Interesting article re: smoking bans

[insectgod]

It seems that not a week goes by before someone on here makes the comparison between steroid use and smoking, as in: How can they ban steroid use as unhealthy and still allow people to smoke? Well, this argument always makes my eyes roll because it's obvious that there are people hard at work to make smoking just as illegal. I get the feeling some people just don't watch the news or read a paper much. Anyway, here is the full text of the article and my admonition to be careful what you wish for people, the government is not in the business of giving us MORE freedom, nor will they solve the right problem. In other words, when you say: How can they ban steroid use and still allow people to smoke and drink alcohol, etc.? Don't worry, despite the huge profits the alcohol and tobacco companies make (which are almost irrelevant to the biggest comps, since they are so divested into so many other products), the government is hard at work restricting our rights even further. In fact, I'm not going to bother looking this one up, but I am sure I remember where there was a bill (it was defeated) that made it illegal to smoke IN YOUR OWN HOUSE if children were present. Where will this end? Surely this isn't the America I thought I was growing up in...

Anyway, enjoy...

Smoke-free zones extend outdoors
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAYWed Nov 2, 6:45 AM ET


Smoking bans are moving outdoors, challenging the rights of smokers who puff outside buildings and on sidewalks.

On Tuesday, Washington state voters will consider the first statewide ban on smoking within 25 feet of buildings that prohibit smoking. That would mean lighting up near offices, stores, theaters, restaurants and government buildings could bring a $100 fine.

The effort follows widespread success of indoor smoking bans by more than 2,000 cities and towns. The Chicago City Council is considering banning indoor smoking in all public places. New York City, Austin and Columbus, Ohio, already have.

Limits on smoking outdoors have taken off in the past two years, says Maggie Hopkins of the American Non-smokers' Rights Foundation. She says restrictions are in effect in 361 communities. The laws threaten to make it even harder to smoke during the workday or a night on the town. Among developments:

• California now bans smoking on many beaches. In September, Orange County became the nation's first county to ban smoking along its entire coast. San Francisco banned smoking in parks July 1.

• Local governments in Alabama, Ohio and Indiana are expected to vote this month on outdoor smoking rules that would push smokers 10 to 25 feet away from buildings. A proposal in West Lafayette, Ind., is typical: It would ban smoking within 15 feet of entrances and at ATMs and bus stops.

• Iowa hospitals are banning smoking anywhere on their grounds, a move supported by the Iowa Hospital Association. Even smoking inside a car in a parking lot will be prohibited at many hospitals.

"We feel an obligation, as a health care leader, to set high standards for a safe and healthy environment," says Sid Ramsey, vice president of Iowa Health System, which owns three hospitals and will ban outdoor smoking starting in July.

The hospitals' 5,300 employees will be forbidden from smoking anywhere during work hours. Patients and visitors will have to trek off hospital grounds - one campus is 44 acres - to smoke.

Smokers' rights advocates say outdoor bans go too far. "People should have a choice whether they want to engage in risky activities," says pipe smoker Jacob Sullum, author of For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health.

"If you ban smoking outside near a door or window, essentially you have no place to smoke except your own home - and maybe not even there," Sullum says. "What's next? Smoking in a house with children will be considered child abuse. Smoking around pets will be cruel to animals."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051102/ts_usatoday/smokefreezonesextendoutdoors

 

[natedogg]

Good. For one I can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke nor can my wife. Two I don't want people smoking anywhere near my children. It's retarded to smoke around your children in the first place. It sets a bad example and it definately not good for them. The state I presently live still allows smoking indoors. That aggrevates the **** out of me. I think they should take it a step further and not allow you to smoke while working if you happen to work in a hospital period. The carcingens remain on/in your clothing even after you stop smoking. And how would it look if your getting an annual checkup from a doctor who had just smoked moments before. Kind of contradicts what he stands for right. Anyways, I like the fact that the government is making it harder for smokers to smoke. Good for them.

 

[punta]

I agree 100% with this. Not only because it about time they start more laws aimed at smokers, but also because even when people do smoke outside the entrance to any company building thats close to the smoking area of the employee's smells like ****.

 

[jrkarp]

A lot of municipalities have laws that prohibit smoking within a certain distance of the entrance to a building. Obviously these laws are not well enforced.

 

[CEDeoudes59]

i generally dislike the government and smokers - i hope they are both banned

 

[cable626]

in NYC smoking in bars is illegal, yet people still do it anyway and nobody says anything.

 

[natedogg]

i generally dislike the government and smokers - i hope they are both banned

I dislike hockey players who like MM- I hope they are both banned.

 

[warriorway]

Thats good news. Dont even let them smoke by their building. Most smokers just throw their butts on the ground for someone else to clean up anyways.

 

[wastedwhiteboy2]

now those fat ass nurses are going to have to practice what they preach. and I hate going through a cloud of smoke just to enter a building. smokers huddle around the entrances in poor weather and they always take smoke breaks together. then there are the asses that drop their butts on the ground until it covers the grass. I hate having freedoms taken away but what do you do about these disrespectful people. and smoking around kids is child abuse. duh.

 

[CEDeoudes59]

I dislike hockey players who like MM- I hope they are both banned.

haha Muscle Milk should be banned, it got me fat
I had no role or control over that
maybe ill sue cytosport

 

[natedogg]

haha Muscle Milk should be banned, it got me fat
I had no role or control over that
maybe ill sue cytosport

I wonder if the "Cheeseburger Bill" would apply to Muscle Milk too.

 

[CEDeoudes59]

hmmm McDonalds or Cytosport - ill sue them both. We'll find out who made me fat if it takes all night

 

[Redeemer]

I personally hate the smell of cigarette smoke but my kids lov'em.

No but seriously, the government does not want to make cigarettes illegal because of the enormous tax revenue generated. At the same time time they do want it to be illegal to smoke, damn near anywhere. So the paradox is, that with mant states (Connecticut being one) balancing their budget on the backs of smokers with ever increasing taxes, it is your patriotic duty to BUY cigarettes. But be damned if you smoke them.

 

[Nullifidian]

While I don't like anyone taking away the freedoms of US citizens to smoke, smokers already take away the rights of non-smokers to breathe clean air.

I personally CAN'T STAND smoke. In Vegas I really really wanted to buy a painter's cap to wear to block out all the smoke in the casinos. You see, smokers are not just practicing their right to smoke, they are FORCING smoke on everyone around them, and IMO that's worse than taking their right to smoke away.

Smokers should be allowed to smoke, but only in designated areas. That way the only people who will be forced to breathe that **** in will be other smokers or people who know what they are wandering into at least.

 

[jomi822]

yea i think this article is right, about time, lets also ban eating mcdonalds and burger king, alcohol, kava, and those damn freak bodybuilders from going to the gym. We all complain on this board about how are rights are being violated every day, i should be able to take steroids i know what im doing blah blah blah, then as soon as an article pops up pushing for more restrictive laws everyone hops on the bandwagon.

 

[Nullifidian]

yea i think this article is right, about time, lets also ban eating mcdonalds and burger king, alcohol, kava, and those damn freak bodybuilders from going to the gym. We all complain on this board about how are rights are being violated every day, i should be able to take steroids i know what im doing blah blah blah, then as soon as an article pops up pushing for more restrictive laws everyone hops on the bandwagon.

The is a difference though when it comes to smoking. Rights are only yours until you infringe on someone else's. Smoking in public places infringes on other people's right to NOT smoke.

I choose to not smoke. Whose right is more important, my right to NOT smoke, or some smokers right TO smoke?

 

[stillybig]

In all places questions like this may arise, you must remember the purpose of the Constitution - to protect us from our government. That is why it was established and is exactly how it should be implemented. The power of the people shall always overcome.

 

[stillybig]

I personally hate the smell of cigarette smoke but my kids lov'em.

No but seriously, the government does not want to make cigarettes illegal because of the enormous tax revenue generated. At the same time time they do want it to be illegal to smoke, damn near anywhere. So the paradox is, that with mant states (Connecticut being one) balancing their budget on the backs of smokers with ever increasing taxes, it is your patriotic duty to BUY cigarettes. But be damned if you smoke them.

Enormous tax revenue generated for what? Funding another standing organization to help research finding a cure for (lung) cancer? Politics politics politics. Do you really think the government needs the tax money from a self degenerating resource (smokers)?

 

[DR.D]

You guys are so retarded! Whether you smoke around your kids or not, they are still YOUR kids and it's YOUR choice to make. You have the right to raise them anyway you choose because they are YOURS, not somebody else's. How would you feel if somebody walked into your work or your home and started telling you how to do your job or raise your kids? We both know that **** wouldn't fly too far. Gimme a break.

Smokers suck, but they still have the same rights as everyone else. This is America still, right? My dad smoked around me and I don't have to act like a pussy now and say I was "abused". I still respect the hell outta him as one of the best dads I've ever seen and one of the best men I have even known. Sorry, but I don't dig rights being lost in any form. Whether it be roids, smoking, drinking, whatever. Every man has the right to choose his own path and he will be judged for the things done in his body one day.

 

[spatch]

yea i think this article is right, about time, lets also ban eating mcdonalds and burger king, alcohol, kava, and those damn freak bodybuilders from going to the gym. We all complain on this board about how are rights are being violated every day, i should be able to take steroids i know what im doing blah blah blah, then as soon as an article pops up pushing for more restrictive laws everyone hops on the bandwagon.

I dont think they should be able to smoke in public, but I 100% agree they should be able to smoke, and shoot heroin if they please, in there houses and other private areas.

 

[The Experiment]

My mom smokes. I told her that the smoke bothered me. Which it does, especially when I had a bad cold or the flu. Now she smokes outside. Problem solved. In fact, during that time when she smokes, my Dad goes out there with her and they talk. So everyone wins.