State of Kentucky employee smoking question... (Lexington: homes, schools, maintenance)

[dixiegirl7]

Does anyone know what the policy is for smoking or not smoking inside state offices? Wouldn't you think it would be against the policies?

[Avengerfire]

Busybody.

[kentuckydad95]

Originally Posted by avengerfire

busybody.

We have a smooooker!!!

[kygman]

Of course I just worked in a maintenance garage and we were told smokers had to go outside. Was widely disregarded though. I think we got word that each state building was to have an outside smoking area.

[dixiegirl7]

Thanks, that is what I figured. I am not being a "busybody", I tried to do some work for the courts system and the woman that ran the office I was in smoked like a freight train right in the office. This was in the Justice Center which I know is a nonsmoking building. Seems a lot of weird things were going on though.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by Avengerfire

Busybody.

Odd response

Can we please send all smokers to a different planet? Wouldn't that be nice.

[kygman]

The rules are no smoking. There are a lot of people who don't enforce the rules.

[English Liz]

Interesting thread! Can't believe smoking is still allowed over there in public places. In UK there is a blanket no smoking policy. Nobody can or does smoke in hospitals, offices, shops, shopping centres, restaurants, pubs even work vans. Every public place is covered. It even goes as far as covering entire grounds of buildings, ie hospital grounds, school grounds, communal parts of flats etc. If we visit somebody's home for work reasons and they are smoking in their own homes we can even ask them to stop and if they refuse have the right to leave. Initially people flaunted the law but the non smoking public soon made it apparent that smoking in public places is not acceptable and now smoking huts have been attached to pubs (all of which are open to the elements as they are not allowed to be enclosed) and IMO the policy works well. What tends to happen however is that in various parts of the street you have little groups outside their office complexes, outside the shopping centres and outside the public grounds standing around in groups. Just have to breath in and breath out again once you have passed them. LOL. Must be far healthier though and one noticeable positive to it is that everyone can go out socialising and nobody returns home smelling strongly of smoke.

[InLondon]

Originally Posted by English Liz

Interesting thread! Can't believe smoking is still allowed over there in public places. In UK there is a blanket no smoking policy. Nobody can or does smoke in hospitals, offices, shops, shopping centres, restaurants, pubs even work vans. Every public place is covered. It even goes as far as covering entire grounds of buildings, ie hospital grounds, school grounds, communal parts of flats etc. If we visit somebody's home for work reasons and they are smoking in their own homes we can even ask them to stop and if they refuse have the right to leave. Initially people flaunted the law but the non smoking public soon made it apparent that smoking in public places is not acceptable and now smoking huts have been attached to pubs (all of which are open to the elements as they are not allowed to be enclosed) and IMO the policy works well. What tends to happen however is that in various parts of the street you have little groups outside their office complexes, outside the shopping centres and outside the public grounds standing around in groups. Just have to breath in and breath out again once you have passed them. LOL. Must be far healthier though and one noticeable positive to it is that everyone can go out socialising and nobody returns home smelling strongly of smoke.

It's the same here, though not in all places. In some towns you can still smoke in the smoking area of certain restaurants. Lexington has a strict smoking ban that I like and wish it existed everywhere in Kentucky.

[English Liz]

It has made such a difference over here - so pleasant. Obviously it was a problematic and emotive issue from the beginning (banning smoking in public places), even when it was initially raised by the government and in the course of being passed as law, human rights etc etc. LOTS of arguments. (There was already law covering work places ie offices, schools, hospitals and so on which had been in for years, but public places were added a few years ago now). Initially I think the smokers felt a bit like lepers and I did feel quite sorry for them. Some of the businesses (restaurants and pubs in particular) were also concerned it would have a negative impact on trade and initially it probably did, however it is now considered the norm and has made such a positive difference to a lot of peoples lifes. I think even the smokers prefer it - they have their own little societies going on in the smoking huts, stood in the rain, freezing to death in winter, but oddly now accepted!!