What happened Wheezer? Did your children help you to write that post? That was actually the most lucid point you have ever made here.
You are such a good little liberal progressive aren't you. Go save the whales and leave your fellow citizens alone.
Posted on 10/20/2007 1:52:53 PM PDT by Wheee The People
Poll: Two-thirds of Wyoming voters support statewide smoking ban
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A statewide poll shows that two-thirds of Wyoming voters support a ban on smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars.
The poll, commissioned by the American Cancer Society in Wyoming and other health organizations, also found that 74 percent of registered voters believe the right of customers and employees to breathe clean air outweighs smokers' right to light up indoors.
"It shows that the people of Wyoming would absolutely support a smoke-free Wyoming," said Loretta Wolf, spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society in Wyoming. The American Cancer Society and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a national group that supports smoke-free legislation, also helped pay for the poll.
Harstad Strategic Research Inc. of Boulder, Colo. conducted the poll between Sept. 26 and Oct 1. They contacted 504 registered voters across the state. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.
A poll commissioned last year by the Casper Star-Tribune found 57 percent of Wyoming voters supported a comprehensive, indoor smoking ban. That poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc., surveyed 625 Wyoming voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The new American Cancer Society poll found that 92 percent of voters say they would go to restaurants more frequently or at least as frequently as they currently do if smoking were prohibited in them.
Only 6 percent of voters said they would go to restaurants less frequently if indoor smoking were outlawed, while 8 percent said they would be less likely to frequent bars.
While 66 percent of voters supported a statewide smoking ban, the American Cancer Society poll found 32 percent opposed it. Democrats and Republicans supported the ban at about the same level, 67 percent and 68 percent, respectively.
Support for the ban also remained constant among people of different ages, with support only varying a few percentage points between voters aged 18 to those 60 or older.
The poll found that 70 percent of women supported a smoking ban compared to 61 percent of men.
More than 70 percent responded that they believe exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke is harmful to people's health. Twenty-seven percent of voters surveyed said that exposure to secondhand smoke is "just somewhat" or "not at all" harmful.
The poll results were released while a legislative committee is considering whether to introduce smoke-free legislation at the upcoming budget session in February.
Wolf, of the American Cancer Society, said her group is pushing for a comprehensive bill that includes a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants or other businesses. About 27 states have adopted smoke-free laws but the restrictions vary.
Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, chairman of the Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, has said he only intends to introduce the bill in next year's budget session if a majority of the committee members supports it.
Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, sponsored a similar bill in the last session, but it failed to make it to the House floor for a first-reading vote. Lawmakers anticipate a tough fight in the coming session if the bill moves forward.
Dan Hatanelas, manager of a bar in Cheyenne, opposed a citywide smoking ordinance that became law last year. He said he would also oppose statewide legislation.
However, Hatanelas said that a statewide ban might be more fair to businesses in Cheyenne that now must compete against nearby Laramie County businesses that are exempt from the local ban. He said his bar saw a 19-percent drop in revenue during the first 12 months of the local ban, which took effect in August 2006.
"I'd hate to see anything happen, but maybe on a statewide basis it would be less traumatic for us," Hatanelas said.
In addition to Cheyenne, the cities of Laramie and Evanston have adopted their own smoke-free ordinances. The Rock Springs City Council is considering a similar ordinance. Voters in Casper rejected a proposed ban in 2000.
Information from: Star-Tribune, http://www.casperstartribune.net
I resent that comment. I'm still very ill also. LOL
You folks take care.
There clearly is a schism in the right side of the spectrum. Libertarians don't want a ban at all. Value voters march to the voting booth and routinely vote to ban smoking.
It 's funny. For years conservatives were asked to care about kids graduating from high school who couldn't read their diplomas. Welfare queens. Homosexual marriages. Abortions. Immigration. Social issues one and all. And we did care, and voted.
But if anyone here says they care about the number of kids smoking or the damage smoking causes society...The libertarian side tries to stop the debate. Sad.
Can’t argue with that at all. Thanks for the comments.
OK, Dr. Feel has an appointment today at 4 PM. Does that work for you?
What happened Wheezer? Did your children help you to write that post? That was actually the most lucid point you have ever made here.
You are such a good little liberal progressive aren't you. Go save the whales and leave your fellow citizens alone.
Wheee, as a woman, I RESENT your placing the same “value weight” on smoking as abortion. Your way of thinking is so far out that I will never comprehend it. (Shaking head.) Are male cigar smokers at that same “value weight” of yours (equivalent to abortion)? You’ve posted that you enjoy cigars (or is it just the smell of them and you don’t smoke them? You seem to think the same as Hillary — it takes a village. It is the parents’ responsibility to raise their chilren.
< Libertarianism argues in favor of private property rights; socialism argues “equality.” >
How one cannot comprehend that is beyond this person here. Very well stated. Have a socialism-free day!
< It ‘s funny. For years conservatives were asked to care about kids graduating from high school who couldn’t read their diplomas. Welfare queens. Homosexual marriages. Abortions. Immigration. Social issues one and all. And we did care, and voted. >
I, myself, don’t like beer and alcohol, so I don’t go to bars. The only adult beverage I enjoy is sippping on champagne (with a strawberry, of course). Alcohol does much more damage to our society than most things — I’ve seen it — we all have. Do I want to ban it? No.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1916153/posts
Since you seem to care so much about the “children,” don’t you think alcohol should be banned? You have to be consistent, Wheee, in your values. You just can’t pick and choose.
In an attempt to please both sides, restaurants would designate these tables smoking and those tables non smoking. The smokers were happy as clams because it was smoking as usual for them. There was nothing but air between the tables so very soon it was just like it always had been, a smoke filled room.
The smokers want to go back to the old days but it’s not gonna happen until they out number the non smokers and I don’t think that is will be anytime soon. Keep whining smokers and pining for the good old days. It makes me chuckle out here reading it.
< Keep whining smokers and pining for the good old days. It makes me chuckle out here reading it. >
Hubby and I were in Vegas at the beginning of the month, where it was nice (almost heaven) to be around happy adults — no whining. :-)
Yes, smoking permitted on the casino floor only. We stay at Paris where they have a cigar bar. There are bars that are actually on the floor where you can smoke as well (hubby can have a cigar if he wishes). And, of course, if you have a smoking room. Enjoy yourselves. We always meet some awfully nice and fun people there. It’s the people, I suppose. :-) Nevada law permits smoking in bars that do not serve food (what percentage of revenue, I don’t know) as well. They just have signs that say, “No Smoking” or “Nevada law prohibits smoking in this area.” Nevada’s no-smoking signs does not have a “snitch” line phone number for reporting your fellow citizen to the State Department of Health. Nevada’s law is at least SENSIBLE, which is what everyone wants. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. I want to go again. :-)
In case you are not familiar with the PBR it is Professional Bull Riding. The finals are in LV every year. My husband raises rodeo bulls and some of his (bull) boys buck there every year. We don’t go for the gambling or the shows OR the smoking. Most hotels are arranged so that you cannot get anywhere without going through the Casinos so there is no way to avoid the smoke but I do expect to maybe have a meal without breathing smoke this year. We usually spend almost 2 weeks there, this year I begged off to one long weekend.
PBR — wow and very cool. I’d be afraid to even get close to bulls! Lots of luck and have fun. Yes, you can enjoy a very nice smoke-free buffet. In fact, some casinos started that before the law was even voted on.
LOL, I think you’re on target there.
No whining, but I hope there was some winning...
The closest I get to the bulls is to roll the truck window down. LOL
Thanks.
I hate Smoke Nazis....they never stop.
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