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Should cigarette smoking be allowed in some bars & restaurants?

Should cigarette smoking be allowed in some bars & restaurants?

  • Total voters
    107
Your Star said:
It's a public health issue and the government has a right to interfere with public health. People who open a business must agree with the rules and regulations of that particular enterprise and not letting people smoke in a public place of business is one of those regulations. It is a good a fair regulation that helps with the public health and it should stay in effect.

If people want to smoke indoors, they have their private homes and cars, but don't do it in a place of business where you can put other people at risk.
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It's not public health, it's private property. You make the choice. Just because you don't like how some people exercise their freedom doesn't mean you have the justification to force the change. Let your consumerism win out the day. Don't go to establishments that allow smoking. Done. But to prevent legal activities on private property because you can't be bothered to research or consume intelligently? That's not valid excuse for government force against the free exercise of rights.
 
Ikari said:
I don't, I'm not forcing you into the establishments which allow smoking. You made that choice. Make a different choice if you don't like how that particular group exercises their freedom.
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I don't see how forcing others to breathe in smoke that could potentially hurt them health-wise constitutes any jurisdiction of freedom. The bartenders and the employees should not be subjected to an unsafe work environment. Secondly isn't it discriminatory to those who cannot be around smoke like that....wouldn't that be the same as hanging a sign on thew door...NO ASTHMA PATIENTS ALLOWED. Please. No offense but just take your lazy ass outside. I smoke cigars every so often, and a pipe, and take it outside where it belongs. No just knock off the fake freeoms nonsense.
 
I think bars/resteraunts should apply for smoking liscenses just like they apply for drinking liscenses.
 
I find it interesting that those vehemently against are so rigid that they are unwilling to allow even a small 10% of establishments that cater to people who are unlike themselves. This is exactly the kind of attitude that I find incredibly selfish.

Also, restaurant and bar jobs are a dime a dozen. Employees can make the same choices as customers. Most smoking employees would quit their job so they could work at a place that allows smoking, thus creating opening for non-smoking employees at non-smoking restaurants. It would even out.
 
Constantine said:
I don't see how forcing others to breathe in smoke that could potentially hurt them health-wise constitutes any jurisdiction of freedom. The bartenders and the employees should not be subjected to an unsafe work environment. Secondly isn't it discriminatory to those who cannot be around smoke like that....wouldn't that be the same as hanging a sign on thew door...NO ASTHMA PATIENTS ALLOWED. Please. No offense but just take your lazy ass outside. I smoke cigars every so often, and a pipe, and take it outside where it belongs. No just knock off the fake freeoms nonsense.
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The bartenders and employees don't need to work there if they don't want. You do not have to consume there if you do not. Talk about lazy, you just want to go into some place, start coughing loudly and make everyone conform to your wishes instead of finding an establishment that would pander to your legal desires.

I don't smoke at all cause it's gross, but I'm not going to force others to conform to my choices. That's how freedom works. You go crying to government to solve all your problems, you're going to be left with bigger problems than a smoky bar.
 
Ikari said:
It's not public health, it's private property. You make the choice. Just because you don't like how some people exercise their freedom doesn't mean you have the justification to force the change. Let your consumerism win out the day. Don't go to establishments that allow smoking. Done. But to prevent legal activities on private property because you can't be bothered to research or consume intelligently? That's not valid excuse for government force against the free exercise of rights.
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The government has every right to regulate the safety of business'. Just like they have the right to come in and make sure that the kitchen is up to code, that they are operating in a safe clean way, they have the right to prevent people from smoking in public establishments. You can live in your libertarian fantasy land all you want, but that doesn't make it a good idea. Allowing smoking in a closed space, like a restaurant or bar, is just wrong, period. The government is in the right to use it's power to stop this in the name of public health.
 
Ikari said:
Smoking is legal. If you want to change it, go make it illegal. Till then it's the property owner's decision. You have no right to someone's property and labor, you can go somewhere else. Workers can work somewhere else, or as pointed out earlier, establishments can install proper ventilation and air circulation to clean the smoke up.
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Actually, luckily for us, it's not the property owner's decision. Thank God. I'd hate to know I went into a restaurant to eat and had to choke down smoke with my steak. Besides, smoking makes places stink.

I know this. I smoked for years.
 
radcen said:
I find it interesting that those vehemently against are so rigid that they are unwilling to allow even a small 10% of establishments that cater to people who are unlike themselves. This is exactly the kind of attitude that I find incredibly selfish.

Also, restaurant and bar jobs are a dime a dozen. Employees can make the same choices as customers. Most smoking employees would quit their job so they could work at a place that allows smoking, thus creating opening for non-smoking employees at non-smoking restaurants. It would even out.
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Exactly, nanny state us all into submission because their holier-than-thou attitude doesn't allow for freedom and choice.
 
Your Star said:
It provides an unsafe work environment for their workers.

Smoking is ridiculously unhealthy and it is okay for the government to limit the harm.
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And once again that harm doesn't exist with the proper equipment.
 
Superfly said:
Actually, luckily for us, it's not the property owner's decision. Thank God. I'd hate to know I went into a restaurant to eat and had to choke down smoke with my steak. Besides, smoking makes places stink.

I know this. I smoked for years.
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You don't have to go into that restaurant. How is this a tough concept to understand? You made the choice. Go cook your own steak, go find a restaurant that doesn't allow smoking through their own choice. Trying to **** on everyone's parade because you got it in your head that you're better than everyone and they have to listen to you.
 
Superfly said:
But aren't you treading on ours, by forcing us to inhale your smoke? Why can't you just stand outside? Or better yet, wait til your meal is over?
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Nope, you're choosing of your own free will to lie down with that particular dog. No use complaining of fleas when you do.
 
If a small percentage of establishments allow smoking, then smokers are essentially confined together and away from non-smokers. Smokers get a relative few places for them, non-smokers still get every place else for them. Seriously, what is the issue with this?
 
clownboy said:
And once again that harm doesn't exist with the proper equipment.
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They will continually skip over this point because their arguments aren't actually about public safety, it's about personal choice and choices made they don't like.
 
radcen said:
I find it interesting that those vehemently against are so rigid that they are unwilling to allow even a small 10% of establishments that cater to people who are unlike themselves.
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I wouldn't object to this. I mean a hookah bar obviously should allow smoking. I thought you meant like all restaurants - like I shouldn't have to walk into a Golden Corral and be hit by a wave second hand smoke.

Then again bars need limits. We once had a DUI crash that we responded to. Guy got in his car, drove into the street, flipped the car into a ditch on the other side of the road. Hey, whatever I guess. Dude walked back into the bar....we tried going into that bar but there was so much damn smoke we literally couldn't breathe. We wore respirators to get him out. Tanks like we'd wear into a structure fire. So bars do need limits of some kind.

((in retrospect we laughed for a very long time at that call and it still comes up in stories :) ))
 
Ikari said:
You don't have to go into that restaurant. How is this a tough concept to understand? You made the choice. Go cook your own steak, go find a restaurant that doesn't allow smoking through their own choice. Trying to **** on everyone's parade because you got it in your head that you're better than everyone and they have to listen to you.
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You don't have to light up a nasty ass cigarette, either. Do the entire restaurant a favor and wait 30 freaking minutes to smoke, how about it? Or just get up and walk outside? How hard is that to do? You want the entire restaurant to cater to your whim by smelling your smoke.
 
Constantine said:
I wouldn't object to this. I mean a hookah bar obviously should allow smoking. I thought you meant like all restaurants - like I shouldn't have to walk into a Golden Corral and be hit by a wave second hand smoke.

Then again bars need limits. We once had a DUI crash that we responded to. Guy got in his car, drove into the street, flipped the car into a ditch on the other side of the road. Hey, whatever I guess. Dude walked back into the bar....we tried going into that bar but there was so much damn smoke we literally couldn't breathe. We wore respirators to get him out. Tanks like we'd wear into a structure fire. So bars do need limits of some kind.

((in retrospect we laughed for a very long time at that call and it still comes up in stories :) ))
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As pointed out, there is equipment for that already.

Good thing you ain't a fire fighter.
 
Superfly said:
You don't have to light up a nasty ass cigarette, either. Do the entire restaurant a favor and wait 30 freaking minutes to smoke, how about it? Or just get up and walk outside? How hard is that to do? You want the entire restaurant to cater to your whim by smelling your smoke.
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I don't light up anything. Smoking is gross. But I'm not on some religious crusade against it either. It's not your property, it's not your labor, you have no right to it. You can go somewhere else instead of forcing everyone to conform to you.
 
I included the extreme option as a poll option, because I know some people feel that way, but even I don't advocate that. I do, however, think allowing roughly 10% to 15% of establishments to allow smoking is a reasonable compromise.
 
clownboy said:
Nope, you're choosing of your own free will to lie down with that particular dog. No use complaining of fleas when you do.
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No, thank God the government requires all dogs to be free from fleas. That way, I can choose to lie down with any dog I want and not have to worry about it. :)
 
Then regulate the equipment to keep workers safe in restaurants and bars that have smoking allowed.
 
clownboy said:
Then regulate the equipment to keep workers safe in restaurants and bars that have smoking allowed.
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But....but.....people are going to smoke.....and I don't want them to......so they should do what I say.
 
Superfly said:
No, thank God the government requires all dogs to be free from fleas. That way, I can choose to lie down with any dog I want and not have to worry about it. :)
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That's BS. We had dogs around the bar all the time, and ain't none of them were ever checked for fleas before entering.
 
Superfly said:
No, thank God the government requires all dogs to be free from fleas. That way, I can choose to lie down with any dog I want and not have to worry about it. :)
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Except it's not as monolithic as you suggest. It's a state/local regulatory issue.
 
clownboy said:
Except it's not as monolithic as you suggest. It's a state/local regulatory issue.
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I just don't understand big government nanny-staters. It's not that hard to not go into the establishment that allows smoking. I did it all the time, it was easy.
 
Ikari said:
As pointed out, there is equipment for that already.

Good thing you ain't a fire fighter.
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...i am a fire fighter. Are you stupid? Off your meds a bit? Or just trolling on purpose? Chill out kid.
 
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