They already have smoke-free bars in Houston. Go to them. Don't make me stop smoking in the bar that I have been smoking in for 10 years.
you know what? i think this is EXACTLY how i'd feel about it, personally. i'm really not a big supporter in the abstract for these sorts of ordinances...but the idea of hanging out in a bar catching a game without smoke sounds incredible to me. my wife is allergic to smoke..seriously...low tolerance for it. going to a bar to catch some live music...or just to hang out with friends..is like work for her. it's not easy. and right now it's freaking impossible, because she's pregnant. i know she'd support this thing like crazy.
Here is the thing we heard over and over in Columbus when Smoke Free group came to town: The employees are at risk. it's not about the patrons (who have a choice), but rather the bartender or waitress (oo whatever other employee you choose to mention) who has to breath in the smoke all day. So if it's the same group moving onto Houston you can probably expect the same thing.
Then find, or build a non-smoking establishment, MadMax. Seriously, you don't see the discrimination here? You don't see the "blanket" mentality here? I thought there were no fascists here. C'mon!
Fatty good news for you. The clubs can become private and allow smoking if the ban passes, that's at least what was discussed here. So they won't keep you out of every club, but rather some bar owner will set upa private club to allow smaoking (I have no idea on how it works as for a becoming private)
Would you mind letting us know which bars in Houston are smoke-free? I have yet to find one, but I haven't looked that hard. I need to start going to them once I know they exist. B
1. i already told you that in the abstract, i agree with you. 2. discrimination? here are the protected classes: race, religion and gender. sexual preference is finding a way into that as well. outside of that, no...i don't see discrimination. it's a choice. no one is saying you can't smoke...they're saying you can't smoke in certain places. smokers is not a protected class...and shouldn't be. 3. these ordinances have held up virtually everywhere. if they do it here in houston, it will hold up as well.
Smokers are absolutely ridiculous. Smoking is harmful. Smoking is nasty. Smoking is intrusive on non-smokers. We should put up with that crap because you want to kill yourself? No way, no how. I hope it passes. If I lived there, I would lobby for it. I hope Charlotte does the same damn thing because I hate it. Go smoke at home and let people who are conscience of their health be.
Somebody on here already said they were opening a bar that would be smoke free on certain nights, B. The easiest way to find them, I believe, is www.vinylpimp.com As for Max, There should be places to go if you want to smoke, and there should be places to go if you want smoke-free. To say that smokers can't smoke anywhere but in their household because of idiots who think it is killing them, is, in a word, insane. MasterBaiter. I'm pretty sure what you do in your household. I'd also bet you're an ex-smoker. Most uber-anti-smokers are. Fact is, I don't tell you what you can or cannot do. Quit telling me. You know where smoking establishments are. Don't go there. You and your kind need to stop being such whiny b****es. Newsflash: LIFE ISN'T FAIR. Get over it.
By the will of the people or lobbyists, such as alcohol prohibitionists? The ban puts many small business bars out of business. http://www.geocities.com/shelioness/Ban.html We can have both, there shoudn't be an issue.
My two cents: Smoking is physically destructive to people, and physically addictive. The government should create and enforce laws to control, limit and stifle products that contain nicotine. AND, IMHO... Alcohol, caffiene and any other physically addictive substances should also be more severely controlled by the law. I think our government should intervene to prevent Americans from becoming physically addicted to any substance. -- droxford
huh? held up by courts, Meowgi. being a smoker does not put you in a protected class under the law. i tend to agree with you assessment of the issue, though. i've always thought that a complete smoking ban would be a mistake. having said that, if we did it here in houston, i'd probably enjoy my experiences out even more. particularly my experiences out at bars.
So here's a dumb question, if this law passes, can I smoke outside? Would there be a big hoopla if I'm standing in line to enter a club or bar, and I start smoking? I mean, outside is a public place, right?
I'm not going to argue the science vs. pseudo science thing. Hayes and I have already been round and round over that one. I will say that when I go to a restaurant and even smell smoke near me, it makes me nautious. I don't want to eat. When I get home after playing a gig, I spend the next day coughing up phlegm even though I NEVER have that experience at any other time unless I'm sick. It is almost always difficult for me to sleep that night without waking up coughing. If all the restaurants and bars eliminated smoking entirely, everyone would be on a level playing field. Competition would not be harmed because everyone would be in the same boat. So, I'd love nothing more than to see it disappear.
Aww man if this passes that means I'll see less of the chain smoking slutty coke whores that I can bang the same night I meet them.