Whatev. I love the smoking ban. I used to hate going to restaurants and breathing in smoke from the smoking section that would inevitably linger over to the other side. It would ruin the meal for me. Cigarette smoke smells fucking horrible. How is that supposed to enhance my dining experience?

Who the hell keeps count after the 85th birthday?


Eh, I personally don't care about restaurants.
I can save my cigarette for the car, as smoking when eating is just too much for my hands.

However, I feel like bars shouldn't be on that list...

People get wasted at bars.
Ever so often, one of those people drives away into a head on collision and is officially guilty of vehicular homicide.

At least cigarette smoke will let you linger longer than a car to the face.

But that's coming from a smoker.
Crucify me.

I am a smoker, and still support the ban. Call me hypocritical, but I see it as being responsible and respectful. Just because I choose to smoke doesn't mean I have the right to force my fumes on to others. I see it as a way for everyone to enjoy the same businesses without having half the customers being at least uncomfortable.

Can't we just play nice?

Banning it in restaurants is awesome. Gas expands to fill its container.

Banning it in bars is retarded.

Like most laws, it's okay in some places and not okay in others, so enforcing it unilaterally makes it stupid.

I smoke and I support the smoking ban in resturants. In fact. I think they need to take the next logical step and ban children under the age of 10. It would improve my dining experience greatly. I don't know how many times I've been waiting for my food and had to listen to the wails of some baby, or had my waitperson, bringing me my food, tripped by a couple of brats playing tag thru the tables while mom and dad ignored them. Children are the reason we have McCorprate Slaughter. So take them there for a Happy Genocide Meal, and let me eat my Bloomin Onion in peace.

as my friend says, it's like having a peeing section of the kiddie pool.

Restaurants are specifically for eating.

Bars are specifiically for drinking.

When somebody puts together the capital to start a chain (no pun intended) of smoking establishments.... well.... the people who go there will smell even MORE like an ashtray.

Sitting next to someone who is eating dinner does not harm you. Sitting next to somebody getting their drink on does not harm you, and may even be entertaining. Forcing someone to do either of those things against their will is, in most states anyway, a crime.

I believe you've got something there...I wonder if we could ban chintzy happy b-day songs and tinfoil wrapped leftovers shaped like animals?

My issue is more with bars than restaurants but, yeah. I'd hope the sections would be cordoned off with more than just a sign.

You're not forcing it on them, they're choosing to enter. I don't think things should be altered so that everyone can enjoy them. Everyone doesn't need to enjoy everything, everything is not for everyone. Removing a core element of an experience to please everyone is a bad idea.

But, again, I absolutely feel that someone should be able to start up their own place and make it non-smoking, just as the opposite should be allowed.

That's all well and good, but the prevailing justification for pretty much every smoking ban I've ever seen passed has been concern for the health of that bar or restaurant's employees, not their customers.

I don't smoke and I voted against it when "liberal" Seattle outlawed it last year.

It should be economic based, period. Don't like it, don't go there. Especially bars (Seattle even outlawed cigar bars.)

But it doesn't surprise me. When even supposed small government Republicans can spy on us, smoking bans slide by with hardly a ripple.

As a country, we're getting used to being treated more and more like babies.

didn't the health of employees in Ireland improve within one month of the ban there? I'm not fact checking so sue me if this is wrong.

For some strange reason when I walked in places that use to allow smoking and had separate areas for smokers and non smokers I still smelled smoke and coughed. I don't ever recall walking into vertical world and coughing because I smelled rock climbers, even with the sweat. I'm all for people having a the right to smoke. If they want to kill themselves (or not if you are a super women who can smoke till she is 100 or more with no real problems) thats fine with me. I'd just rather not be forced to join you in your habit. Or maybe I should have voted no on the smoking ban in Washington and just avoided places that allowed smokers. Although in that case I'd pretty much just have to stay in my apartment. I'm not really sorry i voted your smoke out of my favorite bars or restaurants or where ever. But I am sorta sorry you guys can't just enjoy your cancer sticks quite like you used to. At least now I don't come home from a night out smelling like smoke when I've never lit up myself. You can call me selfish if you want. I promise I won't care.

I think it can be reasonably argued that bars are also for smoking.

Well, that's my point. It's illegal to do so.

That's totally true... But, I think the individual employees should be able to make the choice to work there, or not.

There are also millions of smokers who would be happy to work in such places.

And if we left it up to the individual owners, as opposed to a blanket law, I'm sure there would be plenty of both non-smoking and smoking establishments for people to seek employment.