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Chicago Bans Smoking
The Windy City is going the way of California, New York, Florida, Washington state (whose ban takes effect today), Boston, D.C., and various other jurisdictions too depressing to list. Bars don't have to ban smoking until June 30, 2008, after which they can theoretically apply for exemptions. A.P. reports that "owners would have to prove that their establishments feature air filtration or ventilation systems that render patrons' exposure to secondhand smoke equivalent to the exposure they would receive in the outdoor air around the establishment. The ordinance's sponsor, Ald. Ed Smith, said no such technology exists, and he doubts that it will be in place by the summer of 2008."
|12.8.05 @ 4:43PM|#
In other idiotic politician news, the government of Canada is planning on banning all handguns.
|12.8.05 @ 4:43PM|#
Do they have to ban smoking retroactively? Do they have to apply for retroactive bar smoking insurance?
|12.8.05 @ 4:55PM|#
I was talking about air filtration systems at clubs with
someone, and he pointed out that the club with the good air
filtration system is the one you leave smelling the smokiest -
because the air filtration system/fans/ac blow the smoke around the
club and, consequently, all of the patrons; whereas it used to be
you could walk out of another, former club in Cleveland that had
no filtration or air circulation smelling just fine (and
breathing easily), because all the smoke would gather at the top of
the club, near the ceiling, in a great poisonous, blue cloud,
safely away from all of the patrons' lungs.
Just thought I would point that out. Air filtration isn't
necessarily a good idea.
|12.8.05 @ 4:59PM|#
One of the things here in WA state that I can't believe: You can not smoke in your car while waiting to drive on the ferry. How in the hell are they going to enforce that during the summer, when there are 500 cars lined up? Much less during the winter, when people's windows are up. Sheesh.
|12.8.05 @ 4:59PM|#
One of the things here in WA state that I can't believe: You can not smoke in your car while waiting to drive on the ferry. How in the hell are they going to enforce that during the summer, when there are 500 cars lined up? Much less during the winter, when people's windows are up. Sheesh.
|12.8.05 @ 4:59PM|#
A countywide smoking ban in St. Louis was recently defeated by
the county council. The county executive threatened to veto it as
he thought a ban would be bad for county businesses. Go figure. St.
Louis really is behind the times.
Maybe all those smoking Chicagoans would like to drive down 55 and
patronize The Lou?
|12.8.05 @ 5:18PM|#
Ah yes, I remember the newspapers saying how the General
Assembly this year voted to allow municipalities to ban smoking if
they chose. Local control and all.
I wonder how long it will take for the "we must level the playing
field" argument to strip away this new local control.
|12.8.05 @ 5:18PM|#
Chi Town was one of the few places left in the country where I could simultaneously poison my system with a thick porterhouse, a fine whiskey and a good smoke. I never thought that a manly man town like Chicago would lift its skirt like this. This sucks.
VM|12.8.05 @ 5:21PM|#
does anybody have the breakdown of polling data on this?
just curious.
ralphus- as long as you weren't at the worst fucking, most
overrated restaurant for wanna bes: gibsons. barf.
CodeMonkeySteve|12.8.05 @ 5:28PM|#
(Obligatory Eddie Izzard)
"What have you been smoking? Certainly haven't been smoking in a
bar in [Washington], that's for sure. Because you can't now! No, no
smoking in bars in [Washington] ... and soon No Drinking and No
Talking."
|12.8.05 @ 5:32PM|#
You can also carry a concealed handgun in St. Louis. And we only
sold HALF of our soul for a new stadium.
Hmm, abundant smoking, firearms, the 2nd largest mardi gras in the
world (maybe first now?), affordable housing, interesting history -
is St. Louis the most free major city?
|12.8.05 @ 5:35PM|#
Oh come on! CHICAGO DID NOT BAN SMOKING!
Hizzoner Daley mollified the do-gooders with a loop holed ordinance
that guarantees a satisfying smoke with my cocktail for the
foreseeable future.
The 2-1/2 year delay was just to figure out the logistics, and if
we can make a river flow upstream, this shouldn't pose much of a
problem.
Windy City Smoker :)
VM|12.8.05 @ 5:35PM|#
that stadium is pretty cool.
this cubs fan loved going to st louis to a game last summer.
Cards fans are head and shoulders the BEST damn fans in baseball.
by far.
|12.8.05 @ 5:39PM|#
ralphus- as long as you weren't at the worst fucking, most
overrated restaurant for wanna bes: gibsons. barf.
Nope. Morton's is my preferred place for giving PETA, MADD and
TRUTH the proverbial finger.
|12.8.05 @ 5:40PM|#
That carries weight coming from a Cubs fan!
You think the stadium you went to the game in was cool? or the new
one they're building?
Cause the last bit of the old one just got knocked to the ground
yesterday.
VM|12.8.05 @ 5:48PM|#
sad - loved busch. loved it.
we stayed across the street at the westin. loved it.
drank some beers with some people clad in red t-shirts. had a
ball.
took pictures with the statues. took my hat off to Stan the
Man.
the new one looks really good.
had a great time there. and we're heading back.
:)
ralphus: awesome.
|12.8.05 @ 5:58PM|#
Glad to hear of someone enjoying the town. I got to meet Musial
when I was about 7 years old. I had no idea who he was (if his name
wasn't ozzie, then I didn't care), but my old man insisted that
some day I'd be glad I met him.
You also reminded me that this place is also the home to the
largest brewery in the world. On a hot summer day the entire south
side smells like fermenting barley and hops. Unfortunately,
fermenting barley and hops really stinks.
To reciprocate, I admit that every time I've visited Chicago, I've
thought about relocating there. Never been inside Wrigley, but
everyone says its the best. Had a friend who claimed to make nearly
$50 grand waiting tables at Morton's. Must be a nice place.
|12.8.05 @ 6:06PM|#
downstater - we don't have a mardi gras, but Phoenix does have concealed carry, smoking, relatively affordable housing, and a frontier history, so I think we're pretty free down here, too. Actually, the whole state of AZ has a pretty frontier attitude, so I'm gonna vote for my state! :)
|12.8.05 @ 6:11PM|#
Lowdog,
I admit that I may be bested here, as your weather certainly beats
our sorry meteorological lot and I don't personally go to the mardi
gras.
Grand Canyon is amazing. Can you believe that it only took 2000
years to carve too? ;)
VM|12.8.05 @ 6:15PM|#
downstater:
prove it.
it took about 28 minutes in the book of genitals. it says so. the
flying spaghetti monster. my imaginary friend. it took instant
time. why do you hate america. terror. 9.11. wmds. saddam. saddam.
WTC. god bless america.
|12.8.05 @ 6:18PM|#
Never been to St Louis, though, so who knows. I will say that
the weather here has got to be better. I was born in Kansas and had
to spend a little time in Missouri (KC) once when I had a family
reunion.
I know something we also get a lot of down here, too: drugs. Yes, I
know they're pretty much everywhere, but we are on the
Mexico boarder.
B.D.|12.8.05 @ 6:49PM|#
Sage, that's odd because I read in the paper that they will
allow you to smoke in your car while riding the ferry.
I voted against this ban in Washington state. However, last night I
was at Boeing in Everett and was amused at the irony of a fire set
in a large trash compactor by a smoker who threw his butt into it
after bitching about the ban. No one was hurt or injured, smoke
filled the dock as did the stench of burnt plastic.
|12.8.05 @ 6:50PM|#
owners would have to prove that their establishments feature
air filtration or ventilation systems that render patrons' exposure
to secondhand smoke equivalent to the exposure they would receive
in the outdoor air around the establishment
I think piping secondhand smoke into the outdoor air so that it
becomes similar to the air inside the bar would meet this
requirement.
|12.8.05 @ 7:02PM|#
Howdy, downstater, you fellow St. Louisan.
The weather in St. Louis right now is freaking cold. It generally
sucks. In the summer it is hotter and/or more humid than the
Caribbean or Calcutta, according to the testimony of various
travellers. Our intern from Germany marvels at the suckitudinous
variability of St. Louis weather.
But Morton's is great. There is one right around the corner from
where I am now. It's rather exensive, however. I'm not surprised if
the wait staff can make a lot of money from tips. Fortunately I
have a client who likes to visit STL once a year or so, and he
likes to go to Morton's for steak and martinis, so I get to go
there on occasion on the company dime.
Hmm, abundant smoking, firearms, the 2nd largest mardi gras in
the world (maybe first now?), affordable housing, interesting
history - is St. Louis the most free major city?
A few years ago it was said we had the 3rd largest Mardi Gras
celebration in the world, after New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, but
recent steps to make our celebration less wild (less public
urination and property damage) and more family friendly (less fun,
less flashing) diminished it a bit, I think. It's probably still in
the top five or top 10, though, is my guess.
And it's probably one of the most free semi-major cities in America
if you like to smoke in bars.
|12.8.05 @ 8:01PM|#
Too all of you out there, Please, PLEASE don't come to Las
Vegas, NV! There are too many people here already! It's too cold
right now and it gets too hot in the summer. And it's too
expensive! Please stay away.
:-) :-)
|12.8.05 @ 8:23PM|#
I was in a bar last night smoking as the ban went into effect. There was a news camera there and everything. Number of people that actually extinguished at midnight? Zero.
|12.8.05 @ 9:13PM|#
Worse is yet to come. There's a proposal afoot to ban smoking in the whole fucking county.
|12.8.05 @ 11:59PM|#
Score another one for the meddlesome busybodies at the cost of
individual liberty. It's too bad that this outrage wasn't blogged
while it could still be contested.
I have never smoked tobacco and I believe that second hand smoke is
harmful as well. (When I'm in a smoky environment I take, eat, or
drink extra anti-oxidants. BTW, Dark beer and red wine are supposed
to confer some protection from tobacco smoke). But if this BS comes
up in Denver or one of the burbs, I'll fight it as if liberty
matters! Non-smokers for choice! The way to oppose the little
totalitarians who support smoking bans is to put em on the
defensive. How dare hey impose there values on others and in doing
so deny other adults a choice?!
|12.9.05 @ 12:51AM|#
Shoulda been: "How dare *they* impose there values on others and
in doing so deny other adults a choice?!"
(Here's looking at you, Preview button")
|12.9.05 @ 2:39AM|#
I get hotter chicks in my bar since the California smoking ban passed. Go figure.
Matt|12.9.05 @ 3:12AM|#
I personally don't see the problem of having certain bars where
smoking is allowed and certain bars where smoking is banned. I
don't think it'd affect business, because I know plenty of people
(being from California) who prefer to drink in smoke-free
environments.
Perhaps the bar staff at a smoking bar could sign a waiver stating
that they don't mind....why hasn't anyone proposed that bit of
legislation? Why does it have to be all or nothing?
|12.9.05 @ 8:15AM|#
I wonder when the smoke-easies will start
opening?
The return of the "private club" perhaps.
I suppose they haven't really gone away tho, have they? I
understand they're still big in Utah and some parts of the
South.
|12.9.05 @ 8:54AM|#
In the last paragraph I was referring to the "private clubs" established to get around local alcohol restrictions or racial integration laws.
|12.9.05 @ 9:51AM|#
Florida hasn't actually banned smoking in all bars, just ones
that also function as restaurants. I can't remember the exact
criteria, but they can only derive some minor part of their
business from serving food. There are plenty of bars here that
allow smoking, just not ones where you can also order dinner. On
the flip side, the ban is only an indoor ban, and it being Florida
and all, a lot of restaurants have outdoor seating sections where
smoking is allowed as well.
I still don't like the law, but it hasn't has as much of an impact
as everyone thought it would. A lot of places around here advertise
their outdoor "smoking-friendly" areas on the radio.
|12.9.05 @ 10:21AM|#
B.D.,
I heard about that last night. I guess they are allowing it while
the attorney general researches whether the ban can apply like
that. And get this, while the ban does not apply to tribal casinos,
the governor is trying to apply it there also.
|12.9.05 @ 10:27AM|#
Stevo,
Are you a native or did you relocate? If you are a native, I am
shocked that you did not ask me the obligatory question for making
a snap judgement about my socio-economic background, family status,
and general worthiness. I will not ask you this question because I
find it to be obnoxious and provincial.
CJ Muggs is the closest I'll ever get to dining at Morton's in
Clayton.
|12.9.05 @ 10:54AM|#
downstater,
Never been to StL and don't know what the "question" is. A friend
last night was telling me there's a huge gap between East and West
there. Is that the question? Really, I want to know. The things
people use to make their snap judgments are fascinating to me.
|12.9.05 @ 11:19AM|#
The question is: "So, where did you go to high school?"
EVERYONE asks this and it is annoying as hell. The analysis goes
something like this:
If your school was north: you are black
If your school was south: you are a hoosier
If your school was west: you are a snob
You can imagine the accuracy.
There have even been books written on this question being asked in
this town. Seriously.
The gap in the city is a north/south one. If you're east in St.
Louis - well, then you're in Illinois - which might as well be a
foreign country to most in StL.
|12.9.05 @ 1:16PM|#
If you're east in St. Louis - well, then you're in Illinois
- which might as well be a foreign country to most in
StL.
This was the divide my friend was talking about. So it's really
divisions within division. Cool.
|12.9.05 @ 1:56PM|#
yeah, unfortunately i grew up on one side and now live on the
other - so i'm a man without a home!
the east/west is a pretty lopsided divide as about 2 million people
are on the west side of the river vs., i don't know, about 100,000
on the east. don't quote me on that eastside stat.
and if you're going to the "eastside" that does not mean illinois -
that means you are going to a strip club.
gaius marius|12.9.05 @ 2:45PM|#
in a yet greater affront to good taste, the city is also trying to ban foie gras. god help me, richard m. daley is my defender on this one.
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