Does tobacco smoke bother you in restaurants?

[greenfish]

I would have to say yes it does bother me as a non-smoker. It is kind of a meaningless poll for those of us in California since it is illegal here to smoke in restaurants. I do notice it when I travel to other parts of the country. It makes it hard to enjoy your meal.

 

[QTOFFER]

I think smoking should be banned in all public places, including bars and restaurants.

Keep in mind that the laws banning smoking in public places were not put in effect to protect you, the customer/patron, but rather to protect the employees who would otherwise have to endure working every day in a second hand smoke-filled atmosphere.

Imagine being a non-smoking waitress, with or without a genetic predisposition for lung cancer, working a 6 hour shift, 6 days a week, in a pub/restaurant where smoking is allowed. Should that person be forced to quit her job simply because she wants to work in a non-toxic workplace?

Cigarettes are a highly addictive, unregulated, (still, more-or-less) socially acceptable drug. I feel sorry for all the people I see huddled together in the rain and cold outside buildings puffing away to get their nicotine fix - I really do. People have the right to smoke, I suppose; but the rest of us have the right to breathe air free of its toxic byproducts.

 

[QTOFFER]

Having a separate non-smoking area would suit me just fine as a restaurant customer, but as I said in another thread, the smoking ban laws were not passed to protect the customer - they were passed to protect the restaurant employees.

 

[Gonzo82]

They passed a smoking ban here in lexington about a year ago. What a mess. It has been nothing but controversy ever since it went though. The only difference is that the ban not only includes restraunts but also bars. There were several cigar bars that were forced to shut down due to the law. Some places even tell the city to shove it and they will pay the fine because the fact that they still allow smoking brings that many more customers. This is one of those things that will just never work no matter what. There are always going to be people that dont agree with it. Especially in kentucky. The way i look at it though is that when you go to a bar you arent there to be healthy. Over half of the people i know dont smoke but when they are drinking it is a different story. Restraunts, that is fine, but let us have the bars. Its our last refuge. Remember, banning smoking was one of the first things hitler tried to pull off in germany. Dont let them take all of our freedoms.

 

[Gonzo82]

1) Well if the people that work in the bars dont like smoke. DONT WORK IN A BAR. Its that easy. People go there to be unhealthy, not to sit around and eat tofu and drink water.

2) As far as the toxic byproducts go. Lets talk about smog. I dont have a car and i walk about everywhere. I am saying that you should quit driving your car around and get a bike so you dont polute my air that i like to walk around and smoke in.

3) There are also studies that show that babies that are raised with parents that smoke have an imune system that is much better that those of parents that dont smoke. I am not saying that you should blow smoke on babies but you should also look at the side effects of living in a "bubble" your whole life. Humans are designed to fight off disease and one cigarette smoked withing 15 feet of someone is not going to plague the world and send the earth crashing into the sun.

Just my opinion and i like to argue so please dont take it personally.

 

[ClamKnuckle]

I'd be interested in seeing the statistics of how many people are killed by drunk drivers compared to second hand smoke

 

[Toirtis]

Yes. ....except for pipes, which actually smell pleasant.

 

[JG]

New study out shows that children of smokers score 15- 20 % lower on reading and math performace. This does not mean that all children of smokers are at an educational disadvantage , but it does indicate an increase in probabilty.

The chemicals in smoke are vascular constrictors that restrict blood flow throughout the body - including the brain. This decrease is measurable.
Restricted blood flow to the brain means less oxygen to the brain cells.

I prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to my kids.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

New study out shows that children of smokers score 15- 20 % lower on reading and math performace.

I don't agree with this. There are too many variables that affect a child's learning. The time that parents spend with their children after school hours, the amount of attention that a child receives during class time, the gender of the child, the development when they were younger. I could go on and on with this. My parents both smoked when I was young, my father quit a couple years ago and my mother still smokes. Out of all of my friends, there are only two other people whose parents smoke. Oddly enough, me and the other two people are the only ones who have graduated college with honors. Maybe it's just a coincidence.

Drunk drivers have the opportunity to kill so many people when they get into their cars at night. Not only themselves, but they can crash into a bus carrying children home from a basketball game. I saw on the news last year about a drunk driver on the interstate that killed 28 children in 6th - 8th grade, 3 adults, and the drunk driver survived. I was sitting in the car on Monday night with my sister-in-law and 10 month old nephew at the drive thru at Steak-N-Shake. We had ordered sodas and were waiting behind a guy driving an old piece of crap truck. As soon as I pulled up behind him the exhaust from his truck poured into my heater vents and make my nephew throw up instantly. We were all gagging. I had to pull back 20 feet behind him just to not smell the stentch. Shouldn't we outlaw things like that too?

 

[JG]

Again trend shows a pattern - not an absolute.

Affects of chemicals are measurable in real time with new brain imaging tech.

My thought - Is it worth the risk ?

 

[Toirtis]

My father smoked 2-3 packs a day all through my childhood and into my teens, and I certainly did not suffer as far as acedemic achievement is concerned....but the question remains....could I have been just that much better if I had not been exposed to second-hand smoke?

 

[seafan]

"there is a simple answer to every problem... and its wrong"
This applies to smoking, and every other harmful substance, weather smoked, drunken, snorted, or inhaled second hand. In a perfect world these things would never have existed. Unfortunately this is not a perfect world. It is my opinion the best way to deal with this is not only to stop those who are smoking now, but to stop the next generation, and the next generation, until the industry becomes so small it dies. As for toxic emissions, they should be illegal, and I'm sure that in the extreme case fishyfanatic mentioned it was. The regulation on tobacco is long overdue, there are no laws on how many packs a person can smoke a day, and there are no governmentally funded programs to help smokers quit, and there are no laws dealing with operating machinery under the influence of tobacco. Although that last example might be extreme, it shows the difference between how alalcohal buse is dealt with, and how tobacco abuse is dealt with. Furthermore, there is no quick fix, even if tobacco was banned today, it would end up like the prohibition of alcohal, it could never be effective.

 

[quarryshark]

It is my opinion the best way to deal with this is not only to stop those who are smoking now, but to stop the next generation, and the next generation, until the industry becomes so small it dies

Won't happen, this is a free market economy and people are generally fed up with multi million dollar lawsuits. The ones that benefit are the trial lawyer and they are becoming public enemy number one. (thank goodness)

The regulation on tobacco is long overdue, there are no laws on how many packs a person can smoke a day, and there are no governmentally funded programs to help smokers quit, and there are no laws dealing with operating machinery under the influence of tobacco

So you are proposing socialist (or worse) means? Sure sound like it...nice. even the communists didn't put these type of restrictions on people. Just ask my wife, she lived under their rule for 16 years.

even if tobacco was banned today, it would end up like the prohibition of alcohal, it could never be effective

yup.
I really hope you are kidding. 8O
BTW, I don't smoke any more, quit a while ago.....oh ya, it was my choice and no government regulation would have made that difficult decision for me..

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

If i own any type of store, restraunt, bar whatever it's my buisness i hate the government for telling me what to do with it, and if people do not want to shop there because of that that is their right too.

Be weary whenever the government wants to censor or take a right away from you because where one right falss two more are placed in the hot seat, and no matter how insignificant that right may seem the right to smoke which may or may not be directly represented in our constistution its only serves to give the government power over the people instead of giveing people power over the government

BTW not a smoker never tried it dont want if i even thought about it anyway id be slapped all across the room by the people i know.

 

[millipede]

For anyone not sick of me, thanks, and there's still time
I'll say again, smoking is bad. It seems most of the people that argue for smoking are smokers and are just defending themselves. There's no justifying something that is bad. Bad is bad. Now I know, that's a horrible thing to say right...? I don't think so. Sure, I agree, we all need rights, we need freedom. Those are things this country was founded on, amongst other things(such as morals and faith)... And I also belive in personal responsability and I also agree that people are not being responsible for themsleves as much as they should.
I don't know why my mind is drawing a blank on who it is, but there's a member here with an avatar that says "I own you" with a picture of what I assume to be "uncle sam". We're not as free as we think we are here. The government already runs things and in many ways dictates what we can and cannot do. But that's sort of another topic. With the issue of smoking... I'm not sure that's something that should be left to the public to decide whether it's right or wrong. Especially if it is proven(which it is) to be harmful to both comsumers and people around them. Like I said before, the only reason it is still legal is because of all the money the government makes from the tobacco industry. That's all there is to it. Well, that and there are all those people out there that actually think it's ok and not bad... Please don't take me wrong, I'm not trying to condemn anyone here. We all do things that are wrong, but that does not make any of those things right.
Ok, I'm trying to stay on track here. Quite plainly, smoking is hazardous to ones health. There's no two sides to it. When products and drugs are introduced to the public they are screened. The FDA or someone "tries"(and I mean tries ) to keep unsafe products off of the market. Some of the things that get banned and pulled off the market are less harmful than cigarettes. And like mentioned over and over, cigarettes harm more than just the people using them. Just because a large portion of society accepts smoking and the government says it's ok for whatever reasons($$$) does not make it ok. It's killing people. I personally don't know how someone could work for the tobacco companies knowing what it might do to someone.
You can all get mad at me and say I'm ranting if you want... but I haven't anymore than anyone saying smoking is ok.
It may be hard to tell, but I am quite shy and reserved. But there are things in life that I am really passionate about. I can't keep silent. I care about you all, I hope you know that.

 

[chrism]

Quick off topic point the government made a big mistake by saying "you're allowed x amounts of units before you are over the limit to drive... what!? alcohol effects everybody differently! You should be allowed NO alcohol before getting in your car. That takes out the grey area, and stops arguements like, i asked for a single... but the bar man gave me a double by mistake - yes sombody i know used that! My mum never drinks, she could easily be under the limit and totally unable to drive, but leagally able to!

I'm all up for freedom, and human rights, and especially sustainable living. but smoking should not be allowed in public places. I should be able to walk into any pub bar or restaurant or even down the street and have the right to breathe fresh air, just as the employees of such places. As i first mentioned a major chain pub has announced that it will be banning smoking, in may i think it was... so maybe one pub in a town will be non smoking... it should be the other way around. I guess a comprimise would be to ban smoking in all public places, then grant a licence to establishments who want to have smoking. The licence should only be granted to places if they meet to certain criteria, like sufficient air conditioning / extractor fans etc. If that was the case, then i would be able to make a choice, smoky pub? non smoky pub? but know that if i chose a smoky pub that i wasnt putting my health at too much risk.

Also people seem to be forgetting the fact that fags get hot, one of my mums friends little girl almost lost her eye, because somebody wasnt being especially careful with their cigarette. You can have items conviscated if they are classed as a 'dangerous weapon' errr... she nearly lost her eye? granted kids will be kids, and have accidents, but still.

And as for the health risks on children... it's a health risk to adults, so kids don't really stand much chance. yea the human body is an amazing thing, it can evolve build up imune systems, but only a small percentage of children will have the healthy bodys to be able to do this, and even then i doubt how effective it would be.

At the end of the day, when people smoke in a public atmosphere, its not just themselves they are damaging. I'm not harming myself buy sitting next to a guy drinking a pint, im not harming myself even sitting next to a guy who's snorting cocain, but sitting next to a guy who is smoking a fag or a joint is harming me.

Also i know one person who has died through smoking, two people who have ephicemia (sp?) one of which is my aunty, who is only using something like 25% of her total lung volume, yep one lung has completely collapsed, she has been in and out of intensive care, her husband and two children have been told three times, that the doctors dont expect her to live to the morning. She is not ever going to get better, her lungs can not repair themselves. She cant get out of her chair without panting, and walking up the stairs is like climing mount everest on rollerskates...

So i do wonder why so many ppl smoke? Hollywood? Because it's avaliable? Because they want to try it, then get addicted? I wonder how many people smoke dope on a regular basis, and how many people would smoke it if it was leagal, and how many ppl would smoke if tabaco was illeagal...

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Pick your poison, everything you have is bad for you ( at least according to a recent study), That BigMac, yup, not good for you, it can infact kill you some day (but thank god you can't have a smoke while yer sliding the grease ball down), perhaps we should ban McD's from selling them, after all, it's your choice to go in there where they are, and really we have to protect you from making your own choices.

In todays world we spend so much time pointing fingers that we forget the simple things, we get sick, it's in our nature, we breath more pollutants sitting in rushhour traffic then there are in a restaraunt, but we don't see them banning cars from the highway. (instead they push 7.2 litre V8 SUV's down our throats as being a great thing)

I'm not defending smokers (nor SUV commuters), but I wanted to say, there comes a time where people have to make a decision, do they want to go in there because there are smokers? The OWNER of that restaraunt made the choice of allowing smokers in there, if you don't like the enviroment, then pick a different place, it's obvious by the choice the owner made, he wasn't interested in your business..
but I guess the people who pass laws don't feel people are responsible enough to make thier own decisions. (I know booze impairs your abilities, so I don't drink.. )

my thoughts on it this early in the morning for what it's worth.

 

[midiman]

This is an OPINION board, right? OK, here goes...

The way I see it, people have as much of a "right" to smoke indoors as I do to light an incense stick. People who argue this "right" are the ultimate in self-centered, inconsiderate people, in my humble opinion. Don't forget that people WORK in bars and restaurants and have to breathe smoke CONTINUOUSLY. If people want to blow smoke into the air, let them go outside.

BTW, it seems to me that people would realize that they have an addiction and a SERIOUS problem if they need to stand huddled outside in the freezing cold in order to inhale smoke.

Sorry, but I have no patience with smoking. It is a ridiculously stupid risk to one's own health, and quite possibly to those around him. I lost a family member to lung cancer, and it's a horrible death. The fact that ANYONE would smoke in the presence of children ought to be handled as child endangerment. People who smoke cigarettes in a car or in a house with kids might as well offer them one.

Whew! Glad I got that off my chest. Time to test my water chemistry.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

An interesting opinion on it.

Did I mention that I already had and beat Cancer, and it had nothing to do with smoking (Actually I was told not to bother quitting as the stress was worse for me)? and up until that time (25 Years old) I was in perfect health, I didn't have to go to a doctor for 9 years.

My point is, people like to blame (point fingers) at things that are bad for you and say "That causes this" for reasons unknown, when in reality, regardless of how a life is lived it can be ended just as quickly with little or no intervention or "cause". Not to justify it, it is a bad habit, but one could say drinking is just as bad, but they encourage that in bars and provide parking lots, And if you think that it doesn't affect others, then perhaps you can explain that to my kids that were screaming while I tried avoiding a drunk that came head on with me and almost eliminated 3 generations of my family, ( I avoided him, wrote off my van, but saved 5 lives in mine and 5 in the other car, including the guy that blew 4 times over the limit, but hey, at least his habit doesn't cause .... ).

Don't forget that people WORK in bars and restaurants and have to breathe smoke CONTINUOUSLY. If people want to blow smoke into the air, let them go outside.

Again, choice, life is full of them, Employees can ask the manager to change the restaraunt to non-smoking.

Glad you got that off your chest

 

[midiman]

Not to justify it, it is a bad habit, but one could say drinking is just as bad, but they encourage that in bars and provide parking lots, And if you think that it doesn't affect others, then perhaps you can explain that to my kids that were screaming while I tried avoiding a drunk that came head on with me

Not relevant. Drunk driving IS against the law. So is adding alcohol to someone's drink without their knowledge, which is akin to what smokers are doing to OUR air when they smoke. What on this earth could possibly make anyone think that they have a "right" to blow smoke into the air that others have to breathe? To me, it is the ULTIMATE in self-centeredness. I, a non-smoker, have to alter MY behavior because SMOKERS choose to blow smoke into OUR shared air? Amazing concept.

No one is infringing on smokers "rights" if smokers are required to go outside to smoke. It is simply false to suggest otherwise. Many smokers don't want the "right to smoke" - they want the "right to smoke" wherever and whenever they feel like it- without regard for others.

As I said, I really have no patience with this (so I'll quit for now), but to me, a defense of smoking by smokers is simply a rationalization of their inability to end their drug addiction. And I say this as a former smoker myself. There is help available for smokers. EVERY SINGLE member of my family quit smoking after my uncle died of lung cancer. Some of them had smoked since their navy days in WWII.

They all quit in memory of my uncle and so that they could provide two things to their children:

1) an example of doing the right thing even when difficult, and
2) a more healthy living environment free from all numerous KNOWN toxins and carcinogens in cigarette smoke.