NYC Smoking Ban: Stick Your Butt in Bloomberg's Face!

The NYPost ^ | May 15, 2003

[sylvestersly]

There’s a simple and symbolic way local bars and restaurants are fighting back against the Mayor’s ban on smoking here in New York City: they’re ordering Slycraft.com’s “You CAN Fight City Hall” ashtray by the dozens.

“This law is killing business,” says one bar owner in the Village. “It’s a nightmare.” The owner purchased 40 ashtrays to pass out to his favorite customers. “Every time I use this I feel much better.” The ashtray has a portrait of the Mayor with the words “You CAN Fight City Hall” around it.

“The ashtrays are a means of peaceful protest against this ban. I think people never believed it would actually happen here in New York City of all places, and when it did, they were stunned,” says David Garland of Slycraft.com, the Manhattan-based novelty company that created the item. David sympathizes with all the people he passes smoking on the sidewalks, rain or shine. “The whole culture of smoking started here in New York, and before New Yorkers knew what hit them, that was stripped away.” Close to 1 out of 4 New Yorkers smoke, and now they’ve started to fight back. “Even if the law isn’t changed, smokers and bar owners feel this is the best way to register their opposition to the ban. At least until November 2005.”

# # #

TO SEE A PICTURE OF THE ASHTRAY, VISIT: www.Slycraft.com

FOR MORE INFO: David Garland (212) 481-2790 (O)

[umgud]

Boomburg ain't done. I hear he's considering banning smoking on the sidewalks too.

[prisoner6]

I've posted this before, and it's only tangenitally relevant here but I'm going to go ahead and repost anyway because I've been trying over several years to get more people to go along with it.

Here's the deal. Always keep an UNLIT cigarette, cigar or (I prefer) pipe with you. Then whenever you go into a "No Smoking" area, say a restaurant, grocery store or anywhere pull it out and walk around with it.

I do this with my pipes because I usually have one with me anyway, and sometimes with a cigar butt. I get lots of dirty looks and usually some poor fool confronts me with "You know smoking isn't allowed here!" I look puzzled and respond, "but...but...it ISN'T lit! Here...wanna see?" And I pull the pipe from my mouth and place it close to their face. Whooo-BOY does it get some of 'em jumping ugly, especially if there are a lot of people around and the embarrasment factor takes hold.

I've actually had some people challange me about an area banning the "use" of tobacco, lit or not. That is why I like to use my pipe. While it has residue in it, generally there isn't tobacco.

Sometimes it goes so far as people telling me I'm setting a bad example for kids. I usually come back with "Well, so are you." or "Tell 'e,m to shut their eyes till I'm gone."

I'm VERY unmutual in The Village.

prisoner6

[katz]

Where I live, Simmon owns the malls. All are non-smoking except for the bar/restaurants. My husband has urged me to sit down on a break bench and light up. Well, I have not as I don't want the trouble. He is all for hundrends of smokers to do a "smoke-in"...He says, "What are they going to do, throw you all in jail"? I just stay at home. He says, "Throw them all in jail and tie up the courts". It sounds like fun for smokers who have more time than me.

[Free ThinkerNY]

Mayor Bloombird is a phony Liberal Democrat. He is reversing the course for NYC That Rudy Guiliani worked hard to put this city on. His insane smoking-in-bars ban is anti-business and anti-scientific evidence about the health effects of second hand smoke.

[demkicker]

[tomakaze]

re: Here's the deal. Always keep an UNLIT cigarette, cigar or (I prefer) pipe with you. Then whenever you go into a "No Smoking" area, say a restaurant, grocery store or anywhere pull it out and walk around with it.
 
Hahahahaha - I used to do the same damned thing in Cali. I was working down there they the bed wetting crowd got that idiotic ban passed. (Most of the homier bars ignored it at the time.)
 
6 for 2! 6 for 2!

[onyx]

I no longer smoke, but that hasn't stopped me from having fun with smoking nazis. I inhale and exhale on a candy cigarette during take-offs and landings! The nazis go wild buzzing for the flight attendants!

[tomakaze]

re: There’s a simple and symbolic way local bars
 
What's with all this symbolic crap?
I thought the otherside was the "symbolism over substance" mob.
Organize about 150 or so of your closest friends, and organize a public "smoke in". Make tobacco weekly runs to your local indian reservation to pick up untaxed smokes (and chew) for your friends. thats how you protest crap - by refusing to comply, and/or knuckle under enmass.
At your favorite pub, assuming the owners game, run interferance when whatever gimp they send down to write of the fines tries to inspect the place. get everyone to "accidently" block the twits access.

[Timesink]

Bloomie personally dissed the Post recently. He's going to be paying for that for a long, long time.

[A CA Guy]

Was tried in CA, didn't work. Eventually smokers adapted and it is no big deal now.

[tomakaze]

re: Mayor Bloombird is a phony Liberal Democrat
 
Thank every republican who shouted "well plug your nose and vote for this RINO cause he's better then the 'Rat", ( assuming there was a decent Libertarian candidate running.)

[BlackbirdSST]

Thank every republican who shouted "well plug your nose and vote for this RINO cause he's better then the 'Rat",

A lesson never learned! Blackbird.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

LOL. I bet the bed wetters even complain about the "smell".

[ohioman]

I do the same thing in airports! That is, I walk through it with an unlit cigarette in my mouth. Nothing better than telling the smoke-nazis to shove it. :)

[blackdog]

Much like driving and drinking one of those non-alchoholic beers in plain view of a patrol car.

[blackdog]

Those candy cigarettes are getting harder and harder to find. They changed their name to "candy sticks", and removed the red dye from the lit end as a result of our wonderful legal system.

I loved those things as a kid. I still like them as an adult.