Do you think that PA will have a smoking bann for all restaurants and indoor workplaces eventually?

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

The state ban is coming but when who knows????? If the local govt's would stop pushing these illegal local bans that have to tie up the courts to be proved unconstitutional. They are actually holding the state ban up by pushing the issue into letigation.

Why does Harrisburg always have to hold Scranton's hand through everything? If Scranton wants to be a renegade cowboy city to "do what's right," then why should they have held off on doing so until the state realized just how pressing this issue was? Before this ban I rarely dined in Scranton because the smoke in most city eateries was awful and left my clothing reeking like an ashtray. Now that the ban is in effect, my friends and I head into Scranton much more frequently to enjoy the great food in a smoke-free environment (with the exception of Chick's Diner and Whistle's, neither of which will see a dime from me or my family again due to their open challenges to the smoking ban). Judging by the whiny tantrums I read in the editorials of the Times-Tribune, it seems as if a majority of Scranton's city residents are smokers while a majority of the suburbanites are non-smokers. Let the city residents selfishly leave their town to dine in Dickson City, Clarks Summit, or Moosic, and allow the suburbanites to flood into the town to enjoy the fine food at places like Kelly's, Ipanema, Brixx, Coney Island, etc. that the anti-ba fools are missing out on. Besides, is it really THAT difficult to put down the cigarettes for 45 minutes to avoid annoying others in a small, confined space?

The most futile argument I ever heard was from smokers who told we non-smokers "If you don't like it, go somewhere else." WHERE? Before the ban, how many great city eateries were smoke-free? I couldn't think of any. In other words, "If you don't like it, stay at home." Why should non-smokers be forced to eat Ramen noodles instead of a mouth-watering appetizer at a city restaurant just so smokers can pollute everyone's lungs?

[Pensypat]

I understand exactly what you are saying KittensPurr. I suffer the same consequences. I also have to be careful using cleaning sprays and powders as they affect my breathing. I live in Wayne County and Wayne Memorial Hospital recently changed to a Smoke Free Campus. They have signs all over the property. You are not even supposed to smoke in the parking lots. Several other medical offices, restaurants etc. have followed suit in Honesdale. I really do not care or mind if others want to smoke. I feel they can spend their money and do as they please. But I sure do appreciate it when they are considerate and do not force my lungs to inhale their smoke. It can trigger me to have an asthma attack and in the past, I have been hospitalized because of it. One by one, I am seeing businesses follow the hospital's example. I applaud them and make a point to patronize them. I feel that eventually, Pa. will follow NY's and NJ's example. It just always seems to take Pa. a little longer.

[weluvpa]

Firts off Paul I'm a non-smoker but in reality it should be up to the establishment to decide wether or not it wants to cater to a smoking or non-smoking customer base. I do not smoke but in the same respect I also do not care about smokers in bars or SMOKING SECTIONS in restaurants, if you do not want to smell like smoke then sit in the non-smoking area because your old enough to go to a bar that has a waiver anyway. And lets face it you and your friends are not coming to the establishments enough considering that across the board they all took a 40% hit and the out lying places all saw a 40% increase so really its unfair to the business's that are in Scranton, its easier for you to goto to a non-smoking place then it is for them to mive their whole business outside of the city so that they do not lose anymore $$$$$$. Your a selfish person to think that a local ban like this that was rushed into place and just cut and pasted from Philia, Erie and is inconstitutional is good for the economy of Scranton, I thought since you are such a die hard downtown fan that you wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your oh so quaint downtown restaurants, this is hurting then and the lawsuit from Chicks is going to destroy this ban once and for all and then the asses on council that passed this can wait for the real legislators to do thier jobs, I AM ALL FOR STATE WIDE BAN BUT NOT THIS JOKE OF A ATTEMPT, from a joke of a council majority. The rest of the residents do not care what your sweater smells like, just sit in the non smoking area like you do everywhere else outside of Scranton and you stop your whining. Just another bandwagon of emotion and no real facts to back it up, its bad for business in the long run and they are hurting, ask the service providers that have spoke out at council how much of a hit they took.

[Pensypat]

I know this was not the point of your post, weluvpa, but a non-smoking section in a restaurant is a joke in my opinion. Smoke does not stay in most non-smoking sections. Unless the restaurant has completely separate rooms you are smelling and breathing second hand smoke. In the past, we have been in restaurants and asked for the non-smoking section only to be seated next to a 4 foot high divider. On the other side of that divider was the smoking section. What a joke! Needless to say, we left and spent our money elsewhere.

[KarenRice]

BravoSix, I agree with you.

There was a donut shop in Honesdale years ago (MrDonut) which my husband called Smoker's Paradise. The place was always filled with people who smoked while having their coffee and donuts. We never went in there but a couple of times. That was their choice to allow smokers to gather, and it was our choice to go somewhere else for our coffee (donuts are bad for you anyway.).

If a restaurant or bar wants to cater to smokers, I say that should be up to the restaurant owner and the patrons who go there - if you don't want to breathe the smoke, then there are other restaurants to choose from. We the people can also petition restaurants to go smoke free. Why do we want Big brother to hold our hand through everything?

I do support the idea of no smoking in public parks and other public areas. Too many people litter with their cigarettes and make the place a mess. I hate it!! I hate going to Promised Land beach and feeling like I'm in the middle of a big ashtray because people stick their butts in the sand. It's ignorance and I'll bet that the majority of smokers - with a few exceptions - think nothing of tossing their spent butt on the ground. Pigs!