posted
Tonight in speech class, I was discussing my most recent topic: why Omaha should be smoke-free in it's bars and restaurants (it's up for vote next year). The person next to me (a smoker of course) rolled her eyes and said it would never work. I smiled politely and responded that she was in error, that many states have issued a ban on cigarettes in these places and business is still booming. Restaurants in Omaha are already catching on. As of the past three months, four restaurants have enforced a no smoking policy (Red Lobster as one of them, a very popular pizza chain as another.) These businesses are doing fine. I proceeded to tell her that Lincoln passed the vote ages ago, they are doing fine as well.
She continued to show her impatience and said that they already have an alternative for smokers: an alcohol that contains nicotine. I stared at her and asked her where she read this. She ignored that question and said she would bet me a million dollars that it was true and New York was one of the states serving it.
Being the good sport, I told her that I would like to do a little research before placing any substantial amounts of money on it.
Well, I Googled. No go. Is there anyone who knows what in the world she is talking about. I would love the opportunity to prove her wrong (I'm petty like that.)
Posts: 2064 | Registered: Dec 2003
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posted
I read about it in the New York Times. A "Nicotini", that has tobacco steeped in alcohol as one of its ingredients. Ingenious, no? Here's the google search.
Posts: 10397 | Registered: Jun 2005
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California bars have been smoke-free since 1998. (Yay!)
Personally, I say let the smokers substitute nicotine-laced beverages. I still don't have to be around their smoke, and they get their fix. Everyone's happy. Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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I am SO HAPPY to be moving back somewhere where smoking in public places is verboten. In TX, it's city by city. While Dallas and Richardson (where I live) have such ordinances, Addison (where a lot of popular restaurants are) Buckingham (which is right IN THE MIDDLE of Richardson-- long story) and many other surrounding communities do not. So whether you'll get a healthy (or rather, unhealthy) dose of second-hand smoke with your dinner when you go out depends on what city you're in. Ick.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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GAH. My state banned it and I was happy as anything but many of the people I know were/are against it, some of them nonsmokers. I just think that I should be able to go where I want without dying.
Posts: 4816 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Both the cities where I live (Corvallis and Tempe) have banned smoking. Corvallis, after a long fight, even banned it in bars. I don't care about the bars since I'm not 21 and probably wouldn't go to one even if I were, but I love walking into restaurants and bowling alleys and not coughing.
I'm all for nicotine in forms that don't affect me when someone else uses them. Well, except for the fact that nicotine is a nasty, addictive drug. But at least all those other forms are less likely to kill people than smoking...
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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It's so much nicer going out now that we've banned indoor-smoking (in bars, restaurants etc) nation-wide. I was very happy when the law finally came in.
re the nicotine in drinks, as long as they put a warning/label/something on it so I don't mistakenly drink it, I don't care. It's their (nicotine addict's) choice, and I'd way rather have that than smoking, which affects others.
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We go to see a lot of live music in bigger clubs, and it is so refreshing to come home not smelling like an ashtray. It is really hard to remember what it was like to sit in a restaurant where someone is smoking.
However, I wish that airports had places where people could go outside, or someplace, to smoke.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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Elizabeth, Orlando International has designated spots where people can smoke. You can't just smoke anywhere.
Florida passed this a year or so ago for restaurants. Any place that derives at least 10% (I think) of its revenue from food qualifies.
Although I voted for it, I wish it had left a little more leeway for business owners. I thought they should have been able to decide whether they wanted to be a non-smoking or smoking establishment. If they chose smoking, they would have to make their choice clear to potential patrons.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I do have sympathy for smokers, having lived with one. the worst was when he was in the hospital with kidney stones. I thought I was going to have to kill him, really. He was such a rotten human being. I finally smuggled him outside in a wheelchair so he could have a cig. I am so glad he finally quit, but it was a tough go.
He had been a tobacco chewer. (oh, ugh, the memories), and switched to cigarettes to quit chewing. It did not work(duh), and he ended up smoking for almost ten years.
My favorite story is when my daughter was four. He took her with him to the drug store, and she had a silent tantrum. She just lay down on the floor, not saying a thing, and would not move. He was so mad at her, and had to pick her up and carry her out. It turned out she was protesting his cigarette purchase.
Posts: 10890 | Registered: May 2003
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The idea of banning smoking in bars is so strange to me, since the two go hand in hand.
I'm not a smoker, but I'm not in favor of these laws. When I go to a restaurant with a smoking and a non-smoking section, I never have a problem in the non-smoking section with smelling smoke if the restaurant enforces their rules. Maybe in some places the ventilation isn't right... I'm more in favor of fixing THAT then banning it all together. Seriously, I don't think the anti-smoking crowd will be happy until smoking is banned outside and even in people's own homes.
posted
One of my favorite things about living in Colorado was that you couldn't smoke anywhere. Not in bars, clubs, restaurants, nothing.
And there it was too cold to smoke outside a lot of the year.
Louisiana will probably be the absolute last state to pass ordinances like that. Although Lafayette has been trying to pass one, but it's met huge resistance.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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New York has a complete workplace smoking ban on anything but places like cigar stores (IIRC).
Its great for those like me who cannot stand being around cigarette smoke, but, the law was not passed for our benefit.
It is quite simply, a workplace safety law. You can say that customers can just go to a different bar/restaurant/etc, but the law is to protect the workers who have to be in these places for eight hours at a time. Having your workplace environment such that an employee of yours has to suck down toxic/carcinogenic chemicals all day is NOT SAFE. In fact, its downright harmful, and could easily result in death. I've heard estimates that a bartender averages the equivalent of between a half pack, and one and a half packs of cigarette smoke each night.
You can say it was "his choice" to work there, but you can say that about any workplace safety laws.
Posts: 5656 | Registered: Oct 1999
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quote:The person next to me (a smoker of course) rolled her eyes and said it would never work. [. . .] She continued to show her impatience and said that they already have an alternative for smokers: an alcohol that contains nicotine.
Even if that's true, I don't see how that constitutes "not working". The purpose of these laws is not to stop smokers from getting nicotine. The purpose is to stop non-smokers from having to breathe in other people's smoke.
As a resident of a city that banned smoking in places like restaurants and pool halls and so on several years ago, I have to say that I am very much in favor of such laws. If inhaling carcinogenic toxins is how you get your kicks, that's fine with me. But do it at home. There's a reason why I'm not a smoker myself.
Also, who still says "I'll bet you a million dollars" at an age when they're old enough to be a habitual smoker? Everyone I know stopped using that phrase in elementary school.
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:The person next to me (a smoker of course) rolled her eyes and said it would never work. [. . .] She continued to show her impatience and said that they already have an alternative for smokers: an alcohol that contains nicotine.
quote:A "Nicotini", that has tobacco steeped in alcohol as one of its ingredients.
You can still win the argument here. See, it's not an alcohol that contains nicotine, but a drink. See, you win!
Posts: 4753 | Registered: May 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Elizabeth: My favorite story is when my daughter was four. He took her with him to the drug store, and she had a silent tantrum. She just lay down on the floor, not saying a thing, and would not move. He was so mad at her, and had to pick her up and carry her out. It turned out she was protesting his cigarette purchase.
You've got a regular little Ghandi on your hands, there!
Posts: 1357 | Registered: Mar 2002
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You've got a regular little Ghandi on your hands, there!
