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Entry bubble Smoke-free Establishments

By: Colleen | July 30, 2008 | Category: Health

no smokingDuring a recent trip home, I woke up one morning feeling different. It had nothing to do with the sunshine streaming though my childhood window or the buzz of suburbia's lawnmowers interrupting my slumber. No, I felt different because ... I stunk.

Some friends and I spent the previous evening at the local watering hole, and in the morning I was greeted by the stench of cigarette smoke—trapped in my fabulous recently cut hair and in the clothes I'd thrown in a pile on my floor. How quickly I forgot that even though many major cities (Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Los Angeles...) have banned smoking in all public establishments, many small towns and cities have yet to follow.

A quick shower and bottle of Febreeze later, my problem was solved. Unfortunately, it's not quite so simple to avoid secondhand smoke on a regular basis. Many business owners fear that prohibiting smoking will result in a loss of clientele and revenue. Although, since some cities' smoking bans have been in place effectively for a few years now, that argument is becoming less credible.

By now, most people are well aware of the dangers of smoking. For those looking to quit, there are many resources available to help you.

Want your town, city, or state to ban smoking? Write to your elected officials, and let them know your opinion.

A Gov Gab shout-out to office buddy, Walt, who is on his way to being smoke-free!

| View Comments [10] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: ban   cigarettes   colleen   secondhand_smoke   smoke free   smoking  

Comments (10):

blue comment bubble Posted by ScottB on July 30, 2008 at 08:40 AM EDT

This is a great post. I live in Minnesota which is now smoke-free. We love it because we can take our 1 year old out to dinner anywhere. When we travel to Wisconsin, it's a different experience... virtually every bar and restaurant allows smoking. We cook our own food and avoid eating out when we're there. I wonder if there are any independent statistics on whether bar/restaurant revenues are truly hurt by clean air laws. It would be reassuring to know that we can have clean air without hurting these establishments. Unfortunately, the only statistics I hear are from advocacy groups.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Violet on July 30, 2008 at 09:01 AM EDT

I can understand why bars want to keep smoking in their establishments. Smokers tend to linger and drink alcohol (a big money-maker compared to food). However, in a restaurant the less people linger, the more table turnover they will have and the more people they can serve per day. Also, regardless of HOW they make their money, I also believe that the workers in these establishments have the right to a smoke free environment. One thing that REALLY rankles me is an indoor establishment that has a smoking and a non-smoking section - and they usually make the non-smokers walk THROUGH the smoking section to be seated. I can't even leave my building without walking through a cloud of smoke (because of all the "banished" smokers that congregate by the doors.) I lived in Hawaii when it went smoke free and they still allow smoking in outdoor areas - which to me ruins the lovely trade winds that we stay outdoors for - but at least it's a start. I can't wait for the day when smoking is banned in more and more places, and smokers get charged more for their health care.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Nancy on July 30, 2008 at 09:03 AM EDT

I second the shout out to Walt and to everybody else who's trying to quit!

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blue comment bubble Posted by Lucyw on July 30, 2008 at 10:02 AM EDT

It's so easy for nonsmokers to create the rules. It's so hard to quit. But, I disagree with the not being able to smoke outside. I happen to be a considerate smoker, and I refrain from smoking near other people, or in a closed in area if no one else is smoking, but, I feel that, if I want to smoke outside my house, on my property, or in my backyard, this should be a right. I'm hurting no one but myself, and I'm aware of it. I've been smoking for 55 years, and have tried several times to quit .. with nonsmoking aids, hypnotism, and group settings. Some day I probably will be able to stop, but that day isn't here yet, and I'm sick and tired of being treated lower than a second-class citizen.

It might be nice to start a blog FOR smokers, rather than against.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Thomas on July 30, 2008 at 10:52 AM EDT

Great post!

In the not so great state of Wisconsin we like to let our local town and cities decide on a non smoking ban in restaurants and bar. This is kind of surprising since our state government likes to legislate everything else.

Thomas

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blue comment bubble Posted by MoiN on July 30, 2008 at 11:29 AM EDT

Oh man! what a coincidence!!

I'm trying to quit but it's very hard for me because of my office environment. Everyone (almost) is a smoker and even if I don't smoke on the weekends with the perception that I've quit... it comes back to me, seeing everyone else blowing puffs out in the air.

Need to do something about it :S

Moin
http://www.anewmorning.com

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blue comment bubble Posted by I'm a smoker - leave me alone on July 30, 2008 at 04:30 PM EDT

Is there anyway that a public establishment could provide an altogether separate building or outside area for smokers? Would it be allowed then? What if an establishment were to add a some-what weather proof area outside where patrons could still be served and/or take their food/drinks with them to enjoy?

I'm a smoker. I do not blow smoke into peoples' faces and will move away from people (smokers and non-smokers alike) when I'm smoking so they aren't bothered by my second hand smoke.

Why are there all these bans on a product that isn't illegal?

I still patronize non-smoking establishments. I'll faithfully take my walk outside with the other red-headed step children to enjoy a cigarette and make sure that I'm not standing in the doorway. But if I want to hang out with a group of friends (a nondiscriminatory mix of smokers and non smokers) to have a good time, we're a lot more inclined to go to someone's house and hang out so everyone is free to be themselves, which include any habits they may have.

For the amount of people like me that have to tramps back and forth through everyone else why can't there be provisions that allow for a place specifically dedicated to us? Leave it up to the establishment to decide if it wants to do anything special for its smoking patrons. I also believe it's up to the employee - if you don't want to work around smokers, don't.

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blue comment bubble Posted by a target= on July 31, 2008 at 04:49 AM EDT

blue comment bubble Posted by Winston Smith on July 31, 2008 at 10:00 AM EDT

Smokers are an inferior class of people. They clearly have very little--if any--willpower, otherwise they would have been smart enough to avoid that pointless habit in the first place.

Follow the crowd all ye submissive minions.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Norahs (Sharon Meadows) on August 04, 2008 at 05:51 PM EDT

I am not an inferior person. What are the classes of people ? As the song says our mothers smoked ,drank alcohol ect. I have smoked for thirty years. I go for my yearly check-ups . I have not been to the doctor for two years for sickness. I work with a person who hates smoking , he does not hate me. We do our jobs and respect one another. I worry more about driving down the street where a lot of people are more inconsiderate and dangerous than me. I go by the rules. I am glad I am not a minion to those imaginary classes of people. Oh by the way I like smoke free establishments also.

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