Smoking Venue And Hoster

[ddouglass]

You are right George, Smokers don't have any rights because the state legislatures have been taking them away. I don't mind the fact that they want to have us go outside to smoke, but at the same time they should require that businesses and companies provide us with safe protected places to smoke. Here we are sitting out in the cold, wet area outside just begging to get sick and we have to pay extremely high taxes for that privelege because of our addiction. Tell me what prescription drug addict or alchoholic has to do the same?
We pay outrageous prices for cigarettes because of the massive total out of balance taxes they also passed. Consider that a pack of cigarettes has somewhere in the range of 50% tax and find something else that has that high a tax rate. Supposedly this is to pay for our higher medical costs, but to be able to afford smoking we have to make enough to buy the cigarettes and usually have insurance that pays for that. So what are they doing with the extra money? Using it to sue the tobacco companies for more money which raises the price of cigarettes even more.
Now I will get off my soapbox.

[billyo]

it's funny when you said that smokers should have a place to smoke, when i went to Japan in 2005, i was at the airport and they have a separate rooms for smokers, here in Fla. we still have bars that smoking is allowed as long as youre only serving a small percentage of food..

[muzicman144]

I'm not taking sides either way. But it does seem to me that the government of this country is pretty busy deciding what is best for each individual, setting the rules for that reasoning, but not asking us how we feel. so far, we haven't answered at the only place we have power and that is the ballot box. If we don't wake up on a helluva lot more issues than smokin', You'll need permission to use your own toilet.
muzicman144

[billyo]

i dont think its just individuals they're looking at,and i dont think they care, theyre also looking at diff. countries, but thats how the u.s gov't. work, they just want us to pay our taxes and in return, they will tell us what we can or can not do in our on private place, but i think and sad to say it, smoking will not go away, as long as the tobacco industries are alive, and will give contributions to politicians, nothings gonna happen..

[bryant]

Originally Posted by ddouglass

You are right George, Smokers don't have any rights because the state legislatures have been taking them away.

Smokers have plenty of rights (in fact, the same as non-smokers). They just don't have the right to pollute someone else's air that they have to breathe.

Sounds fair to me. Correct me if If I'm wrong?

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by bryant

Smokers have plenty of rights (in fact, the same as non-smokers). They just don't have the right to pollute someone else's air that they have to breathe.

Sounds fair to me. Correct me if If I'm wrong?

Correction commencing
I would totally agree that the majority has an absolute duty to regulate the environments that are either owned, or maintained by public funds.

I would also submit to you that there are environments that everyday citizens are compelled to go to even though they are privately owned. Examples include:
Grocery Stores
Doctor's offices and hospitals
Some people may even include WalMart
Even though I would disagree with regulation of a privately owned business, I could see those places being a good idea to be smoke free. Guess what? The marketplace has already determined that. They all are indeed smoke free.

Bars and restaurants are not a public necessity no one is compelled to go there. If the marketplace determined that they needed to be smoke free, then they already would be. There are some chain restaurants that are smoke free in this market already. They are quite successful in a certain demographic, one that my business does not share. Crackle Barrel does a bang up job here. My crowd is just a wee bit younger than that.

Correction terminated.

[bryant]

Originally Posted by marklwood

Bars and restaurants are not a public necessity no one is compelled to go there. If the marketplace determined that they needed to be smoke free, then they already would be. There are some chain restaurants that are smoke free in this market already. They are quite successful in a certain demographic, one that my business does not share. Crackle Barrel does a bang up job here. My crowd is just a wee bit younger than that.

You mean they aren't where you are, man, i thought "Maine" was the most backward state as it always has been known to be.

[marklwood]

Originally Posted by bryant

You mean they aren't where you are, man, i thought "Maine" was the most backward state as it always has been known to be.

You aint got nuttin' on us hillbillys

[marklwood]

Oh yeah, and just to stay on topic
APPLE SUCKS