Poll: smoking

[Ron Wenrich]

Poll expires 2-13-06

Smoking has been banned in CA, and there's talk of banning it in NY.  What do you think?

[Quartlow]

I'll be first to step into the fire, I don't think the government has any business telling any one what they can legally do on their property.

If a restaurant or bar owner wants to cater to smokers let him, you have the power to decide whether or not you want to do business there. Will it hurt business, most likely not. Is it going to make people quit smoking? most likely not.

Keep giving up your rights, pretty soon it will be the communist states of America

[Tom]

I smoked for Many, many years and hope that it hasn't killed me.  I quit in 1980.   Smoking in my presence not only bothers me, it sickens me.  I get nauseaus.  Tobacco smoke from a cigaret that is 50 or more feet away can make me throw up.  It's as if I had taken that first drag of my first cigaret again.  Most smokers have forgotten how bad it made them feel.  I'm reminded every time I am in proximity to the smoke.  I have neighbors who are very heavy smokers.  I used to visit them daily years ago, before they started smoking.  One day, they had a traumatic awakening that their son was a homosexual.  They decided that it was a good reason to start smoking.  I can't stand to be around them anymore.  I've lost two good friends.  I've been to their house maybe five or six times in the last 10 years.

I don't like the idea that the government has to be envolved.  I don't mind what people do at home.  I think there are some things that need to be curtailed in public places to protect those who don't partake from those who suffer from the addiction.  If it takes a law to do it, then I guess it's worth it.

[Ianab]

NZ has just done it. No smoking in any workplaces, bars, clubs etc.

The best part is being able to go out and NOT come home with your hair and clothes smelling like an ashtray. There was all doom and gloom from the bar owners that it would drive all their customers away and they would all go broke. After 12 months, no change in the bar / resturant turnover  : It's just they are nicer places now.

What drove it here was workplace safety, if you employ someone you are legally and morally required to give them a 'safe' workplace. If you had a factory where your workers were breathing the sort of air you used to get in a smokey bar OSH would have you closed down instantly or have everyone wandering around with air masks on.

You might not give up smoking, but I bet you will smoke less if you have to go and stand outside for a smoke  ;)

Ian

[Jeff]

I quit smoking 7 years ago and now have the same effects on me as Tom when around smoke. I have no problem at all telling a restaurant or shop owner myself that if they don't do something I wont be back. I don't need the government to do it for me.  I have done it twice in the last six months. One was an antique shop where the owner smokes. I told him on my way out that he had several interesting things but I could not stand to be in his shop one more second or would I return. It was worse then a bar. At least bars have ventilation. (I wont go in bars any more because of the smoke)  The other place was the Clare Ponderosa restaurant. You have to walk through the smoking section to get out of the place. I told the manager on my way out, that it was the last time I ate in there until they moved the smoking area to somewhere where it did not sicken me every time I finished a meal.

There is one more place where I THOUGHT I was in control of the smoke and that was my own home. The last time we went up to Chet's, I came home and as soon as I walked in the house, I was ready to kill my son. I knew exactly who had been there.  Stacy was upset that he would not listen to her and lit up anyhow and had two friends there to play cards and they smoked as well. He knew full well about my rules of smoking in the house. I have told him if he ever enters my home and does it again, I will kick his ass, and I mean it. Literally. I'll beat him senseless which wont take much.

As for the right to smoke. That is every persons own decision. I have no problem with smokers. If it wasn't for the allergy to them, and the fact that they will kill you, and the cost, and the stench, I could use a cigarette right now. Always loved to smoke and enjoyed to smoke. Just didn't like having my lips and finger nails turning blue that last day I did smoke.  :-\

[isassi]

Yes, I admit, I am a smoker and I am trying to quit. Down to less then a pack a day and I hope to be over it very soon. I am 45 and I started at 18...just 'cause everyone I worked with was doing it. Now it is very tough to quit because I frankly do enjoy a cigarette....so be it...but..it is my choice..totally. And I don't smoke in anyones house or my own, nor in public...my own private habit.  I do not have a problem with smoking being banned in public, for the reasons that Tom and Jeff stated. What I am afraid of is the increasing intrusion of government into private and personal lives. I don't believe we really want the government regulating morality and behavior. If they want to curb it, make possesion of tobacco carry the same penalty as pot. Then we wouldn't worry over smoking in public. Of course, the money we save will go to increased taxes to pay for more prisons because the last time we regulated morality in America, we found out it didn't work. Education will hopefully eradicate smoking, not more useless laws.

[bitternut]

NY State is smoke free in Niagara County where I live. Best thing they ever did. If you want to smoke you can do it all you want on private property that permits it. If its public property or the workplace it should not be allowed. When I was working the smokers used to go sit in a smoking room and then they made them go stand outside. Of course they hung around the door to do it and you had to walk through a fog of smoke to enter or leave the building. Been retired for six years so I don't know what they do now.

I quit about 25 years ago for the last time. Before that I must have quit at least a thousand times. Hardest thing I ever did. Did it cold turkey. I knew a guy that was on oxygen and used to unhook his bottle so he could have a cigarette. Knew another guy that had his voice box out and smoked through the hole in his throat. Tobacco is very addictive and I know lots of people would quit if they could. Some others just plain don't want to and I guess that is their right. Just don't try it in my house or vehicle.

[Tom]

It's not the morality that bothers me.  It's the tobacco smoke.

I don't look at a freedom as something that infringes upon another's freedom.

when I smoked, I didn't understand why I couldn't smoke anywhere I wanted.  It seemed my right.

When I quit, I realized that a smoker has the choice to smoke or not smoke.  The non-smoker has no choice.  

If the non-smoker wants to be in a smoke free atmosphere in a smoker's society, he has to be the one who picks his surroundings.   He has to stay at home, or in an area that is designated as "non-smoking". (that's a laugh that there are such areas described in a restaurant.  Smoking is far more intrusive than the size of a restaurant.)

Did you know that Paper mills don't smell bad.....  if you live next to one.  Neither do pig sties, horse barns, dairies or human waste disposal companies.  Some of them will make you sick.  Some of them may kill you.  If you choose not to live next to one, then its aroma is offensive.  Perhaps it's self preservation.

While pig sties may be safe, most municipalities have laws as to were they can reside.  I wonder why?  

[sawguy21]

I am  non smoker. Tried it as a kid and could not understand why anyone would make a career out of it. The law here states that any area that allows access to minors has to be non-smoking. The city bylaw bans smoking in any public place ostensibly to protect workers health. I am with Jeff and Tom, I can't handle being around smoke and the sooner it disappears the better I'll like it. BTW, our government uses the high taxes from tobacco sales to finance quit smoking programs. Go figure

[CHARLIE]

Yeah, the smoke bothers the heck out of me and if I am trapped and can't get away from it, I feel ill.  But that's only one part of smoking that I hate.  Most smokers are slobs. I've seen very few that won't throw a butt out their vehicle window, or throw a butt on the ground.  I've even seen where a smoker emptied their vehicle's ashtray on the ground.  IBM Rochester did not allow smoking in the buildings so the smokers stood at the doorways.  The company put a large cigarette butt receptical next to the area and the smokers still threw the butts on the ground.  Those filters don't rot, they just lay there for years and years and years. >:(       

[sandmar]

I am a non-smoker,always have been. My Dad smoked for years when I was a kid,he had to have a heart valve replaced.My Father-in-law smoker for years also,he died of lung cancer.My wife's uncle smoked for years,he suffered from emphysema for years before it finally killed him. I will not allow anyone to smoke in my house,my work shop,or my barn.Like Tom said,smokers have a choice,the non-smokers do not in confined spaces. Therefore,I pick and choose where to eat,and spend my money.Sorry folks....just a touchy subject for me.

Sandmar

[Jeff]

Most smokers are slobs

I am disassociating the forestry forum from that statement Charlie! You dont know most smokers and thats a statistical fact! :D I am sure that you meant the statement to me aimed only at those that fit your definition of a slob smoker not at "most" smokers.

[Jeff]

What I can not beleive, is that Jeremy had me for a complete example of a smoker yet still chose to smoke.  I smoked from the time I was 12 even though I was a preachers kid. SMoked unfiltered Lucky's the neighbor got from his old man. I never had a smoker close to see what hell they go through trying to breath or the way that cigs rule their every move. Its true. Where am I  going to smoke? do I have a light? do I have enough to get to point b from point A, where can I get more? Where can I get money to get more? ? ? ?

He saw them almost kill me and then took it up AFTER he left home. AFTER!

[CHARLIE]

You are right Jeff.  I don't know most smokers but everywhere I go I see where they've been. They've been in parks, at the beach, on the city sidewalks, driving down roads, at malls, in parking lots, in stadiums, at the races....etc., etc., etc......    >:(  

[Max sawdust]

Hey I am a smoker Who Ya callen a slob :D :D Just kidding quite 12 years ago :D :D  Addicted to chew for da nicoteen : :
I hate it >:(
I voted up to the establisment.  My wife and I  will not go to a resturant that is real smokey.  If we go somewere with smoking I have to wash my clothes when I get home cause they stink.

I would like to vote for banning smoking, but something about free market economy comes to mind.  If enough people do not like smoking then the bar/resturant will go out of business ;D
Max

Jeff, take it easy on him, you will cause him to smoke more.  Problem is the stuff is SO addictive :-[

[Jeff]

I dont say anything about his smoking to him ACCEPT if he smokes in my house, and if it happens again I wont say anything that time either as he aint goona see whats coming.  As for that, I've lit cigarettes for him. I know all about pressure from parents to quit andit dont do anything to help.

[Max sawdust]

Ya lighting up in your house is disrespectfull, and deserves a whoopen.

I know what you mean, mine are too young but my brothers 20 year old son smokes, and his parents do not know.  I hate it and do not condone it, but would rather know what he is up too than stick my head in the sand.

[sandmar]

Jeff,if it helps you can tell him that watching a loved one die over a 2 year period with lung cnacer that metastisis in the brain, is a very life changing event. I would not wish to see that again in my life,not a easy or pleasant way to leave this world,and the whole family suffers to some extent with them along the way.

Sandmar......sorry if this is too serious,but I tell everyone I see smoking this story

[asy]

Our smoking laws are pretty much the same as NZ. Thankfully.

Now they are talking about making smoking while driving in a car illegal, as too many people throw their butts out the window (cigarette ones, that is ;) )

A few weeks ago a bushfire was caused by someone throwing a butt out the window and people were killed. They know who threw the butt and they are looking at charging them with negligent manslaughter.

This isn't the first bushfire blamed on cigarette butts.

I have no idea how in daylights they'll police this, since they don't even seem to be able to totally police people driving with un-seatbelted kids in the back...  but it's a good idea.

Oh, and, tom, I've never been a smoker, but the smell makes me want to throw up as well. My kids saw their grandmother dying from lung cancer, and as she said, if nothing else, let's hope it's enough to make them never take up smoking.

asy :D

[crtreedude]

I quit smoking back when I was 21 - and I love the smell of tobacco to this day. The thing is, my wife is alergic to it. For me - you could be a chimmney around me and I wouldn't care - but it effects a lot of people.

Let them smoke - as long as they can totally control the smoke, and I don't mean little signs that say "smoking section". 

The right to smoke ends when the smoke travels into another section. Therefore, it doesn't belong in a public place - unless that public place is for smokers only.

As far as one of our kids smoking in the house - I wouldn't have to kill them - Amy would.  and if they gave her a problem, they know they would be facing me.  >:(

If you do smoke - make a point of picking up any cigarette butts that your slob brethren throw around. After all - it is your right to smoke that you will be losing.

[TexasTimbers]

Reformed smoker here too. I absolutley detest the stuff. Those who don't experience what Tom was talking about might not be able to relate. I don't have it quite that bad but I sure know what he's talking about. But as much as I detest the stuff I detest giving government the power to tell me (in this case my fellow smoking citizens) what to do.
It's easy to say "smoke bothers me so it's okay to give government power to ban smoking - because that benefits ME." But it's not so easy to hear about a law that says "No more logging anywhere by private persons. Period."  ,,,, because the Tree Huggers who eventually gained the majority "get sick" when they see a tree being cut.
It shouldn't be rule by majority in every case.
If you are in a place that allows smoking, vote with your feet. The marketplace, though sluggish at times, usually gets it right in the end. Government, though even more sluggish, almost always gets it wrong.

[thecfarm]

Here in Maine there is no public smoking.I quite 10 years ago.Glad I did.I must of tried 1000 times too,Bitternut.It was a hard road to travel and I'm not going back.Every day I miss it,but no way will I start up.It costs ALOT of money.I know of married couples who smoke. Wouldn't surprize me if they are spending $200 a month on cigarettes and there is booze on top of that.I want toys to enjoy.I have better ways to spend my money.

[Kirk_Allen]

I took up smoking in Boot Camp.  When the DI said "smokers, take 5, the rest of you, grab a broom", I knew it was time to start smoking    Didn't last long though.  Once out of Boot Camp I quite.  Probably didn't smoke enough to get hooked.

To answer the Poll question, I am fed up with the Government making rules that take peoples rights away. I think that if a restaurant or bar want to make no smoking bans, or business, etc, great, I am all for it but I am not for our Government making more laws that take the rights of our people away. 

I voted "DON'T KNOW" since there was no mention of who was doing the banning.  If its the Government, NO, if its the business owners, YES.

I have no smoking policy on my property. Got tired of the SLOBS that would come and get FREE firewood and throw there butts on the ground while they stacked it. Nothing makes me madder than having to clean up someone else's cigarette mess.

I created quite a stir while in the service on this issue.  Our Branch Chief was a heavy smoker.  I was running the Swing Shift crew, of which NONE of us smoked.  Came in for Shift change and on our duty list for the evening was to pick up all the butts around the hanger.  NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

Next morning I got a call at home and was told to report to the Branch Chief ASAP.  He wanted to know why I didn't do what I was ordered to.  I politely told him I felt that is "order" to pick up his and others cigarette butts was not a valid order and bordered on abuse considering not 1 person on our shift smoked.  The think blew up into an IG (Inspector General) issue before the day was out.  Branch Chief ended up getting reprimanded for abusing his authority and was given 40 hrs of extra duty time picking up Cigarette Butts on the BASE! 

3 Years later he quite smoking and later apologized for what he tried to make us do.  We became pretty good friends and went on several moose hunts together.  The world is a funny place ;D

[thedeeredude]

I voted up to the bizness.  I hate the smell of smoke, but it is simple thought that if someone wants to smoke, why should the government stop them.  If the owner of the property doesn't want smoking, fine.  If the government tells them they don't want smoking, I got a problem with it.  I think enough people would leave the restaurant, etc., that the place would have a no smoking policy.  My grandfather died of lung cancer almost 6 years ago.  That's enough for me to keep away from cigarettes. 

[IL Bull]

I do not smoke, do not like the smell in the air or on my clothes but I believe it should be up to private business on what they should do.
Less government (who's going to enforce this??).