Amendment Six - Where do you Stand?

[Steel Shootin']

I spent some time in California last year, and I have to admit liking the no smoking law across the state. Personally, I don't buy into the argument that the government is trying to take away rights. No one is saying you can't smoke, just take it outside. Just my .02. I'm voting for it.

[johnhermes]

This analogy will probably tell you where I stand:

...A no smoking section in a restaraunt is like a no peeing section in a pool.

[rusty]

Having lived in CA for 15 years, I have to support it (I am a smoker, by the way). Just as in public buildings, people should not have to be subjected to second hand smoke while dining out. And like John says, there is no way to isolate the smoke to a "smoking section" on the other side of the room, from the non-smoking patrons.

However, if it is a cigar bar, I think smoking should be allowed.

And yes, I will vote for #6.

[f94gator]

I'm voting for it, all the way. Non smoking sections have become a joke anyway. I went to Stumps at Channelside for dinner a few months ago and asked for non smoking. I got it, but on the other side of a 4 foot wall was the smoking section. You gotta be kidding me! We ate elsewhere.

[Grande]

i cant say that i agree with it. my reasoning is that if a person owns property and pays taxes on it he should not be told by the government what to do inside of his building. this applies only to privately owned businesses where people have chosen to enter on their own free will for a personal reason. i do agree with it for publicly owned buildings. if someone doesnt like going to a particular bar because of the smoke then dont go or visit an outside bar. i smoke and just quit with the patch for a couple of months but unfortunately fell off the wagon. however i can assure you that my addiction has nothing to do with my opinion. and for the record i think the whole second hand thing is bull. I believe it is bad for you but the risk is so low its not even worth talking about. i guess if you spent your whole life in very smokey bars it could be a minimal problem but it was your choice and nobody elses. second hand smoke may be worse than the first hand smoke but you cant compare the 2 or their effects unless you are going around giving people shotguns of your second hand smoke.

[Steel Shootin']

Hey, Grande, you forgot to hit "no" on the pole. The "yes" vote is still pitching a shut-out.

[BobK]

Maybe it's all well and good for the patrons of an establishment to just "vote with their feet" and go somewhere else. But what about the staff ? Why should they be subject to smoke all night long just to make a living ?

I think it's time to shut it down. The establishments will find out that smokers still like to eat out, they simply won't smoke until they leave. No one really suffers, and many people benefit. There was an outcry when they banned smoking on domestic plane flights, but I noticed that people didn't stop flying.

[f94gator]

Restaurants can complain about how their business will suffer, but I don’t buy it. IMO, people are inherently lazy when it comes to cooking. Give them the choice between going out to eat, having to maybe make a trip outside to smoke, and staying home, buying groceries and cooking themselves, which do we think they’ll go with?

[richhermes]

I may have a ****ed up PC here, but it looks like they shut down the smoking amendment thread over on FS. I can't reply to it.

[Steel Shootin']

I was in San Fran about 8 months ago, and my wife (notice I point out that I'm hetero!) and I go into a small Irish bar. Well, we're talking to some nice people, and just having a good time, when after my third pint I get a beer-induced cigarette craving that I get from time to time.

So I walk outside, and find a little store, and return with smokes. And I have them sitting there at the bar, and the bartender, who no doubt is working me for a good tip, pulls out this little coffee saucer and a light. And he says, "Just keep your eyes open." So, I fire one up. As soon as I extinguished it, he asended on the saucer like a kingfish would a threadfin, and under the bar it goes. That scene played out for the next couple of hours.

He got a good tip.

[biminirob]

i agree with john. rolol at the gman page and debate:D scott i love your new form and hope to dive with u one day. hope nobody caught my typo.

[Grande]

Scott, i didnt vote because i didnt like the choices. the " i will smoke where i like" sounded like i would be rude about it. if someone i was with at a restaurant asked me not to smoke at the table i wouldnt, happens all the time, especially if someone in the vicinity is pregnant. I just dont think it should be a law forced on the owner of the business more than anything. also i am not convinced that there is any significant danger from second hand smoke. the only time i could even entertain the idea of it being a health risk would be at a very smokey bar which is exempt from the law anyway. i dont want to fight or debate this here because its just too much, also i hope to meet and spearfish with you guys some day soon, but do any of you really believe that if once or twice a week somebody at the next table over from you has a couple smokes you are at risk? Be honest.

[richhermes]

The diner may not be at risk, but the non-smoking server or waitress that has no choice but to wait on you to feed her kids or pay tuition to get through college does have an increased risk.

You are smoking in her workplace and smoking in the workplace has already been addressed.

You asked.

[f94gator]

That’s a good point. Let’s assume for a minute that the exposure to other patrons is insignificant. You’ve still got the wait staff, who is in that workplace all day long, getting exposed to secondhand smoke the whole time. It still might not sound like much to you or me, but I can’t help but think of when I get x-rayed at the dentist’s office. Sure, the amount of radiation I’m exposed to is very small, but that nurse still goes around the corner before she pushes the button. Those tiny doses can add up.

[Grande]

thanks for the answer, but i didnt see workplace smoking addressed. at least not in this forum. I agree that the waitperson is at the most risk if there is any. However everybody here and 95% of the people on FS forum only talked about how it bothers them personally and that is why they are voting yes, not out of concern for the waitperson. At least it doesnt seem like it.

[richhermes]

I meant being already addressed as in the "Florida Indoor Clean Air Act." So smoking in the workplace has been addressed. Amendment 6 is only a natural extension of a law that is already in place. (Which I think we voted on that too!)

Actually, everyone was talking about how the smoking bothered them in public establishments. Well, technically every public establishment is SOMEONE's workplace. Somebody maintains the area that people are bitching about whether they can smoke there or not.
If a server came onto this forum or FS and stated his or her position about smoking in restaurants or bars or whatever, he or she would be addressing smoking in the workplace.

It is rather selfish to only be concerned about how the smoke affects other diners or patrons only.

I used to be a restaurant manager and it would always piss me off that I had to be exposed to the second hand smoke, but my fellow "office" managers didn't have to.
I will be the first to tell you, that people that sat in my smoking section occasionally got less than the best service I could provide just for that fact. (And that is not uncommon among non-smoking restaurant managers.)

If we already outlawed smoking in the workplace in the indoor office environment, why is it so wrong to outlaw smoking in the workplace in the non-office indoor environment??

(G-man helped me with the boldface!!)

[blue gun]

I think there should be a law to keep people from blowing smoke up my ass.

All are really good points but I just don't give a shit. I smoke and if the law says go outside then no big deal.

BTW My wife and I don't smoke in the house.

[Steel Shootin']

Originally posted by biminirob
i agree with john. rolol at the gman page and debate:D scott i love your new form and hope to dive with u one day. hope nobody caught my typo.

biminirob, thanks for the compliment on the forum. We're frequently looking for another diver, so I'll keep you in mind for one of our outings. Welcome aboard.

Scott

[Capt.Gene]

I never met a smoker who thought second hand smoke was harmfull. It's not even open for debate.