California - Ban On Smoking In Public Places...

[Evi]

Have you guys been watching the news on this BS? They\'re talking about banning smoking in all public areas. You can\'t even smoke outside...almost anywhere. WTF is this crap? I don\'t smoke, but this is completely asinine.

Found an article:

CALABASAS, Calif. - No more smoking in the park. Lighting up on the sidewalk could bring a fine. Dining on the restaurant patio? Don\'t bother asking for matches.

One of the strictest tobacco bans in the nation went into effect in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas last week, [COLOR="MediumTurquoise"]making smoking off limits in public places where someone else might be exposed to secondhand smoke: indoor businesses, outdoor businesses, parks, outdoor cafes, even apartment building common areas.[/COLOR]

"We just don\'t want anyone blowing smoke in someone\'s face. Unfortunately, what smokers do is harmful to everybody else. People should have the right to breathe clean air," said Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Washburn.

California air-quality regulators declared secondhand smoke a toxic air pollutant earlier this year.

[COLOR="MediumTurquoise"]The city took it a step farther, declaring secondhand smoke to be a public nuisance and approving an ordinance banning smoking in all public places — indoors and out — where people might congregate.[/COLOR]

Hotels can still allow smoking in up to 20 percent of their rooms, and smoking can be allowed in approved designated areas at shopping malls and work places in the upscale city of 23,000 residents.

[COLOR="Red"]But if a nonsmoker asks a smoker to stop, the smoker must snuff it or face a possible fine in the hundreds of dollars or even a lawsuit.[/COLOR]

"We salute Calabasas for raising the bar," said Jim Knox, a legislative advocate for the American Cancer Society in Sacramento. "Smoke regulations can play a very important role in reducing public exposure to harmful secondhand smoke."

Nationally, hundreds of U.S. cities and several states restrict smoking. In California, where communities have been at the forefront of smoking bans, San Francisco last year banned smoking in parks and stadiums, and oceanfront communities\' smoking bans have inspired others in Florida and Delaware to designate smoke-free beaches.

Among the states, Colorado lawmakers last week approved a statewide ban on smoking in most public building, and New Jersey\'s Smoke-Free Air Act, under fire from bar owners because it exempts casino gambling floors, goes into effect April 15.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060319/ap_on_re_us/smoking_ban

Bullsh^t.

[clips]

that\'s because air pollution is off the hook over there...:fro:...everybody\'s life span is cut by a third living in that toxic wasteland........seriously tho i don\'t think this law will stick, bloomsburg tried that s**t in new york and it didn\'t stick at all...once he heard that restaurants in the city were losin\' business because of it, guess what happened?....within a few days people were smokin\' in restaurants again...

[GmanJoe]

I\'ll refrain from saying anything about California as this will cause Cored much melancholy and lamentation.

A.  I don\'t give a damn about smoker\'s rights.  I have little respect for stupid people, and smoking is one of the stupidest things you can do.  I wish we could somehow increase the toxicity of cigarettes so these people would die off faster.  I\'m sick of supporting the treatment of their cancers.  Did you know stupidity is a carcinogen?
2.  Secondhand smoke doesn\'t scare me.  I already breathe plenty of other harmful crap on a daily basis, as clips said.
C.  This ordinance will be struck down.
4.  It\'s freaking Calabasas.   Who gives a shit?  :rolleyes:  All the yuppie scumbags who buy houses out there end up commuting to Los Angeles alone in their SUVs, pumping out carbon monoxide up and down the 101.  They can all go to hell and die.

that\'s a great idea.  infact, it should be nationwide.  i don\'t need other people trying to give me lung cancer.  when i drink alcohol, i don\'t shove it down your throat.

[Evi]

^^

So liver failure is better?

[Titan]

They pulled the same crap here in Jersey. Atleast you can smoke outside  but bars and diners aren\'t allowed to smoke in. Which is gay about the law is that you can smoke anywhere in Atlantic City because casino owners don\'t want people to leave theeir casinos.

that\'s because air pollution is off the hook over there...:fro:...everybody\'s life span is cut by a third living in that toxic wasteland........seriously tho i don\'t think this law will stick, bloomsburg tried that s**t in new york and it didn\'t stick at all...once he heard that restaurants in the city were losin\' business because of it, guess what happened?....within a few days people were smokin\' in restaurants again...

What are you talking about?

Smoking is still banned in all indoor public places...

I can think of two local diners off hand that have smoking sections.
 
That\'s not supposed to be allowed?
 
-Dan

[Titan]

I can think of two local diners off hand that have smoking sections.
 
That\'s not supposed to be allowed?
 
-Dan

Until like April 17 or something like that they can allow some smoking. There\'s a diner by me athat allows smoking in a smoking section during a specific time frame.

[GmanJoe]

Washington DC and Boston have banned smoking from bars. Oddly enough, their revenue went up instead of down!

Yeah, New York definitely banned smoking in all indoor public places, including bars and the like.  For purely selfish reasons, as a non smoker, I like it.

A.  I don\'t give a damn about smoker\'s rights.  I have little respect for stupid people, and smoking is one of the stupidest things you can do.  I wish we could somehow increase the toxicity of cigarettes so these people would die off faster.  I\'m sick of supporting the treatment of their cancers.  Did you know stupidity is a carcinogen?

Really? What about people who drive? Should they die off faster too? Sick of paying for other diseases say caused by unhealthy eating? Are you perfect in your day to day life?

Don\'t get me wrong, smoking is stupid but it\'s legal to do so.

Now if our wonderful local and federal governments were so concerned about the dangers of smoking it would be banned. Oh wait, but what about the taxes?

Tobacco has not been banned thanks to the tobacco lobbyists.  It will be banned eventually.  You can count on it.  I\'m merely saying it should happen sooner rather than later.  Doesn\'t that make sense?  Save more lives by eliminating it sooner rather than later?
 
I was kidding about killing off the smokers.  I\'d prefer to force them all off tobacco cold turkey by making it illegal overnight.  No this is not the same as the prohibition of alcohol and narcotics.  There won\'t be a huge, long-term black market for tobacco, because it doesn\'t get you high.

[Living-In-Clip]

I say go for it. I don\'t want the second hand smoke. My whole family smokes and I personally can\'t stand it. I can only hope more states ban smoking in public places.

One of the strictest tobacco bans in the nation went into effect in the Los Angeles suburb of Calabasas last week, making smoking off limits in public places where someone else might be exposed to secondhand smoke: indoor businesses, outdoor businesses, parks, outdoor cafes, even apartment building common areas.

Yeah, Evi it\'s crazy that us non-smokers don\'t want smoke blown in our face. You may be a non-smoker, but you obviously don\'t grasp the issue at hand.