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The smoke doesn't know where to stop. Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a pool.
Rep point for you. I never understood the logic, or lack there of, of a non smoking section; as if a cloud of cig smoke is wafting in the air and it says, "oops, can't go any further, we're not allowed here".
How selfish to not smoke for 1 hour so everyone can enjoy themselves. Or just step outside. Sheesh!
A few cities where it appears you might encounter smoking in the hotel lobby would be St. Louis, Charlotte, and Raleigh. Missouri at this time leaves it up to local legislation. It appears that the two major cities in MO have taken different paths. Kansas City has quite a bit of restriction on smoking, not a complete ban, but enough restrictions that you wouldn't encounter people smoking in a hotel lobby. St. Louis, on the other hand has few restrictions. According to info at the link, Forbes has named St. Louis the most smoking-friendly city. According to the article, North Carolina has a state law banning local jurisdictions from passing anti-smoking laws. Interesting to compare this to a couple of other big tobacco-producing states. Kentucky allows local restrictions, and Virginia has state laws that don't totally ban smoking in public places, but do limit it substantially. Interesting to speculate what will happen in NC as they get more and more transplants. Will the transplants push for smoking bans and eventually win by their sheer numbers, or will the old tobacco lobby dig in its heels more firmly and fight any kind of smoking ban to the bitter end?
It also appears that Michigan at this point is not allowing much in the way of local smoking bans. This would lead to the assumption that Detroit would be a major city without such a ban, although the article does not mention Detroit specifically. For mid-sized cities, the same appears to be true for Des Moines, as Iowa also seems to be in flux on the issue but does not currently allow much in the way of local bans.
Rep point for you. I never understood the logic, or lack there of, of a non smoking section; as if a cloud of cig smoke is wafting in the air and it says, "oops, can't go any further, we're not allowed here".
How selfish to not smoke for 1 hour so everyone can enjoy themselves. Or just step outside. Sheesh!
You can argue the health aspect but non-smokers mostly complain about the smell so I could argue that fish needs to be served in another area because the smell bothers me. The smell of smoke doesn't bother me personally but I understand that some people just aren't happy unless they're complaining.
There was a time when the guy pumping gas into your car would be smoking and he'd put it out by flicking it into one of the gasoline puddles on the ground. And nothing happened. That was the good old days when someone smoking was never a problem.
Interesting to speculate what will happen in NC as they get more and more transplants. Will the transplants push for smoking bans and eventually win by their sheer numbers, or will the old tobacco lobby dig in its heels more firmly and fight any kind of smoking ban to the bitter end?
I wouldn't only credit transplants with the change...many N.C. natives are not supportive of tobacco, even if the state government is. Some progress was made in 2005 as well:
Quote:
In 2005, the North Carolina Legislature took a number of small but important steps in tobacco control. Preemption was partially repealed to allow local health and social services departments to enact smoking restrictions in their buildings or on their grounds, and the Senate Chambers and state correctional facilities became smokefree.
Who cares? If you don't like it than sit in the non-smoking section, it's as simple as that. I don't even smoke but some non-smokers drive me nuts. Smokers contribute a lot to their states in the form of tobacco taxes so I say let them smoke.
THANK YOU!!! There are plenty of places that are non smoking. There are people that like to enjoy a cigarette with their drink.
Also the Hampton Roads area of Virginia is smoking friendly to an extent. I know once you get to Richmond it is pretty much open season on smoking.
Virginia has just passed a smoking ban but it does not take effect until December 1, 2009. There are some loopholes in the ban like the place of business can still allow smoking if they have a seperate smoking area sealed off from the main room with the proper ventilation.
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There are plenty of places that are non smoking. There are people that like to enjoy a cigarette with their drink.
