Should bars be smoke free?

I used to think that people were smart enough so that smoking would go the way of the dodo bird. If left alone, everyone would realize how ridiculous it is.

Now I just think people are stupid.

 

And masturbation will make you go blind

<-----me.

 

I'm sure more people get killed in drunk driving accidents after they leave the bar than people who get cancer from smoking in a bar...

but that's another thread in and of its own.

 

Maybe everyone who replies to this thread should say if they are a smoker, non-smoker, or former smoker.

BTW, I think my statement applies to the ice cream as well.

~non-smoker

 

There's a bar in NYC (or at least there used to be) called Nosmo King. It sucks. You can't smoke in it.

In California, you can't smoke inside bars and you can't drink outside bars. That means, if you obey the law, you can never drink and smoke at the same time. Most bars I went to in SF allowed smoking (with a wink and a nod) but not ashtrays.

I smoke. I'm dumb. So what. Like the song says, everything gives you cancer.

I'll make you a deal. I won't smoke in your health club. But leave my bars alone.

 

Ice cream doesn't produce toxic second-hand vapor that can be breathed in by others.

Yes, smoking should be banned from bars. It should be banned from all public places.

 

Should masturbating in a bar while smoking be illegal?

 

I agree. Cars, too. And planes. And bug spray. And barbeque pits.

I used to have this argument with a non-smoking, meat eating friend of mine in NYC. He hated smoke, I hated shish kabob stands. My stance was that I preferred the smell of burning plants to burning bodies, his stance was that he didn't want to die. I hated to give him the bad news.

 

Smoking sucks worse than politics.

 

Thanks for the reply in the other thread, pip.

 

Personally, I'm divided on this issue. On one hand, I understand that people have a right to do what they want. On the other, I have to sit in it quite often and not just as a visitor.

For me, I wonder about the employees. I can't count the number of times I've had to play in a smoke-filled bar and come home or wake up the next morning coughing up some nasty crap. Imagine the people who are in there every night.

I also think about those gigs where I've been in a fairly intimate setting with tables right up near the stage. I remember one night these 4 people sitting right in front of the stage and, as a way to avoid blowing smoke on one another, they blew it directy at us sitting (it was an acoustic show) like 3 feet away.

I mean, would you do that in a restaurant. "Um, sorry, I don't want my wife breathing my smoke, so I'll just blow it on you guys at the next table if that is ok."

Like I said, I'm somewhat sympathetic to club goers. There is something fairly natural (if highly unhealthy) about smoking in a bar. It's where the term "smokey bar" came from after all. But, I also know first hand that having to be in that environment is an awful experience if you don't smoke.

The one thing that would make me happy is if the club did not allow smoking within X number of feet of the stage or dance floor. If you are playing live and are trying to entertain (or dancing), you exert yourself. Thus, you ultimately breathe much more deeply taking in more smoke than others who are just sitting.

Also, it would be nice if clubs smaller than a certain size had to be inspected for better ventilation. I've been in too many clubs that were tiny and had the ventilation of tupperware. I remember playing one club a number of years ago that go so bad, nearly everyone in the club would leave in tears because the smoke made their eyes water it was so poorly ventilated.

Lastly, if the true showcase clubs would offer either non-smoking shows (a la Mucky Duck) or ban smoking for the really big shows, that would be nice. This would eliminate the problem of all that smoke on nights when the club is packed and filled with people who may not be normal clubgoers. In that instance, it is like simulating a larger venue and all of them are governed by non-smoking ordinances.

I think a lot of problems could be fixed if they just addressed the core problems, but people have to care about it in the first place.

 

I'm a non smoker (i smoke an occasional cigar on the golf course) and as much as cigarette smoke bothers me, a bar is a bar. If you go to a bar, you are a moron if you dont expect to possibly deal with drunk people, possibly see a fight, smell smoke and pay 10 bucks for a drink (at least in NYC)

Now, in some cases, where there is a full service restaurant attatched to the bar area, I think it should be banned...or at least banned during "prime" eating hours (like 11-2 pm and 5-9pm)...obviously, you probably know that in NYC, there has to be an obvious "separation" of the bar and restaurant area to allow smoking because there is no smoking allowed in NYC restaurants anymore. (actually, i think they get around it by setting up tables to eat that are very close to the bar)

 

I'm a former non-smoker.

From what I've seen in California & other places, the "smoking bans" in bars is pretty much a joke. In some places, as Batman mentioned, it's tolerated by management & patrons, and in quite a few others the bar allows smoking on their "patio", which is permitted under the ban. The "patios", however, consisted of an enclosed room with a dinner plate sized hole in the ceiling.

 

Sure.....incidentally, I'm highly allergic to smoke for some reason and live in NYC...so I'm basically incapable of going out to bars here

Hopefully, NY will follow CA in the near future so I can start hitting on really drunk chicks again

 

No matter how one tries to rationalize it, smoking negatively impacts the health and quality of life of those around you.

Are other things bad for bystanders? Sure, and those that are serious enough should be addressed also.

 

I asked for a Zima, not EMPHYSEMA!

So, Batman Jones, do you pay the standard $7.50 for a pack of cigs, or do you go to Jersey?

 

LOL