Smoke 'Em While You Still Got 'Em

Brian Doherty | November 8, 2006

Reason readers the Stogie Guys are keeping track of various state anti-tobacco intiatives; check it out here, for what seems like somewhat of a mixed ashtray overall, with taxes and bans on tobacco both winning and losing hither and yon.

Comments

|11.8.06 @ 3:00AM|#

It looks like I got it completely wrong on the passage of the anti-smoking measures in Nevada on the posts here and here.

Question 4 is the less onerous question, and it actually lost. Question 5 is more onerous one, and requires that any bar which serves cooked food must not allow smoking, or quit serving cooked food. The way the question is phrased, even hotel rooms could be non-smoking areas. The proponents claim that will not actually happen, but we don't know for sure, as they also make the fucking stupid, ignorant argument that "Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke harms non-smokers."

I hate fucking statists.

|11.8.06 @ 8:17AM|#

Ohio F-ing sucks. Here there were 2 Smoking Ban issues and there wasn' a question of voting against both, just which ban was a "better ban." I mean of course people could and did vote against both, but all the campaigning was "don't vote their big governmnent ban. Vote for ours." And the Pro- Question 5 TV commercials came out against "big government." How about lets not ban it at all. And of course the Minimum wage issue that will "help" no one but cost much in terms of compliance and record-keeping- that passed.

Congratulations, high school-ers! You may be getting a raise! And you will not have to worry about smoke when you go to the bar!

|11.8.06 @ 8:46AM|#

Both the more restrictive smoking ban and the tobacco tax passed here in Arizona. Sigh.

|11.8.06 @ 10:01AM|#

This may come off as unprincipled, but damn it's nice to go to a bar/club and walk out with your clothes still smelling nice. I'm aware of the freedom of association arguments, but I'm willing to bet that the number in the entire US of the above establishments that have voluntarily banned smoking could be counted on one hand.

Statist or not, I'm not losing any sleep over this shit.

Just out of curiosity, how many non-smokers does this upset, even mildly?

Rhywun|11.8.06 @ 10:35AM|#

andy,

So your pleasure going out increases at the expense of mine, and with the loss of a little bit of freedom too. Yay!

|11.8.06 @ 10:55AM|#

It's interesting that the bans passed, but the tax initiatives did not. We don't mind banning the use of something, but let's not get crazy with the tax initiatives.

Also, Andy, I wouldn't be remotely upset if every business in America voluntarily banned smoking in their establishment. But the government needs to worry about other things and not tell people how to do business. I imagine a restaurant that was filled with smokers wouldn't get much of your business anyway.

|11.8.06 @ 11:56AM|#

andy,

Count me among those non-smokers who is QUITE upset about this development. I don't see how the bowling alleys here in Las Vegas (all but one of which are in casinos) can survive. Same with the video arcades. So, approx. 300,000 Nevadans are deciding how approx. 2,400,000 Nevadans are going to live their lives. If we assume that makes about 1,700,000 people eligible to vote, that means that less than 1/5 of the people eligible to vote decided this result.

And after all, this is just what we need, to have cops citing people who light up in casino-hotel showrooms, in the hallways outside of the rooms of the hotels, or any enclosed restaurants. And if they don't, doesn't that just breed contempt for the law?

Rhywun|11.8.06 @ 2:35PM|#

The justification that smoking bans are meant to "protect" anybody is shown to be bullshit in the Nevada vote. Anyone care to hazard a guess how much business a non-smoking casino would get?

|11.8.06 @ 7:26PM|#

Rhywun,

To be perfectly honest, smoking is still allowed in the gaming areas of casinos, bars that do not prepare food, brothels, smoke shops, cars, outdoors, and private residences, even if one of the rooms is used as a home office.

And there was a (small) casino in Las Vegas that was smokeless in the mid-90's. I can't even remember the name of it, now, but it rolled back the smokeless policy after about a year and a half.

Rhywun|11.8.06 @ 8:39PM|#

Shawn Smith,

I give it a couple years before smoking is prohibited in bars - but I bet it will never, ever get prohibited in casinos.