be. I hope I don't live that long.

 

[cantwell.colton]

. Some day we will live in an anesthetized world with all immoral and dangerous activity outlawed. No more free style dirt bikes, skate boards, sky diving, hotrods, car racing, rodeos, eating greasy food, loud music. Then we can sit home and watch reruns of reality tv to remind us how it used to be. I hope I don't live that long.

[cl nice.

 

[Torch]

[cl nice.

"sit at home and watch reality tv"??????
what home?
why should the proletariat have their own personal dwelling??? that would be unsustainable....
Watching reality TV? why aren't they working for the betterment of the collective? Why would they be exposed to the harshness of reality? Where did they get the televisor they were not permitted to posses or use one personally, that is unsustainable How did they acquire the televisor? they were not issued electronic script for this transaction nor was this purchase permitted by the central computer...

It's bad enough that religious zealots want us all to stop living our lives so we can ride around on white horses playing harps in the afterlife...
The commies want us all to stop living our lives so we can ride around on white horses playing harps in this world!!!\
Either someone is trying to set you up a god of their own design for you to bow down to, or they are setting themselves up to be bowed down to...
I ain't saying I don't get on my knees before my maker but It ain't never going to be to another man or to another man's higher power
Can't we just live our lives. isn't it my life anyway? I wasn't created as an ant or a bee. I was created in the image of a singlular personality.
If none of us are fit to direct our own lives...Who from among us is fit to direct our lives for us?
Without getting preachy... If the good book says no man may come to the father except through the son... who from among us is fit to intercede but the son?
Even the worst of criminals respect that book
I have read the books from many religions and I only found one that sets men free from religion, free from other men, free from government, and free from his physical limitations.
But that is a conversation to have elsewhere.