Posted on 01/08/2005 9:20:21 AM PST by SheLion
I am surprised Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson didn’t refer to the smokers as swine in a pig sty. Isn’t that, after all one of the one of the first images that comes to mind when think of a pen? Before I am offended by “da mayor” I would have to be offended by the reference to the term smoking pens. In a city and state that was founded by a group of people so seriously reviled for their own beliefs in years past, you would think they would be among the first to take a “live and let live” attitude about the behavior and choices of others. Clearly the past lessons learned about intolerance by the Mormons must now have been forgotten.
Only 88 airports nationwide is hardly a mandate to make one’s own airport smoke free. Furthermore if these “smoking kiosks” are eliminated it will only cause people to find other places to smoke. Delta Airlines is correct in standing behind the rights of the smokers. Perhaps they have taken note that incidence of “air rage” only became prevalent AFTER smoking was banned on aircraft. It should also be noted that since the ban, they no longer use fresh air to ventilate the planes; instead, they just run the air through a filtrations system which in an enclosed environment further exacerbates the problem.
Mayor Anderson’s pompous arrogance in stating that the ban will help smokers to “break the habit” is outrageous. It is not his job to be neither a social engineer nor the arbiter of personal choices. I do know however, that as long as Salt Lake City and Utah continue down this Draconian path of heavy handed intolerance, I will avoid their state in very way possible. I will not travel to it, I will not travel thru it, and I will not support my company scheduling a convention there.
BANS ARE BAD! Read it again, BANS ARE BAD! Banning blacks from white facilities---BAD! Banning books---BAD! Banning Beer---Bad! If the people of Utah agree that these bans are bad, then they must also agree that banning smoking is also BAD! I would certainly hope at this juncture they are starting to realize that any action, that would favor a smoking ban of any type, will only create far more harm than good. IN all fairness I should note their may be one kind of good ban. That of course would be banning Mayor Anderson from further political office at the next election.
No. Just the typical smokers.
I remember back when airlines allowed smoking. A lot of smokers did not like to sit back there because the air was too foul.
>>> I quit for 7 months one time just because of the cost factor by laying the half empty pack on the coffee table and when cost was no longer a factor I picked up the half empty pack and resumed enjoying smoking. It only bothered me for about 3 days when I first quit.
My father, who eventually died from (among other complications) emphesyma, quit smoking about 5 years before he died. He told me that he went into the PX one day to buy cigarettes. He always bought them by the case of cartons. I'm not sure how many cigarettes that works out to be, but it's probably about 20 cartons of cigarettes. The price of cigarettes had gone up considerably since the last time he had bought them, which may have been a long time since he buys such large quantities, and when he saw how much it was going to cost him he decided that this would be his last case of cartons. He milked that case of cartons for over a year, and when he was down to the final pack he milked it for a week. And he cerimoniously smoked the last cigarette and never had another.
Just like an old Leatherneck to pull off the band-aid real slow and painful like. :)
I, personally, am glad that they don't allow smoking on planes or other confined spaces. I can't stand it when more than one person gets going...working in a bar was hell for me at first. It just gets to be too much, kwim?
UGH.
And this from a smoker, lol!
How do you make a "distiction" between your religion and the truth. No wonder you can't see the facts.
I can't stand it because it closes my air passages and I have to have medication and inhalers on hand and several times certains scents have brought me close to shock.
I don't use medications but I know what you mean about the air passages closing up.
It's not just Maine, Tex. Ca, De, NY and Vt also balance their budgets on the backs of smokers through taxes.
Oh dear. I can't even type that url I despise them so much. And do you realize what the MSA is? (Master Settlement Agreement). That is the Tobacco Settlement. And the state governments do not pay into it and Big Tobacco doesn't pay into it. It's the smoker's through taxes on cigarettes that pay for the Tobacco Settlement.
We are forced to pay for all of the control, bans, restrictions and higher taxes. The smoker's are paying for this personal abuse.
I was leery as well. But the loose tobacco is really good. And I can even buy it in menthol.
And I believe that the loose tobacco doesn't have all those additives that are added when they are manufactured. This is just cured and dried tobacco placed in bags.
Hehe!
Oh! I'm not sure about that. She hasn't mentioned it. I will have to ask her.
There you go----it isn't about health,is it?Unbelievable.
My favorite was a story(true)about a place in Canada where you could only smoke in bars.
A group of sober alcoholics had an old restaurant/bar which was used as a clubhouse for people trying to get off of alcohol.Lots of smoking but no booze,of course.
Their city stepped in and said they couldn't smoke unless they sold alcohol.
Do you see the irony in this?
Actually it did especially after spending numerous hours in an anti-smoking environment. I also must say that that bar was the only place hopping at Denver airport, everyone was having a good time......
You are sure welcome, again, Tex.
There are many of us in FR that are fighting for the rights of the business owner's, concerning this issue. It's not fair and it's not right. I don't care how happy the anti-smoker's are. But even they need to admit that in this day of bad economy, they need to wise up and help business's blossom. NOT depress the business even more.
But, it seems to me that to a lot of the anti's that come in here, they aren't tolerant one bit. It's their way or no way, and they just love telling us about it.
The tobacco I have now says it has no additives. I really like Drum, but it costs more. The menthol loose tobacco I bought made the best menthols I had ever tasted.
Interesting scenario.
I've been a lobbyist for nearly 20 years, both paid and unpaid, and saw a couple of interesting exchanges.
But I can tell you for fact that some of the nastiest exchanges I saw between legislators and lobbyists on the issue of smoking generally came from the anti-smoking crowd. I was working on an amendment with some bar owners about the smoking ban in Delaware and went to speak with a Senator with some of them. At first he was interested in hearing our concerns and willing to consider our amendment, and we set a meeting for the next day. Later that same day I happened to overhear one of the anti-smoker lobbyists inform this senator that if he supported our amendment, th Senator would be out of his seat next election.
The next day, at the allotted time we went to meet with the Senator and before anyone said 2 words, he said I don't have time for you and smokers have no rights.
Yes, I was told by a State Senator smokers had no rights, even though he knew this was about the rights of the bar owners, not the smokers.
So while you may not like the manner in which some smokers posting anonymously on an internet forum express themselves.....please note that in real life.......your side is far from the virtuous protectors of public health they claim to be.
and BTW - the lobbyist that threatened the Senator's re-election........being paid by the Lung Association. I was just helping out some friends that owned bars, on my own time and my own dime.
As a recovering alcoholic, I can see the absolute stupidity of this!
Where do these idiots come from??!
Are you insinuating that Einstein smoked?
That's news to me.
I'd like to believe it
but can you provide a link?
(Preferably a photograph.)
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