What do you think of the Ohio smoking ban and similar bans in other states?

Question

I understand the ban in restaurants and family environments...however I think banning smoking in bars and casinos where they promote getting hammered as heck doesnt make much since...maybe thats because I like to smoke when i drink. In Ohio they are even banning smoking in trucks that are not owned by truck drivers......what ever happened to the War On Drugs or Poverty that we still seem to be losing?

Answer 1

Some people think that bars will lose business because the smokers won't come anymore....but some people think that the non-smokers will now come out more to the bars and the business may pick up.

I don't think anyone is going to lose any business. People will learn to deal with it.

Answer 2

The details of the Ohio ban are yet to be tested in courts. The interpretation of the law to cover a solitary truck driver is most likely to not stand. Some exemption for solitary workers with no public contact will have to be reached.

Had the tobacco industry not paid to foist a false tobacco ban onto the ballot at the same time, this ban may have been more closely examined. A portion of the voters supporting the ban were taking a slap at an industry trying to buy a piece of the Ohio constitution.

However, I voted for the Ohio ban because the employees of those bars and restaurants deserve a safe and healthy workplace. Nobody has to worry about not smoking in Ohio casinos. Ohio also rejected (again) an effort to open casinos that was also a business supported attempt to buy a modification to the Ohio constitution.

The war on drugs has primarily just massively increased the non-violent prison population. The war on poverty had some success in that the poorest poor are living at a higher level that before that program started. In a way, these efforts AND smoking restrictions are all attempts to improve the health and welfare of American people. So - no conflict I can see.

Answer 3

I like to breathe when I drink - and I quit going to the bar when I moved from CA (where there is a ban) to NM (where you can smoke in bars).

I wouldn't mind the guy next to me in a bar shooting up heroin, because that's his business. If he's exhaling smoke that I then have to breathe while I'm having a drink, then I object.

I think a ban in restaurants and bars is reasonable. Some of the other bans are not - like in public parks etc.

Answer 4

Here in Ontario, Canada, we have been smoke free in restaurants, bars, bingo halls, etc for over 2 years now if not more. Just this year we have a band for not smoking near hospital entrances - or in company vehicles.

I like the idea as I am a none smoker. The people I feel bad for are our Vets. The ones that are in homes cannot smoke and it's not like they can wheel themselves outside. So I don't agree in all instances.

Answer 5

I am pretty sure it is too late, People had a chance at those polls to voice their opinion, I have noticed many who are hollering the loudest, did not bother to vote, so there you have it,,that "it wont pass attitude" I do not like the fact that I cannot smoke in my own store. and I worry how this ban is going to affect business in my area. But all the worrying in the world is not going to change a thing/ Once it gets legislated and enforcement gets set in place, we second class citizens {smokers} are going to have to hide. I just hope when I am standing outside smoking, I do not get spit on , or spray painted like they did the people who wore furs a while back. OH BOY<,,,,,,

Answer 6

I don't smoke at all, and personally, I'm SO happy that I'll finally be able to go out without coming home smelling disgusting and having to shower twice before bed just to get half the smell of the smoke out of my hair. Cigarettes are a legal health hazard, there's nothing wrong with cracking down on chain smokers a little.

Answer 7

I think it's a great idea in restaurants and family environments. However, if a person chooses to go to a casino or bar, I doubt that you would find too many nonsmokers there. So you're right, it makes no sense.
I am a nonsmoker, and I don't go to bars or casinos. I avoid places where people are likely to smoke.

Answer 8

First of all I have to say that it's insane! Smokers have rights too. Believe me or not, I smoke and work in a factory that does not allow breaks of any kind, like any normal job would. We don't get the luxury of 2 ten-minute breaks and the half-hour lunch, like any other working class citzen would. I stand for 8 straight hours, operating the slowest machine in the plant. Just last week we were allowed to smoke at our machines. Not this week. It's a whole new ballgame. It is incredibly difficult to keep my mind off of cigarettes since this stupid law came into affect. I could not concentrate on my job, and was in a foul mood. Recently, I just started a diet in hopes of losing some extra weight, and because of the fact that I cannot smoke at work anymore, all I want to do now is eat. We cannot smoke on company property, which apparently includes the parking lot, and we're even told that we cannot smoke in our cars in the lot. Excuse me but that seems a bit much considering they do not own our cars. It is just as much our choice to smoke as it is for others who choose not to. The money our company claims they will offer for those who choose to try patches, gum, hypnotherapy classes, and etc, they could use towards a "designated smoking area" for those of us who choose not to waste our time and wait for those methods to work, if they even do. God forbid we shut our stupid machines down for ten lousy minutes, to go calm our nerves LOL. But, you can always "light up" in a nursing home?? Whats wrong with that picture?

Answer 9

I think it is FABULOUS! There are a ton of non-smokers who go or want to go to bars/clubs and chose not to because of the terrible smoke! I am so excited to be able to go again. I think you will get more non-smokers coming out of the woodwork than you will get smokers not going because they are bitter babies! Yeah for clean air!
Fact-Sitting in a NON-SMOKING section for 1 hour that has a smoking section is equivalent to smoking 1.5 cigs. Can you imagine how bad 2nd hand smoke is at a smokey club?

Answer 10

It is easier for politicians and police departments to pass and enforce laws targeting the average citizen than to enact and enforce laws controlling criminal behavior. They have pretty much given up on controlling crime and drugs.

Plus who do you think is more likely to have money to "contribute" to politicians, drug lords or a blue-collar smoker?