I went to the local watering hole and saw people smoking

[Roon]

Colorado banned smoking in restaurants and bars, but I saw a few people lighting up in this hole-in-wall by my house. Just thought it was interesting that people would still light up. I am a two year non-smoker and I have no problem with it. However, I was kind of worried that this place would get fined. Anyone else live in an area where smoking is banned? Are the local places defying the ban?

[Auggie]

1. San Francisco -- and you can still find very popular and well-known

places where the rules are bent.

[Roon]

2. Amazing

I was kind of stressing when the guy next to me lit up. I thought he forgot.LOL

[demosincebirth]

36. I haven't seen one in the Bay Area. Every bar a or night club I pass,

people are standing out side smoking.

I read a couple of months ago that they were really going to crack down on smoking in bars where you are going to have to be at least ten feet from an opening to an eating or drinking establishment.

[High Plains]

3. Yeah, now there are smokeasies in the SF Bay area

It seems to be the neighborhood bars and taverns where this occurs.

Nothing like prohibitions to gin up a little criminal behavior.

[valerief]

25. Smokeasies. What a hoot! nt

[mtnester]

35. The Altoids tins are the key to smokeasies

if they are there, it is "understood"

If you ask for Altoids, it is also understood.

[johnnie]

4. They passed a smoking ban here in Ohio in November

The day it was to be enforced, a bunch of lawsuits were filed because in the rush to pass the law, they didn't write it well enough. So the state has until June to get the specifics down.

From what I understand, a lot of place are letting people smoke. I have been to two places since then, one I had to go outside to smoke and the second were letting people smoke. I have a feeling that even after June, some places will still let people smoke.

[FedUpWithIt All]

18. There were no guidelines to the bill

Many think the lawsuit will stick and the ban will be put down, setting a rewritten bill up for a new vote. If this does happen it will be interesting to see if it would still pass. I have been to several places where they were still allowing smoking. Staff from a couple of the places (one smoker, the rest non smokers) seemed a tad annoyed with the new law.

One waiter said, "now that people see what this thing feels like, you can bet they will come out in numbers against it if it goes to a new vote."


:shrug:

[enlightenment]

5. There are at least four or five lawsuits running here

in Nevada, challenging the law. In the meantime, enforcement is in limbo (I can't see LV Metro spending a lot of time handing out citations in any case); I suspect it's the same in Colorado. I quit 10 years ago, but didn't vote for this law -- it was poorly written, ill-conceived, and smacks of a level of "nanny state" that makes me wince (and I land on the far-left on most social issues).

[karlrschneider]

6. It's supposedly illegal here in Okla too but lots of places ignore the ban.

There's a lakeside bar I drop in occasionally where every single person in the joint smokes...and
sometimes the sheriff deputies come in and smoke too.

[Roon]

9. That's interesting

One thing I did notice, is no one is chain smoking. They light up, and might wait an hour before they light up again. Of course, I could be reading too deep into things.

[misanthrope]

10. Do African-Americans still...

...have to use the back door too? Or do they just stick to "their kind" and stay out of places where they're not welcome like everyone wants non-smokers and those with pulmonary disease to do?

"If you don't like smoke, what are you doin' in a bar?"

"If you want to eat at a lunch counter, why you at a 'white' restaurant?"

[karlrschneider]

14. I'm sorry, I have absolutely no idea what you're driving at here.

:eyes:

[Roon]

23. It's a smoking thread

Things always get nasty with a smoking thread. But I just had to post about this because I never imagined I would see it after the smoking ban took place. I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this?

[La Lioness Priyanka]

17. racism and smoking...yeah thats comparable.

dear god! no matter which side you are on. this is pure BS and hyperbole.

[jgraz]

20. Yeah, but when people smoke around me it's just like what the Nazis did to the Jews

I see your silly racial hyperbole and raise you a disgusting Nazi metaphor.

[BlooInBloo]

21. Damn! If only you coulda waited another week - coulda been in the running....

... for Stupidest Post of 2007.

Sigh.

[Bandit]

7. I have a good friend that lives in Anchorage Alaska

They went smoke free about five years ago in all public establishments. There was a huge wail and cry about business' going under because of it and yet after a year or so they discovered business actually picked up, the exact opposite of what they predicted...go figure..Now no one says a thing. I heard also because of that the Capital city Juneau will do the same beginning Jan 1 2007

[misanthrope]

13. Didn't you hear?...

...Every last bar and restaurant in Los Angeles and Manhattan shut down after their smoking bans. They're virtual ghost towns now.

[Beaverhausen]

8. I see this here in California too

Mostly if the place is just as you described- a neighborhood hole in the wall bar-only. They seem to fly under the radar and those who go there know what to expect. I even think the cops may know about them but as long as no one complains, no one bothers them.

[Roon]

12. Ok, that makes sense

I wouldn't expect to see people smoking at Bennigan's or a cabaret, that's for sure.

[slackmaster]

11. Bars find ways around it in California

One provision of the law permits smoking in an enclosed outdoor area on the premises, as long as it's not adjacent to a public sidewalk.

Some bars are permitting smoking on the roof.

[msongs]

15. natural selection at work, darwin would be proud! nt

[Warpy]

16. Central NM

and the ban has been respected in restaurants in town. I'm not sure about the small neighborhood bars, but I do know a lot of the big clubs in town are respecting the ban. I think it depends on how high a profile a club/bar has and how often they're likely to have people complain.

I'm an asthmatic with a serious allergy to tobacco smoke, so I do have a problem with it. My days of club hopping are over, though, so owners need not fear my wrath. I greatly appreciate the ban in restaurants, though, because I do eat and sometimes I don't feel like cooking it.

I'd say it's not unusual for smokers to befoul hole in the wall bars, but I'm guessing here. The owners are risking a fine should anyone complain, but some owners would rather risk that than lose the increased alcohol consumption that nicotine encourages.

I suppose small places will either be fined into compliance or will do the dodge of labeling themselves a private club and charging token membership fees to their smoking patrons.

(alcohol-nicotine: http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/nicotine/l/aa000222a.htm)

[rug]

19. A Nicocam! Cross post this in the Lounge.

[Double T]

22. When the smoking ban went into effect in THIS STATE, many restaurants and bar owners went........

out of business. Several have ignored the smoking ban so that THEY do not go out of business; several have been fined. When state governments outlaw the use of a legal substance that ultimately puts business owners out of business, state governments have finally overstepped their bounds.

[lies and propaganda]

24. I live in Phx, we have thesame thing here.

Some establishments would rather risk the fine then to kick out all their cig smoking customers.

[alfredo]

26. Lexington Ky, the Burley capital of the world banned smoking in

businesses several years ago. There's still some grumbling, but it is working.

It's about worker safety.

[LostinVA]

27. Thank you for bringing up worker safety

Exactly.

[alfredo]

28. We had to choose, city council action or the health department

stepping in fining and shutting down the businesses.

That's how you can get the city to act. Put them on the spot by pushing the local health department to act. Health departments are not in the business of making friends. They are there to look after the health and well being of the citizens.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

30. Shutting down businesses doesn't help.

It may be healthy, but it doesn't help the well-being of the employees who depend on that paycheck.

[alfredo]

37. That's why the city has to act. Instead of smacking a

business like a restaurant with a shutdown and fine, the city can just levy a small fine per violation. It also will not carry the stigma of being shut down by the health department.

[shadowknows69]

29. A lot of places in upstate NY are defying the ban.

n/t

[A Simple Game]

31. Wow, I quit over a year and a half ago. Haven't smoked since.

Reading your post reminded me that I haven't thought about killing someone for a smoke in over a month. I may kick this habit yet!

Sometimes missing something is a good thing.

Thanks for the reminder.

[MrSlayer]

32. The ban is almost totally ignored in the bars here in Philly.

"Because it's stupid" is the answer most commonly given when I ask about it.

[Sapere aude]

33. I love the smell of smoking threads in the morning.

[Radical Activist]

34. Austin

They passed a ban a while back. Then the bar owners sued to argue that they shouldn't have to enforce the ban. Now that bars won't have to pay a fine (only the individual smoker) some people take the chance and the bars say nothing about it.