Michigan Senate Revives Smoking Ban Debate (poll included)

Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 8:24 am

Last July we did a story about a bill from the Michigan House Of Representatives regarding a proposed ban on smoking. So we asked our readers, who usually work in bars and restaurants, Should Restaurants & Bars Ban Smoking? We had a lot of comments on this story.

Now the smoking ban, which was relegated to die in committee last time around, has been revived in another bill which recently passed by the Michigan Senate . But this time, not even Casinos will escape the smoking ban.

There seems to be consensus building to get this done. We've got a smoking survey in our "Take A Survey" section in the main menu, or you can just chime in here.

Newbie Joined: Nov 17, 2005 Posts: 7

Hmmm, what an interesting argument.

From a constitutional standpoint, smoking should not be banned. People have the right to do what they want as long as it doesn't harm others (I consider second-hand smoke to be very low on the list of things that are bad for me). As far as this goes, it should be the bar/venue's policy. On the other hand, bars that choose to ban smoking will lose business, so the only way to make it fair would be to ban it for everyone.

Personally, I would love a ban on smoking. I don't smoke, but I still smell like an ashtray if I go out. Many people say that I should just avoid those places if I don't want to smell like shit, but smoking is everywhere. The restaurant down the road for me is a breakfast-only joint, and after eating there I smell like tobacco. They don't even have a liquor liscense.

As far as I know, I have no habits that make other people have to take a shower before going to bed. I have thought of eating sunflower seeds whenever I drink (because I have to eat seeds when drinking socially) and spitting the shells on people around me. The shells will go in their mouths, hair, and food. It would be really fun.

Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 4:52 am

Through_the_mist wrote:

Hmmm, what an interesting argument...
...I have thought of eating sunflower seeds whenever I drink (because I have to eat seeds when drinking socially) and spitting the shells on people around me. The shells will go in their mouths, hair, and food. It would be really fun.

Now there's an interesting argument!

Actually, I think I'd prefer to brush the seeds out of my hair and off my clothes than come home smelling like an ashtray with a coat of yak in my throat.

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 8:32 pm

Absolutely NOT! Stop trampling on my freedom!

Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 8:38 pm

wiki wrote:

Absolutely NOT! Stop trampling on my freedom!

Ahh, I remember what it was like being a smoker. Confused

Groupie Joined: Nov 06, 2007 Posts: 64

I'm struggling to quit. If nobody around me smoked it would be a lot easier.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 9:24 am

BannedFromEARTH wrote:

I'm struggling to quit. If nobody around me smoked it would be a lot easier.

Yeah, that's the key. The wife and I quit together in steps.

Step One: No smoking in the house from such and such a date.

Step Two: Set a date in the future for the final quit date.

Step Three: Smoke our last cigarette together (midnight, Halloween 2002).

Step Four: Gain forty pounds.

Ok, that last step wasn't exactly planned, but...... Laughing

Funny, here's a link to one of my posts just after I quit back in '02 (holy shit we've been doing this a long time ).

http://www.michiganbands.com/article-456-thread-0-0.html Exclamation

Posted: Sun May 18, 2008 11:36 am

They should just require better ventilation. There are ways to bring in plenty of fresh air into a place with out driving up the cost of energy. The problem is this cost money and the businesses would have to buy better air handling systems to do it.

Government has been requiring better air quality for a long time, for example in factories around welders etc. I'm skeptical as to why they decided on this approach for smoke. Must be some money to made some place.

People, when the government starts legislating health laws we are all in trouble. What about people that are allergic to perfume? We going to ban that too?

I know a little bit about indoor air quality and I can tell you that the stuff you can not see or smell is a lot more likely to kick your ass.

Kind of rules out the possibility of decriminalizing pot too doesn't it?

Groupie Joined: Nov 06, 2007 Posts: 64

Erb-Bar.

Pretty soon a bar will just be a place to stare at yourself in a long mirror.

Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 4:19 pm

Sabbath sounds better at the Erb-Bar Laughing

Groupie Joined: Nov 15, 2007 Posts: 66

You'll have to pardon me for sounding like a Republican on this one, but I think that the free market will do a very good job with this, unmandated by the government.

There are markets for those who smoke, those that don't, those that are offended by it and those who aren't. I have seen quite a few places that have gone smoke-free already, in order to appeal to these specific crowds. Others keep the option of their patrons to smoke. So, everyone has a place, and no government is coming in and enforcing anything in an absolute way. The market drives this, not lawyers, rules, fines, jailtime, and so on...

Now for public places where there is no choice, like workplaces, public government buildings, and so on, non-smoking bans make sense. A bar or restaurant is a different thing; There most always is a nearby non-smoking alternative to any kind of place like this. No one is forcing anybody to eat at Place A rather than Place B...

I've even seen compromises in places trying to appeal to all crowds on this issue. One place has ventilation designed going from left to right in the big room, and smokers are put on the right. Another place I know is smoke-free until 9pm, where you're then allowed to light up. If a businessman is creative enough, he can find alternatives to keep most everyone decently happy.

It's definitely the case that there are those that want no smoking, by anyone, anywhere, and don't see this as a personal choice at all. They go under the guise of it being offensive to others, and even twist facts to say that second-hand smoke is just as harmful as smoking directly, and other fiction like this. They posture as to how righteous they are being by fighting for this, without regard to the collateral damage of taking away personal freedoms. (This plays well in political circles, too, since politicians jump at the chance to be perceived by their represented public as being so, so "good"...) It's extremist opinion, of course, but it's surprising how many these days actually seem to be listening to these people...

(To come clean on any personal angle here, I'll state that I am a light smoker, about two packs a week, and I enjoy smoking when drinking especially. However, I don't favor smoking or smokers while I eat, so I can understand that point, to some degree.)

Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 9:19 am

Gene,

As usual a well thought out and expressed opinion.

I know this is old news to most, but I was surprised to find out a couple of years ago that you can get a fine in California for smoking in public. I guy I know got a ticket for smoking on a park bench there.

I fully understand a non-smokers desire to not be around smoke. But I also believe that this will not be the end of it. We should be very concerned about going down this road. Consider that the same legal argument used to ban smoking or to tax it to death can be applied to anything viewed as a health issue. I don't have statistics right now but I'd be willing to bet that more money is spent by the government taking care of health issues related to being overweight than all of smoking combined. That bag of Doritos could cost $10.00 if the lawyers have their way and everything is in place for them to do it now.

I wasn't joking about wearing perfume or aftershave in an office environment either.

The thing that bothers me most about all of this is the attitude of these social engineers. So many people are willing to ban other peoples rights just because they think it will not affect them directly. We already have more people in jail at any given time than any other country in the world. Everyday something new comes along to make you feel like a criminal. Something is seriously wrong here.