Smoking on public sidewalks banned..... - Page 3

Can you imagine the uproar that would cause? haha. A LOT of cranky people! Thats what they are working their way towards here but that caused another problem. Contraband cigarettes. They are cheap and so easy for kids to get. It is a HUGE problem here in Canada right now. Seems to matter what laws come into place, people are going to find ways to smoke.

I dont think we will ever see banned cigarettes. If they ban them, then they can't tax them.

that's not so far off of what I said here:
I have no problem with that either. When my husband broke his knee, I bought him some "smokeless" ashtrays and he smoked indoors. We respected each other enough that I didn't complain about him smoking inside while he carefully held his lit cigarette over the ashtray and blew directly into it.

Eh, once we have universal healthcare where your neighbor's fitness affects your taxes, they'll start taxing red meat, haagen dazs, and shipley's instead. =p

Perhaps a compromise would be more effective. Ban the smoking on the sidewalk, but require smoking areas be provided for buildings instead?


Fall over dead, no. Have a massive asthma attack and stop breathing, yes. As someone with tobacco smoke triggered asthma, it can and has happened more than once. Usually it is when I walk out of a building and people are standing together smoking (on the sidewalk outside the building) and there is a big cloud of smoke I have to walk through. I can't just hold my breath, I have asthma for goodness sake! Once it happened when we came out of a (non-indoor smoking) casino and I didn't have my inhaler. Thankfully I was traveling with my father-in-law, who is a doctor and also carries an EpiPen for himself. Now I have to carry my emergency inhaler in my hand if I am walking out somewhere where there will be a lot of smokers, even outside where you guys are saying the smoke is "diluted". Oh and yes, it does happen for some people when exposed to heavy concentrations of car exhaust, another trigger. Just some first hand, non scientific, food for thought.

Words cannot express how ridiculous I find this.

And the whole analogy between people being uncomfortable around smokers vs uncomfortable around obese people is actually a really good one. As much as you might hate my cigarette smoke is just as much as I hate having to squeeze in between two obese people on an airplane that probably should have had to purchase two seats instead of one.

Why is it okay to tell a smoker where they can and cannot smoke in public places (and attempting to infiltrate our homes as well), but it's not okay to ask someone heavy to pay for the room they take up?

I think the difference here is that smoking is unhealthy and harmful to others. An obese person is not affecting anyone's health but their own. I'd rather walk into a room full of larger people than into a room full of smokers. Not to offend anyone who may be overweight. (My apologies if I did.)

Too many variables in that hypothetical scenario. For example, with the room full of larger people, is it right after spicy taco and three-bean chili night?
JK!

I think I wouldn't want to be in a room full of ANY People after spicy taco and 3 bean chili night.

But anyways...I guess the point of them affecting their own health vs anyone else's is pretty valid, but in a way those that have children do adversely impact the health of others. The point could be made. But you can't tell someone how or what to feed their family.

I wouldn't either

I still say as long as theres no smoking in publics places such as restaurants, bars etc... i'm happy with that. And my house is definitely a no smoking zone, so anyone that comes and wants a cigarette will have to stand outside to have it

In this kind of situation noone is goinng to be happy because both sides will feel their rights are being infringed upon.

I am a smoker and literally am surrounded by non smokers. When we all go somehwere together I don't smoke and if I do smoke outside in a public place I walk away (10 ft or more) to have my smoke and if anyone stands close to me I walk further away. I do try and be considerate of other people outside when I smoke. I don't throw my butts on the ground I put it out and place the butts in my pocket or purse till I find a trashcan to put them in. I don't smoke when I know ill be around my nephew or M and K. I never ever smoke in other peoples houses even other smokers and if I'm at someone elses house I don't even like to smoke on their property, ill walk off their property onto a road or somewhere away by myself so I'm not bothering anyone. If I'm somewhere and its a congested area like an amusement park I don't even take my cigarettes with me.

I think a problem is that people want to lump evrryone into one group. Non smokers will think that smokers are incosiderate or that we don't think about other peoples feelings etc. That's not entirely the case. In these days smokers are becoming the minority and are losing places more and more to smoke. I remember when a friend moved to Denver and told me that he wasn't even allowed to smoke inside his own house something about an indoor smoking ban within city limits.

I think everyone on both sides of the coin need to accept that they will never be truely happy with anything that comes out of bans or what isn't banned. I personally think that if more smoking bans are going to be put into effect then someone needs to come up with public perfume bans because K (and many other people I know) have severe allergies or asthma triggered by perfume. I don't really want to smell anyones smoke or perfume when I go out to eat or shopping. However I realize that it will never happen and I honestly doubt that a countrywide ban of public smoking will happen. There are already tons of designated smoking area put in place at tons of businesses. One that is ridiculous is at a restaurant where the smoking station is right at the front door........doesn't make sense does it.

I have that problem. Nothing will ever be done about that tho.

Terrific post. When I smoked, I was like you, an apologetic smoker.

My state is a no smoking state anymore, in any public building including restaurants and bars. A few years ago another law was passed about how close to public doorways people could smoke. It took a long time for businesses to start enforcing that law, even the hospital didn't at first, but it's better now.

The grocery store I use regularly was one of the worst, not just customers but employees standing in the doorway smoking. I filled out a few complaint cards in the store, and finally went on line and complained at the corporate level. The employee smoking area has now been moved to further than 50 from the entrance.

One of the places I go to pick up my clients was allowing their employees to smoke right outside the door, even after the new 50 feet laws were passed. And this is a government funded building. I complained there too, and the smoking area was moved to a less than ideal spot. There is one employee there who continues to give me dirty looks over this, though I am sure I can't be the only person who was bothered by the smoke and complained.

Walmart, still, is the only place I now have to walk through a cloud of smoke to get into and out of, and I have complained several times, but to no avail. Perhaps it's time to try the corporate level with them too. They HAVE a smoking area but people still stand or sit on a bench right outside the doors and smoke.

I, too, cannot tolerate perfume, aftershave or cologne, granted I am super sensitive to ALL smells, but some people don't seem to have a clue about how much of that crap to use. I can't even stand in a line behind someone wearing perfume. ugh.

No, those were mostly caused by things like cold snaps, disorientation (due to fireworks), and hypoxia. Not poisons in the food and water (except for a group of pest birds purposefully fed poison.)

Thanks

I just really think that while I may not agree 100% with how non smokers feel I still generally agree.

I dont think its fair for me to subject non smokers to my choice to smoke. I want to quit, Im trying to quit. But that doesnt mean that Im going to say 'ban all public smoking'.

I think that businesses really do need to consciously not be nitwits with their smoking stations. Our Wal-Mart is basically like yours with the exception being that their smoking stations is AT the front door, yet their employee smoking station is approx 20 ft away on the side of the building. One place I worked at actually had a ban where employees were not allowed to smoke at all on the property but that was a corporate rule. I know that our schools have a ban on smoking and even tobacco products are not allowed on school property. School grounds actually start from the yellow line in the road towards the school. I figured that out when I was crossing the road (after I graduated high school) and pulled out my cigarettes and a teacher actually caught me and reported me and I got fined for it. I was livid because I was in the road but I was on the school half of the road.

There does need to be a comprimise on both parts though with public smoking. I do think that smokers should not have the "its my choice live with it attitude" but non smokers should understand that while they choose not to smoke it is our right and to make the choice to smoke. Not all smokers are jerks but the ones that are jerks about it and the ones who dont take into consideration other people or disregard smoking stations and signs that state non smoking...well they are turds and need a butt kicking. Just because we/I choose to smoke does not mean that the rest of the people around us choose to smoke. An example of the other side of the coin though, when they banned smokingin bars and restaurants, a lot of places made areas specifically for smoking, so it would make sense for a non smokers to avoid those areas rather than be around those areas and complain about it. Both groups need to be understanding towards each other.