Smoking ban tough decision for restaurant owners

Lindsey wrote:

I will not spend any money in restaurants or bar in Michigan any more if this bill passes as a matter of fact I have been considering moving out of Michigan because of all the other problems here. This will do it. Smoking is not illegal and I am sick of the government telling me and my friend and family how to live and what to do ... believe it or not I can make my own decisions I am a adult !!!!!!

Thats fine for you, but as I am a nonsmoker why should I have to sit in your cloud of filth if I want to go to these places. The government is not telling you you can not smoke just that others should not have to smoke along with you. I as an adult can also make my own decisions and I chose not to smoke, my own cigarettes or yours.

Margaret wrote:

Why is it that smokers feel they have the right to inflict their filthy, deadly habit on the rest of us in a restaurant or other public place? If you want to smoke do it at home, in your car, or any other venue that does not force me to partake of your smoke. I frequent several restaurants locally who have no smoking policies. Marie Catrib's in Eastown for one--she has lines all day long of people waiting for tables. I suspect a smoking ban won't hurt a bit--it may actually help. A guarantee you won't come home smelling like an ashtray is a pretty seductive idea!

see you have the personal choice to go to a restraunt that is BY THEIR CHOICE smoke-free... WHY shouldn't the restraunt/bar owners have the CHOICE to decide if their establishment is going to cater to the smoking or non-smoking??

I believe that politicians shouldn't make the choice for the bars and restaurants. It should be up to each place. If you are a nonsmoker and complain that people smoke in certain places, then don't go to these places. It is your choice and your health. If you are a smoker go ahead and ban the places that don't allow you to light up or live without a cigarette until you leave. I suppose though, if they were all nonsmoking it would just solve the problem as a whole. Maybe more people would quit.

Ryan wrote:

<quoted text>
Thats fine for you, but as I am a nonsmoker why should I have to sit in your cloud of filth if I want to go to these places. The government is not telling you you can not smoke just that others should not have to smoke along with you. I as an adult can also make my own decisions and I chose not to smoke, my own cigarettes or yours.

Ryan.... I don't want you driving to these smoke free bars/eating establishments. Your car exaust contributes to the pollution in the atmosphere. Why should I have to share the same atmosphere with you you stinking car drivers?

I think its pretty awful that smokers are having their choice taken away. I am all for designated smoking areas in public places, I am all for ordinances to throw butts in disposable trash bins and I am all for American's having their choice. This country is removing so many choices for people, seatbelts, no beer or wine on sunday, so I think this just stinks.
Maybe people will stop smoking. Then what will this bankrupt state do without people paying that cigarette tax? I shudder at the thought of the missing revenue.
What will they take away from us next?
It's sort of sounding like it won't stop.

I quit smoking and am glad I did. But c'mon we can't constantly rake in the money from taxes on smokers and try ban where they smoke. Seems like the choice should be up to the individual bar owner and if smoke bothers you don't go in there. Yes, they stink and make a mess. But if it bothers me, I just don't go there.(QuitNet.com rocks!)

"Why is it that non-smokers feel they have the right to inflict their non-smoking habits in a resturant or any other public place? If you don't want to smell my smoke, stay at home."

I used to smoke. I also found out I have asthma, which was greatly increased by smoking. I can't go to a bar or most restaurants anymore, because I can't breathe if it has smoking in it. I lived in Cali for a couple years and can honestly say that making public places smoke free won't hurt business. I can however say that yes, Michigan in winter isn't a fun place to stand outside in a courtyard to have a smoke. Make an outside covered courtyard with a fire pit in the middle for some heat (maybe a couple windbreak walls, but not a full enclosure?). Maybe there could be a better way to stop smoke from traveling, but in the meantime, the benefits of stopping smoking in public places highly outweighs the slight inconvenience of the few people griping with their holier than thou attitudes about where and when they can smoke. You don't smoke in a grocery store, and you don't complain..why, because it's just always been that way. Why is waiting a little while for that cigarette after dinner or a drink such a huge problem?

I am allowed to go where I want, and shouldn't be forced to "stay home" in order to breathe.

I am a smoker and it should be our right just as non smokers choose not to smoke. I have great respect for non smokers. I don't think the government should have a right to control our lives when they keep making us pay more taxes. Its about time they sell the mansion in Mackinaw to help with the budget and give the tax payers back the extra money they found after the budget was balanced so we can survive the inflation. They don't want to here that and we don't want to hear about smoking bans. This is our individual choice.

Oh Yes....another beautiful day in the U.S.S.A.!!!!!

so, we ban smoking in public places because it is bad for us. should we have a body mass index test prior to sitting down in a restaraunt or going down certain aisles at the grocery store now too? because being over weight is bad for you too. And after the government makes this decision for us maybe they can tell us what clothes to wear and what we are allowed to eat. I am an adult and I for one am sick and tired of the almighty governement sticking their noses in where it doesn't belong. Hooray for the businesses that have decided to go non smoking I am supremely impressed that they can make a decision on their own IMAGINE THAT, THINKING FOR YOURSELF! Aren't there a few more pressing issues in Michigan that need to be addressed and studied? Besides if all the smokers decide to quit who will pay all those taxes - keep whining and continue to hand over your freedoms

I still Say... With the sorry state of affairs that this state is in... There is Much more that our legislators should be concerned about than this...
Figure out a way to save the state Mr Sikkama...
After the state economy is fixed and unemployment has dropped to a reasonable level.. then you can go back to worrying about your little pet peeves....
Or is this just a way for more funding through the fines that the state will assess on restaurants and individuals if they don't comply?
I'm sure it has something to do with making/taking more money from peoples pockets. That seems to be the goal of everything this state does these days.

just plain ol me wrote:

"Why is it that non-smokers feel they have the right to inflict their non-smoking habits in a resturant or any other public place? If you don't want to smell my smoke, stay at home."
I used to smoke. I also found out I have asthma, which was greatly increased by smoking. I can't go to a bar or most restaurants anymore, because I can't breathe if it has smoking in it. I lived in Cali for a couple years and can honestly say that making public places smoke free won't hurt business. I can however say that yes, Michigan in winter isn't a fun place to stand outside in a courtyard to have a smoke. Make an outside covered courtyard with a fire pit in the middle for some heat (maybe a couple windbreak walls, but not a full enclosure?). Maybe there could be a better way to stop smoke from traveling, but in the meantime, the benefits of stopping smoking in public places highly outweighs the slight inconvenience of the few people griping with their holier than thou attitudes about where and when they can smoke. You don't smoke in a grocery store, and you don't complain..why, because it's just always been that way. Why is waiting a little while for that cigarette after dinner or a drink such a huge problem?
I am allowed to go where I want, and shouldn't be forced to "stay home" in order to breathe.

And I am allowed to smoke a legal drug where ever I want. Why should I have to be inconvienenced due to YOUR problem?

a wise old senator once asked if having a smoking section in a restaurant is the same as a pissing section in a public swimming pool ??

Oh.... by the way... here's a website that has several studies that refute the biased anti-smoking nazis. www.heartland.org

We went to Chicago last month where we were actually able to enjoy dancing and closed the bar two nights in a row because it was SMOKE-FREE. How nice to not come home & have to take a shower before going to bed. It would be great for have even a few clubs downtown go smoke-free.

Margaret wrote:

Why is it that smokers feel they have the right to inflict their filthy, deadly habit on the rest of us in a restaurant or other public place? If you want to smoke do it at home, in your car, or any other venue that does not force me to partake of your smoke. I frequent several restaurants locally who have no smoking policies. Marie Catrib's in Eastown for one--she has lines all day long of people waiting for tables. I suspect a smoking ban won't hurt a bit--it may actually help. A guarantee you won't come home smelling like an ashtray is a pretty seductive idea!

Exactly! Smokers can keep their cancer-causing smoke to themselves!

The issue here should not be smokers vs. non smokers. Take a look around, fewer and fewer people are smoking these days and this issue will resolve itself as the smokers die off from their choice to smoke. The real issue is the government telling us we can't do something that is legal!

Having read some of the post, I want to respond with - an overweight person isn't affecting my body; whereas you can't control where your smoke goes so that does affect the air that goes into my lungs, my body, my health. Therefore, as a non-smoker (by choice), I should be able to have a place to enjoy without your habit affecting me.

Not all smokers are up in arms about protecting their rights to smoke in public places.
My have a family of smokers. I'm a smoker (though maybe my opinions don't count as I'm trying to quit).
We don't smoke in restaurants, even ones where we are allowed to. We chose non-smoking sections. Seriously, how hard is it to sit down, enjoy a meal, conversation for a while without lighting up?
Do you people, who are screaming about your rights to smoke, ban movie theaters? Most people sit at a movie Theater longer than you sit at a restaurant, without being able to smoke.
Regarding the "obese" issue- Stretch a little harder. That is about as stupid of an argument as you can get. Someone being obese does not effect the health of the person sitting next to them.
Also, the comment about grocery stores. Actually, you are wrong. It hasn't "always been that way".
I clearly remember being a child and people smoking in grocery stores. My own dad did it. Even in Meijers. Back in the 70's there was nothing at all wrong with walking down the isle of a grocery store and lighting up.
Fact remains that smoking is a health risk, a serious one. Not only is it a health risk to yourself, the smoker, but to those around you.
Really, if you'd get your heads out of your selfish hind ends, you'd realize what inconsiderate, drug addicts you're being.
Why is it so hard to comprehend that you should be considerate enough to population that made wise enough choices not to inflict their bodies with hazardous chemicals?

Smokers vs. non-smokers.
This is an unwinable argument. Both sides have their minds made up and will not change.
I am an ex-smoker and am probably against it more than the average person but, it should be left to the restaurant and bar owners to decide if they want to allow smoking or not, not the government. Then we can all as individuals make a decision to frequent them or not.
Personally, I hate smelling like somebody else's dirty ashtray and stay away from smoking areas anywhere.