Smoking ban in Philadelphia approved

[ice grillin you]

done....thank god



Street Signs Smoking Ban
By Vernon Odom

Philadelphia's mayor signed the city's smoking ban today. Smoking will be forbidden in most bars and restaurants starting next year.

With the move, Philadelphia joins New York City as well as New Jersey and Delaware to put such a smoking ban in place.
The final measure is still facing possible amendments to include sidewalk cafes and extend indefinitely the exemption for bars that do less than 10% of their business from food sales. There will be complete team coverage of this developing story on Action News at Noon.

[rjs246]

Another step closer to my departure from this country. I can't wait until someone tells me I can't speak too loudly at a bar for fear of injuring someone's delicate ears.

[Tomahawk]

Laws like this are going to force me to extinguish my cigarette in the eyes of its proponents.

[reese125]

cmon rjs, even I smoke a choker here and there when Im drinking at a bar, but if you cant see this ban as a benefit just because your a smoker...I mean

[rjs246]

The government telling me what I can and can't do when I'm out is never going to be ok with me.

And I'm not a smoker.

[ice grillin you]

im not even going to enter the debate on this because neither side will ever change...im just glad it got done and I WIN!!!

[Tomahawk]

You won a micro-managing government that will acquiesce to any group that bitches enough. Congratulations.

[reese125]

So you have a problem with authority?

What Im getting at is-- stop looking at it as the gov't is trying to punish/reprimand "rjs" and look at it as them trying to do something positive for the entire population.

[rjs246]

They are taking decision-making away from their population. And we actually have people applauding them. Unreal.

[Diomedes]

This argument was already decided in favor of rjs.  Witch hunt + Meddling government = Stupid law.

Next up, the neighborhoods with bars will complain of drunk smokers making noise outside.  Government will try to address the issue by refusing new liquor licenses, then move to restrict how late bars can be open, and then finally move to outlaw standing outside a bar.

Seig Heil!!

[Susquehanna Birder]

Next up, the neighborhoods with bars will complain of drunk smokers making noise outside.  Government will try to address the issue by refusing new liquor licenses, then move to restrict how late bars can be open, and then finally move to outlaw standing outside a bar.

Much of this is already done in my part of the world (central PA). I'm not sure about the standing outside part, but I know that a new liquor license in my township is impossible. The current ones sell for premium scratch.

And one of the the oddest things I ever experienced was being part of the patronage being given the bum's rush out of a bar in Westminster, MD, at 11:45 PM. The bars cannot sell alcohol after midnight. And if there is even one customer in the bar at exactly 12, the local cops will fine the bar in a big way. As I left the place that night I did notice one cop sitting outside one of the establishments, making sure the employees had everyone out. Strange.

[Tomahawk]

Next up, the neighborhoods with bars will complain of drunk smokers making noise outside.  Government will try to address the issue by refusing new liquor licenses, then move to restrict how late bars can be open, and then finally move to outlaw standing outside a bar.

Much of this is already done in my part of the world (central PA). I'm not sure about the standing outside part, but I know that a new liquor license in my township is impossible. The current ones sell for premium scratch.

And one of the the oddest things I ever experienced was being part of the patronage being given the bum's rush out of a bar in Westminster, MD, at 11:45 PM. The bars cannot sell alcohol after midnight. And if there is even one customer in the bar at exactly 12, the local cops will fine the bar in a big way. As I left the place that night I did notice one cop sitting outside one of the establishments, making sure the employees had everyone out. Strange.

How old are you? How does it feel to, in essence, have a state sanctioned curfew at your age?

[Susquehanna Birder]

The only real reason it bothered me is that in PA, the bars close at 2 AM. And I was just getting comfortable at 11:30.

I suppose that if I lived in that area, I wouldn't have thought much about the whole scene.

[Cerevant]

*sigh*  This is not a personal rights issue.  The basic tenant of liberty is that you have the right to do as you choose, unless it infringes on someone else's right to do as they choose.

Smoking is not banned because it hurts the smoker, it is banned because it hurts the non-smoker.

As to the analogies in this thread?  Take a closer look:

1) Drinking / Drinking and Driving: Drinking is legal, getting drunk is legal.  Drunk driving and public drunkenness is illegal - they affect other people.
2) Driving a car: Aren't you paying for an annual emissions inspection?
3) Loud music / talking too loud: While rjs's voice may be annoying, it probably isn't capable of doing physical harm (probably).  On the otherhand, nightclub music is a workplace safety issue that employers must account for and protect their employees who are compelled to be exposed for extended periods of time.

Also keep in mind that the real strength behind these bans are not protection of the public - as you say, the public can choose to go or not go.  The emphasis of these bans is typically a matter of workplace safety - the waitstaff & bartenders affected by the choices of the patrons.  There is extensive legal and worker relations history to show that "if you don't like it, work somewhere else" is not a valid answer to workplace safety issues.

What pisses me off is that you are all so upset about taking away your right to smoke, but don't give a shtein (well, ok - Dio does) that the federal government is eroding your personal right to privacy and free speech.  Hey, if it doesn't affect me personally (yet) then what does it matter, right?

[rjs246]

What pisses me off is that you are all so upset about taking away your right to smoke, but don't give a shtein (well, ok - Dio does) that the federal government is eroding your personal right to privacy and free speech. Hey, if it doesn't affect me personally (yet) then what does it matter, right?

If you're throwing me into the group of people who don't care about our privacy and free speach rights being eroded you're wrong. I am very aware of that and very farging pissed off. But it's more fun to talk about the smoking ban because there are people who actually disagree with me and it impacts me more on a day to day basis.