Smokers Out in The Cold (1553 hits)
Category: GeneralLabels: pointless ranting
Rating: 0.93 on 66 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by shadow (View user info) at 2003-11-12 13:26:17 EST
Like many of my fellow ubersite users, I am a college student. I attend the *ahem* prestigious UMCP, and I like it here... most of the time.
In the past few years, the state of Maryland has been passing more and more laws to make it difficlut to buy or use tobacco products in this state. It started with the tobacco tax (grrr) which caused the price of cigarettes to jump to $5 or more per pack in some areas. The idea was to discourage purchase, especially by those under the age of 18. Some people quit, but most of us took second jobs.
Now it is illegal to smoke inside a restaurant in Montgomery County, even ones which previously had issolated smoking sections. Following in the footsteps of California, the counties of Maryland are begining to unite against smokers (the reps of Howard county are moving toward laws like ones passed in Montgomery). It is now illegal to smoke within fifteen feet of a building entrance, window or air duct state wide, and more laws are on the docket, including one that will make it illegal to smoke in public places like parks, and an even more invaisive law that will make it illegal to smoke inside private residences.
As of late, we smokers have done little to stem the tide of anit-smoke agendas.
I have no problem with commercials that discourage underage smoking, I have no problem with the nonsmokers in general. I like the idea that people will choose not to smoke because they have made a well-informed decision about their life. I like the idea that parents won't smoke in front of their children, and that minors are not able to buy tobacco products, but I still feel that I have a right to smoke, as an adult, and as a person who knows the risks and accepts the consequences.
So here I am at UMCP, watching my favorite smoking spots disappear. The sheltered area behind Jimenez Hall used to be the best place on campus to have a cigarette in the pouring rain, but under the fifteen foot law, smokers are not alowed to hide beneath the age old brick and morter, they must stand three feet outside the end of the overhang. Smoking inside a dorm room is punishable by law, and the Stamp student Union has posted "no smoking" signs around the exits. One cannot purchase cigarettes or tobacco products on campus, although one third of the student body smokes, and if you get caught smoking where you shouldn't, there are hefty fines awaiting you in court.
I'm not saying everyone SHOULD smoke, but those that choose to are people too. We are people whose simple joy is being made illegal right before our eyes. We know the dangers of smoking, and while the nonsmokers may think we're crazy, I know that we'll quit when we're ready, not when the government tells us to.
So smokers, let's be respectful of the nonsmokers, and give them their space.
Nonsmokers, let us have our guilty pleasure in open air or in issolated sections, making cigarettes illegal is not going to force everyone to quit.
Maybe, just maybe we can live together... until then, we smokers will still be waiting, out in the cold.
User Reviews
Submitted by Freight_Train (user info) at 2004-10-08 22:55:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i attend UMCP and never had any difficulties smoking. Until i quit
Submitted by littledan (user info) at 2004-02-08 19:42:35 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Sounds like Nova Scotia. here, cigarettes are 10 dollars a pack, its ilegal to smoke within 20 ft of a public entrance, and all bars are now smoke free.
Now, the bullshit of this law is:
with the recent decriminalizaton of small quantities of marijuana, the fine for dope in public is something like 50-100$.
Smoke a cigarette in a designated non-smoking area : as much as 2000$.
Fucking nonsense
Submitted by Gillespie (user info) at 2004-01-17 04:04:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Move to Germany dude. You can smoke in hospitals in Germany. Germans like their cigarettes and almost no place is off limits to smokers. Restaurants, Airports, Hospitals, old folks homes. Nowhere. It was an awesome place to hang out.
-J
Ps... does anyone else find it impossible to imagine drinking at a bar and not being allowed to smoke? I've been out of the US for far too long I think.
Submitted by Gillespie (user info) at 2004-01-17 04:04:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Move to Germany dude. You can smoke in hospitals in Germany. Germans like their cigarettes and almost no place is off limits to smokers. Restaurants, Airports, Hospitals, old folks homes. Nowhere. It was an awesome place to hang out.
-J
Ps... does anyone else find it impossible to imagine drinking at a bar and not being allowed to smoke? I've been out of the US
Submitted by jonukah (user info) at 2003-11-16 00:53:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
sil on must heated list good jorb is is frunk read my post
Submitted by jonukah (user info) at 2003-11-14 14:53:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Razor: I just saw that statistic you wrote:
1 in 400 smokers get lung cancer
1 in 1200 nonsmokers get lung cancer
How do you know that those 1 in 1200 nonsmokers aren't getting lung cancer from hanging out with you cancer-stick uber-abuser-users? Uber-abuser-user? WTF? Anyway, if my calculations are correct, then that means about 100,000 of the people who are currently living in the U.S. are nonsmokers who will get lung cancer. And if that is because they are forced to live around you.......badwhinysmokerpeople, then that is significant and should be remedied? Is that spelled right? Reme died? hmm.. Oh well.
BTY, 99.73% of all statistics are exagerated and abused, and 43% of them are made up on the spot.
I am an unoriginal fuck.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2003-11-14 00:28:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
i just had a wonderful Camel, "Turkish Gold" my favorite cigarette. aahhhh... just fabulous. i don't smoke in my apartment, but i do smoke in my car. and for pete's sake, everyone in my garage smokes at some some point during the day! (well, almost). by the way, i am happy to see conjecture on both sides of the argument, my significant other does not smoke, and sometimes its an issue. but if we can live together in relative peace, ANYONE can.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2003-11-14 00:21:53 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
sweet...
Submitted by LabRat (user info) at 2003-11-13 11:19:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Well Sam, you could be the owner of a profitable non-smoking establishment. Theres obviously a market for non-smoking restraunts. There are a number of restraunts here that were non-smoking before the government said they had to be.
Submitted by pseudonym (user info) at 2003-11-13 10:33:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
London's Mayor is currently "in consultation" with us all about whether we're going to follow the American way and outlaw smoking in public places. So if you all want a cheeky fag near Nelson's column you better get here soon.
I was in NYC this summer and it was ridiculous - until I found a place called Karma which advertised itself with flyers saying "YOU CAN SMOKE HERE". It was packed. And smokin'.
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-13 10:14:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
"Okay, LabRat, you make a very good point. You may have swayed me. But I would be curious to know what percentage of restaurants and bars would offer smoking sections.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ALOT. Iv seen many a establishment promote the fact that they will allow smoking customers."
Actually, I should have phrased my question better. How many restaurants would NOT allow smoking? Since that's where I would be more inclined to go, that's a bigger issue for me.
And Razor, it's cool. I'm actually nowhere near as militant about anti-smoking in real life as I am here. It's just when I'm writing here, I tend to lean hard one way or the other. You know how it is.
Submitted by other_peoples_bagels (user info) at 2003-11-13 10:01:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
BTW, Sam, re:
"Okay, LabRat, you make a very good point. You may have swayed me. But I would be curious to know what percentage of restaurants and bars would offer smoking sections."
I would. In fact, if I won the lottery, the first thing I would do is buy a few planes and start a smoking airline. Smokers only.
While I realize the mental image is disgusting, and it's probably the unhealthiest environment of all mentioned in the second-hand smoke discussions, the fact is, I would make a KILLING!
I can handle a 1-2 hour flight without smoking. But you bet your butt that I would pay MORE for a 7-13 hr. international flight ticket where I could smoke than I would for a regular ticket. I don't know what my financial limit would be, but I can just say I'd be willing to pay more. And I know I'm not alone on this one.
Gotta go...gonna run to Lucky China & get me a fortune cookie with some Lotto numbers inside :)
Submitted by Nicole3 (user info) at 2003-11-13 08:22:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I don't smoke but I am appalled at the extent to which the government has decided to infringe on smokers rights. If you have a completely contained smoking section, how is that infringing on the rights of non-smoking patrons in the other area. I know that one of the justifications for such laws is that workers are subjected to the smoke. Call me crazy, but as long as they are hired with the understanding that they will be working around people smoking this is a nonissue. Breathing exhaust fumes is much worse for you than breathing cigarette smoke but does the government say that cars, lawn mowers, snow blowers, etc. are not allowed within 15 feet of an entrance to a building. No, as that would be absurd, as is this law. As for banning smoking in people's homes I am sure that would get overturned by the Supreme Court as this proposal is completely nonsensical and ludicrous. Ludicrous I tell you.
Submitted by Flying_buttmonkey (user info) at 2003-11-13 07:43:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Move to England, no one gives a rat's ass over here. Funnily enough, we AREN'T allowed to carry guns around. Americans are permitted to carry firearms wherever you feel the commies might jump out from behind a bush at you, but you can't smoke anywhere other than darkened corners. Hmmm. Discuss.......
Submitted by Bellebrown (user info) at 2003-11-13 06:18:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I smoke.
Submitted by InSaNeSna1L (user info) at 2003-11-13 00:12:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
There seems to be a 50\50 ratio of people who dont mind the laws to people who do.
My View:
I have never smoked....not even a sample from a mates ciggy....never smoked weed....
Some may say ive had a sheltered life. Not true. I enjoy drinking, going clubbing, being reckless (as long as no harm comes) especially with my driving :) and general shit like that. But I cannot stand cigs. Just being in a club for a while, i have to go outside and get some air....i just feel sick after being round it. And it doesnt make my night fun if i do that every few hours. I know there are smokers out there who also hate the smell in rooms etc and will smoke outside.
I think the new laws are a god send....no more smoking around kids playgrounds, restaurants, shopping centres etc.
Granted, my last two gf both smoked....and it was because of that, that my leniancy towards smokers increased...they smoked in my car occasionally etc....and no matter what people say, it wasnt like kissing an ashtray....but when they parted my life, it was actually good to not have the cig smell in my car anymore....and now no one smokes in my car....
I think if i never have to smell another cigarette i will be happy. I dont agree with banning smoking in homes and cars etc...although if you are going to smoke in a car, do it with caution and dont be on your fucking mobile at the same time...
thats my view
Submitted by jonukah (user info) at 2003-11-12 23:39:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Razor, do you know that with all of the money you waste on cigarettes......................you could probably afford to buy some half-decent pot instead of the shit you get?
Submitted by virgil (user info) at 2003-11-12 23:28:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2003-11-12 21:58:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-11-12 21:58:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Sam, sorry if I sniped a little harshly, I woke up this morning with a pinched nerve in my neck and someone saying smokers shouldn't be allowed to smoke in the outdoors just about put me over the limit.
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2003-11-12 20:14:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Okay, LabRat, you make a very good point. You may have swayed me. But I would be curious to know what percentage of restaurants and bars would offer smoking sections.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALOT. Iv seen many a establishment promote the fact that they will allow smoking customers. Fuck it, i would. More customers = More Bling Bling.
Damn im ghetto
Submitted by axemanking (user info) at 2003-11-12 19:14:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Unfortunately, smoking is becoming one of those hot button topics like religion, politics, or abortion. However, I couldn't resist putting in my two cents worth.
As a smoker, I understand the need for a Marlboro. I also understand that people don't always want to share that with me. What really bothers me is when government dictates to me what I can or cannot do. Why can't there be smoking sections in restaurants or bars. To use Sam's argument, no one HAS to go to those places, they choose to. Put a sign up on the door saying that this establishment allows smoking or something.
Finally, the militant anti-smokers need to get a grip. I don't want to hear their rhetoric, like I don't want to listen to a rabid vegan like Moby or an untra-right Christian like Pat Robertson. Let it go and let people enjoy life for a while.
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 18:47:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Okay, LabRat, you make a very good point. You may have swayed me. But I would be curious to know what percentage of restaurants and bars would offer smoking sections.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2003-11-12 18:35:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
no smoking is a person al home thats bs pretty soon the government is going to be always watching us with satelites...oh wait thats already happened..Big brother is watching you
Submitted by LaNa (user info) at 2003-11-12 18:33:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I'd have to agree with you LabRat. Let the business owners decide for themselves... in a sense isn't that viewed as their own private property and then *allow* customers in? Wouldn't it be the same if you *allowed* people into your home.. and you decide whether or not they can smoke there?
With the cologne thing... I think the problem would be solved if they stopped selling cheap perfume/cologne in 5 gallon drums. Have you seen those bottles? They're HUGE! 10.99 for a lifetime supply of *If you like Eternity you'll love this*. It makes people who have to pay for high water bills realize that it IS cheaper to bathe in cologne and fry our noses than to use soap and water.
>siGh< oh well...
Submitted by NickTheDivine (user info) at 2003-11-12 18:17:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I'm actually applying to UMCP.
My dad order his smokes from Indians/Native Americans in Upstate New York. They're discounted by almost half.
Submitted by LabRat (user info) at 2003-11-12 18:15:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Oh, and on a side note. I think there should be some legislation about perfume and cologne in public places. You know the people I'm talkin about. The ones that smell like they bathe in the shit. At least I fuckin go outside when I wanna make a stink. They carry it everywhere they go.
Submitted by LabRat (user info) at 2003-11-12 18:08:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I don't smoke indoors, even before the bans. But the desision should be left to business owners. If Joe says its okay to smoke in his restraunt then you should be able to. If Jim says you can't, then you shouldn't be able to. The government should have no say in the smoking policies of private businesses. The only people that lose in this situation are the private, small business owners. I can name a few bars here in florida that have, or are in the process of going out of business because all the smokers went somewhere else.
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 17:59:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
LabRat, I'm not for outlawing smoking. Hell, I think that other drugs should be legalized. I just think people should do those dugs (including tobacky, regular tobacky, not the wacky variety) to do so in the privacy of their own homes or other places, ie hash bars. So I don't want to mess with the civil liberties of smokers, but why should they get to trample all over mine?
Submitted by LabRat (user info) at 2003-11-12 17:54:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
People seem to be looking at this from the wrong angle. By allowing these laws to pass, you're allowing the goverment to make YET ANOTHER desision for you! You're allowing the goverment to slowly erode whats left of your freedom. Has anyone seem my bill of rights? It appears to be missing.
Submitted by acrog (user info) at 2003-11-12 17:44:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Remember the stink cloud in the bathroom I was talking about?
I just had to walk into one when I took a piss.
I'm calling OSHA
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 17:42:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Well, when you did so, you were blowing smoke out of your ass. Which offends me because I specifically want any smoke you have to be bottled up in your lungs until you explode. In other words, I don't want your secondhand smoke
from your pooper.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-11-12 17:39:27 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
sam,
you may have misconstrued my barb as a desire to get engaged in a conversation with you on this topic.
In point of fact, nothing could be farther from the truth. All I really felt like doing was expressing my distaste with your opinion.
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 17:30:45 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Okay RB, I can agree with on the distance from the building thing. Let them have an overhang, at least. As far as the bars ago, sorry, drinking and smoking aren't two sides of the same coin, so they can be mutually exclusive.
"3 or 4 seconds of walking through a cloud of stogie smoke isn't going to hurt anyone."
You know what else isn't going to hurt anyone? Walking a few yards away from an entrance. And not having that smoke. In fact, the latter might actually help smokers.
"It might be annoying, but no more annoying than walking into the bathroom after someone has dropped a big stinky load."
The difference is that people HAVE to shit. Nobody has to smoke. Furthermore, I HAVE to walk through my front door to go to work. The people creating the cloud do not have to create it.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2003-11-12 17:30:12 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
hi everybody! i like the dialogue.
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2003-11-12 16:45:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Where I work they have regulated that you have to be at least 30 feet from the building to smoke. Not just the entrances, 30 feet from the building.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The above statement is what i was addressing. I can understand people wanting smokers out of restaurantes. Thats fine with me. Bars on the other hand i think is open terrority. But the real issue is the distance from buildings. I dont think smokers should be made to stand 30 fucking feet away. What if its fucking raining or something. Thats pretty dick if you ask me. Right in front of the door: Ok i can see the argument with that. But somewhere in the middle is a compromise.
And i repeat. Stop these truth commericals! You want the truth, SMOKERS DONT CARE!
Submitted by acrog (user info) at 2003-11-12 16:34:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
As an ex-smoker, I can totally relate to this.
The anti-smoking campaign has become religious for many.
If someone is outside and not standing next to an entrance, there should be no problem.
Where I work they have regulated that you have to be at least 30 feet from the building to smoke. Not just the entrances, 30 feet from the building. There is no covered area for when it rains. If it's raining you have to go to your car or something. At one point they were going to make it to where you couldn't even smoke in your car if it was on the property.
If it's my car,damnit , I should be able to smoke in it if I want.
3 or 4 seconds of walking through a cloud of stogie smoke isn't going to hurt anyone. It might be annoying, but no more annoying than walking into the bathroom after someone has dropped a big stinky load.
Can we get some regulations on that? That's some vile shit!(no pun intended)
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 15:58:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
RB, I don't always agree with you, but I respect one thing about you: you offer your opinion and back it up. I have a simple instruction for razor:
1) Follow RB's lead.
RB, you make a point. The thing is, this mythical man with the cigarette (and if the guy caught his wife cheating, I'll grant him a cigarette, but how many of the smoke clouds I walk through are I Just Caught My Wife Cheating clouds?). But you know what? He could just as easily take a few steps away from the fucking building entrance. He probably wants to be by his lonesome, anyway.
And you know what? Life does suck. If the fucking smokers--again, not all, just the ones whose smoke I breathe--would keep their distance, it would be a little bit nicer. For me. Fuck everybody else.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-11-12 15:40:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Sam, please follow these instructions and your stench problems will go away:
1: Remove head from ass.
Simple, huh?
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2003-11-12 15:31:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
As for your exhaust fumes, I find those far less offensive, but if you parked and left your car on someplace where I had to walk through the exhaust to get to my destination, yeah, I would have a problem with that
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jesus Christ Sam.
You know i think people are beginning to forget one little thing about life. It sucks. Yes it does. Sooner or later your gonna figure that out. But you know what; I will more then happily be alittle inconvienced by some foul odor as a walk down the street, if it makes some smokers like a tiny bit easier.
American culture moves farther and farther down the slope of "ME ME ME!", everyday. So what you get a small assalt on your nose. Maybe that guy needed that cigraette. Maybe he just caught his fucking wife banging the paperboy and wants to relieve some stress. Hes not going out of his way to ruin your fucking way, so dont ruin his.
Hell, maybe if you accomdate him, he will someday accomdate you.
Submitted by other_peoples_bagels (user info) at 2003-11-12 15:25:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by itchy (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:25:33 (#)
"Chew Tobacco....Sure, it tastes bad, is disgusting and nowhere near as satisfying as smoking, but you still get your fix and you can do it INSIDE..."
Maybe you can do it inside in some places, but not everywhere. That's one thing that pisses me off to no end. I personally cannot STAND chewing tobacco. My husband chews it when he can't smoke, and it disgusts me. (side note...I've asked him to at least not do it around me, but I still can't get away from it, e.g., whenever I get in his car there's a plastic-diet-pepsi-spittoon, or one-of-our-cups-that-belongs-in-the-damn-house-spittoon. I am also reminded of it when he comes through the door with a black piece of mini-bark on the corner of his mouth, or between his teeth; he is always unaware of this - can he not feel that shit on his mouth? ICK!. These are also inevitably the times when he's missed me so much all day he wants a big kiss. Lord.)
Back to my point...it infuriated me on our 11-hour flight to Italy (honeymoon) that we had to be reminded during the flight attendant's safety announcement, in the onboard safety trifold, and by the sticker on the armrest ashtray (which they could freaking remove any day now...they only make us smokers' withdrawals worse) that SMOKELESS tobacco was prohibited. What kind of shit is that, I ask you? I just think it's cruel, and I don't even like the stuff. But for God's sake, we're being good, we're not smoking on the planes anymore, we understand the second-hand smoke blah blah blah...was it really even about second-hand smoke, or is the intent to torture tobacco-users in general?
I'm getting SO pissed off. I'm going to go have a cigarette break. I have so much more to say, but I'll get more enjoyment out of my Marlboro than you über readers are probably getting out of my comments...
Submitted by UrbaneMischief (user info) at 2003-11-12 15:20:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
UMCP...my cousin and her boyfriend go there
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:41:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I'm not so concerned about my lungs as I am concerned about the foul stench. And maybe my sniffer is a bit sensitive (in fact, no maybe about it), but I can tell when there is someone smoking near me. I find it very bothersome. Are there worse smells on the streets of Los Angeles? Yes. But I don't live in Los Angeles; I live in the suburbs where the big city shit shouldn't affect me. And when I eat, I shouldn't have to be subjected to the awful smell. And when I walk into a building, I shouldn't have to walk through a cloud of smoke.
As for your exhaust fumes, I find those far less offensive, but if you parked and left your car on someplace where I had to walk through the exhaust to get to my destination, yeah, I would have a problem with that. Or if you made it so the exhaust blew into the room where I was eating, yeah, I would have a problem with that.
My aunt and uncle smoke and live near me. Whenever I pop into their house, even for a minute, I leave to find my clothing reeking of smoke. Even if they aren't home, the odor lingers and is really bad.
Not long ago, somebody said that they don't pity the fat. Well I don't pity the smokers. You want to smoke and fuck your own lungs up, be my guest. But unless I go into the smokers' personal abode or car, there is no reason I should ever have to smell that stuff. And if they make laws making it difficult or impossible for you to do that, too fucking bad.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:35:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Interesting fact:
Only 1 in 400 smokers gets lung cancer.
The reason they say it vastly increases the odds of lung cancer is because only 1 in 1200 non smokers gets lung cancer.
So, it does triple the lung cancer rate. But... 1 in 400?
P.S. LOL @ reallyboed over the Big Mac comment.
Submitted by itchy (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:25:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is why I pity you poor pathetic smokers. It is one thing to be slavishly addicted to a toxic substance, it is another to not take action to prevent the inconvenience imposed upon you by the tyranical elite (and cardio-vascularly healthy). Two simple words: Chew Tobacco. That's right, step right up and get gentrified. Chew tobacco like you've got a set of balls (or ovaries). Sure, it tastes bad, is disgusting and nowhere near as satisfying as smoking, but you still get your fix and you can do it INSIDE. You can even do it while watching a movie in the theatre. When was the last time you tried smoking there?
Sure I started chewing in an effort to quit smoking, thinking that clearly this was too gross to continue doing for long, but you know what, even though I'm still a tobacco slave, I AM FREE.
Not to mention, if you ARE going to play the odds and subject yourself to a heightened risk for cancer, why not opt for NOT getting it in a vital organ?
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:25:20 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Goddamn listen to all the whineing. Leave the smokers alone. As a person who has never smoked in his life, i can say that 9 times out of 10 if im in a resturante with a smoking-section i cant tell. I dont know where it is. I dont get attacked by some wafting breeze on nastyness.
My lungs my lungs! Boo hoo! Cmon people, are you next gonna yell at me because when i drive past you, my car exhaust filters in your "personal zone"?
Half of you that are so worried about you lungs, probably had a fucking Big Mac for lunch. Or are about to go enjoy a post-work bong session.
Leave thess people alone.
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:21:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
as long as there is a smoking section and a non smoking section i am happy.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:21:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
ok where I live the law is that an establishment has to have a sealed off, seperately ventilated area if people want to smoke.
So restaurants just sealed off their bars, problem solved.
Of course, jen is saying that is changing, so who knows.
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:18:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
PMJ: "I understand not allowing it in public buildings, but I also think that there should be enclosed areas that are designated for smokers too. It's like if smokers are 10% of the population, then 90% of building should be smoke free, and 10% should be for smokers. It makes sense."
The problem is that the cigarette smoke permeates throughout the entire building. That's not fair at all.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:17:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I hate smokers. Especially smokers named Jen who are shorter than me even when they wear big ass combat boots.
Submitted by sam_el (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:10:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Good post, but let me tell you, I agree with some of those laws. I live in California and I am very glad that there is no longer smoking in bars and restaurants. Even when restaurants had smoking sections, one could smell the awful stench of cigarette smoke in the nonsmoking sections. And if one spent an evening in a bar, one could feel the congestion. I now I hate it when smokers stand write in front of entrances and smoke, forcing me to breathe their foul carcinogens. If smokers want to smoke someplace where I won't have to breathe it, super.
On the whole smoking in the home, that one gives me pause. If someone lives alone or in house filled with adult smokers, I see no harm in that. However, there is no question that second-hand smoke is very harmful. Perhaps people who live with children should be disallowed to smoke in their homes.
Submitted by GrizzlyHunter62 (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:08:10 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
"making cigarettes illegal is not going to force everyone to quit."
------
Well, we'll never know if it's going to work unless we try it. Too bad the government is so attached to their cigarette tax revenue. They'll never ban it all together. They're so hypocritical. ESPECIALLY the Canadian government, who are trying to ban Smoking ads (including from Indy racing events. How stupid is that?)
Submitted by gbusman (user info) at 2003-11-12 14:08:01 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
I hate cigarette smoke. I'm all for a person's right to do it, but being around smokers (tobacco) seriously puts a damper on any situation. Even when you're outside and you think the open air makes everything okay, you're wrong. I thought my head was going to explode waiting for a friend outside the ATL airport last week because every single person outside was smoking. Welcome to the south. The touble with smokers is that they've become immune to the smoke and can't even tell when the smell is around. I just moved in with a guy who smokes in the living room downstairs. It's hell. I've never lived with a smoker before, but I hate walking in the house when I get home. He only smokes in the living room with the patio door open, I'm sure he thinks this contains the smell. Unfortunately, he has tainted the entire house and even the upstairs bedrooms smell like ass all the time. And this is from someone who is no stranger to smoke from other things. The good part is I'm sure he can't smell the burning herb from my room. Anyway, the point is that cigarette smoke is a nuisance to everyone without a burning fag between their lips, and I have no problem banning it in public.
-Bus
Submitted by Manfre (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:54:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:31:42 (#)
Ranking: 1
"illegal to smoke inside private residences"
Are you for real? I'm not a smoker, but that sounds crazy. What you do in your own house should be your own business. Especially porn.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah its like saying that spanking your monkey in the showers wrong.
Well if its illegal to smoke in the house, spank off in the shower then I plan on doing so until I get arrested.
But thank god I live in a careless state like Jersey. Noone really gives a rats ass about us cause we just utterly suck.
Were the armpit of America. Then again it could be worse. We could be Florida and be the dick of America. But even that has a better rhyme to it.
Submitted by William_Q_Percy (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:52:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
halleujah, reallybored....
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:50:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
anything that drives me to drink, i consider a positive.
---------------------------------------------------------
While we differ considerably in the political spectrum, i find you humor most agreeable.
Thats like what? A $5 sentence?
I wonder what will happen when weed gets legalized (hopefully). Will the smoking laws get changed? I WANT that second hand smoke!
Submitted by William_Q_Percy (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:49:56 EST (#)
Ranking: -1
Maybe the cold will help keep your immenent cancer at bay.
Submitted by LarryG (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:46:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I love how they make all these laws, but anytime the city needs some thing funded they rely on the smoking and alcohol taxes to pay for it. We have three big examples here in Cleveland, Browns Stadium, Jacobs Field (Indians), and The Gund (Cavs). If that's not hipocracy, i'm not sure what is.
Submitted by K.M (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:44:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Smokes have risen to over 7.50$ is canada.
How fucking gay is that?
I rememeber the good old $5 a pack days. now it is over $60 a fucking CARTON.
Eventually, the natives will start bootlegging. They have all kinds of hookups.
Submitted by potatomanjack (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:41:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I used to smoke. I don't anymore, but I aggree with you Jen that to some levels things are jsut being taken too far. Bars and smoking go hand and hand, and now they've started outlawing it in a lot of places (not i Quebec of course because EVERYONE smokes here). If you go to a bar, you expect to breat some second hand smoke. It's part of your night out and that's all there is to it. I understand not allowing it in public buildings, but I also think that there should be enclosed areas that are designated for smokers too. It's like if smokers are 10% of the population, then 90% of building should be smoke free, and 10% should be for smokers. It makes sense.
You really should quit though.
Submitted by volklcess (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:41:01 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Move to Nevada. You can smoke whenever you want wherever you want. Or I suggest smoking in your car to keep warm.
http://www.ubersite.com/cgi-bin/message_get.cgi?message=1068061872665330166
Submitted by DJMattB241 (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:33:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:32:18 (#)
Ranking: 2
The worst is the Truth commericals. Goddam i hate those things! They drive me to drink
---------
anything that drives me to drink, i consider a positive.
Submitted by reallybored (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:32:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I dont smoke, but man i really feel for you guys. The laws are getting retarded as of late. Man it sucks. The worst is the Truth commericals. Goddam i hate those things! They drive me to drink.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:31:42 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
"illegal to smoke inside private residences"
Are you for real? I'm not a smoker, but that sounds crazy. What you do in your own house should be your own business. Especially porn.
Submitted by DJMattB241 (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:30:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
good first post, hence the +2.
but let me tell you, as a nonsmoker, i understand where they're coming from. its like the people who drive down the streets blaring their rap music.
i would have no issue with the music if it werent shoved down my throat. unfortunately, it is. same with smoking. if you smoke around me, i am practically smoking myself.
that being said, i dont have an issue with smokers at all, i deal with it. but i'm just saying i can see where they're coming from.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2003-11-12 13:29:02 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
my post. i like it