Smoking's giving drinking a bad name

The Newark Star-Ledger ^ | April 01, 2004 | Paul Mulshine

[NJ Freeper]

It's nice to be right every once in a while. Last year, for example, I went to New York City immediately after smoking was banned in bars. I found it an altogether pleasant experience to be able to enjoy a few pints of ale without coming home smelling like I'd just rolled around in a gutter filled with cigarette butts.

[Gabz]

This guy is more than just a nut...........he sounds like a bought and paid for pharmceutical company hack.........just like the guy who co-created the nicotine patch.

people like this scare the willies out of me......

On a personal note - thank you for your support.

[Gabz]

Excuse me, but MODERATE smoking is also not a killer. In fact, it is good for some people, relaxing the nerves.

It has also been shown to have some beneficial results in the prevent of Parkinson's and alzheimer's.

Is it the helathiest habit in the world to have? Of course not. Is it the immediate death sentence these clowns claim it to be? An even more resounding NO......

[Gabz]

hey - I like white wine and brie...............(I really do)

Not all smokers are total uncouth boors....in fact the majority are not.

Now I think I will go get another beer and eat the bratwurst and kraut we are having for dinner!!!!

[Drango]

Many smokers seem to be using cigarettes to ward off depression and other problems

Ouch that's gotta leave a mark...

[ShadowDancer]

Twenty bucks says this idiot would bum a cigarette from me after he's had three sex-on-the beaches.

[Pearman]

Gosh, NJ Freeper don't you get it? Who cares about individual liberty? All you have to do is take that guy's reasoning and substitute anything you dislike for the words smoke or smoking when he used them in his article (for example, try body odor or SUV or prayer or white male) and voila, you have a ready made argument to enact more laws so that any one who has body odor or owns a SUV or who prays or who is a white male can be caught and punished just like smokers. Utopia is just around the corner.

[KOZ.]

i've generally had trouble drinking while smoking 3 or more cigars at once. in this case smoking helps me.
betcha they didnt take into account.

[Gabz]

The difference between smoking in bars and bringing cats in bars is apples and oranges....one has nothing to do with the other.

The concept of smoking bans on private property should be anethma to anyone that believes in the free enterprise system or private property rights.

Forbidding animals in a non-food preperation area of any establishment makes no sense, because it only applies to some animals.......guide and other assistance animals are permitted in food service establishments, yet others are not. The premise of the prohibition of animals in businesses is to protect those who choose to enter from unseen problems. The same with health and hygiene codes in restaurants and other places that sell or serve food or beverages to the public.

Anyone with a set of eyes can determine if an establishment permits smoking and make the choice of choosing to enter the establishment. The same can't be said about proper refrigeration and handling of food stuffs, can it?

[VRWC_minion]

In fact, revenues rose by 9 percent.

True or not, this statistic will be used to ram the nonsmoking laws in the remaining states and towns. This battle is essentially over.

Next up will be smoking in auto's containing children followed by smoking parents at home.

[Gabz]

True or not, this statistic will be used to ram the nonsmoking laws in the remaining states and towns.

The sad thing is most of the stats are untrue, but you are correct, to a point.

This battle is essentially over.

That's where I draw the line that you are correct.

Next up will be smoking in auto's containing children followed by smoking parents at home.

They are trying it in many places......fortunately even rabid anti-smokers are seeing that is taking it too far.

Shut down the tobacco companies and make it illegal....end of arguement......oh wait, the government, anti groups and NGO's can't function without all the revenue from the production, sale and use of the product?????? what's wrong with this picture?

[Drango]

I don't know if its true but here is one report...http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8306867.htm

Posted on Mon, Mar. 29, 2004

New York City's Smoking Ban Helps Business, Study Says By Lisa L. Colangelo, Daily News, New York Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Mar. 29 - The city ban on smoking in restaurants and bars is good for the lungs -- and for business, according to a Health Department report released yesterday. A year after the controversial law went into effect, business in restaurants and bars is up 8.7 percent, according to the report. The study -- done by the same department that advocated the ban in the first place -- compared tax receipts, employment and business openings and closings in 2002 and 2003. "The bottom line is that New York City a year later is a healthier place to work, eat and drink," said Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden. "And 150,000 people don't have to go into work every day and be smoked on by other people." Of the 22,003 establishments inspected from April 2003 to February 2004, 97 percent were deemed "smoke-free." Inspectors saw no ashtrays at these locations, no one was spotted smoking and cigarette warning signs were hung properly. The state Liquor Authority awarded 1,416 new licenses in 2003 in New York City, compared to 1,361 in 2002, according to the report. Mayor Bloomberg risked heavy political fallout when he pressed the ban, which continues to anger smokers who resent being sent to the sidewalk for a cigarette. Despite the rosy numbers, many bar and club owners complain business has suffered. Using 2002 -- when the economy plummeted after the 9/11 terror attacks -- as a baseline for comparison is unfair, bar owners say. "Why don't they just compare job stats to 1929 -- it's about as relevant," said David Rabin of the New York Nightlife Association, co-owner of Lotus. "Two thousand two was probably the worst year to compare to in 20 years. And they simply refuse to separate out bars, clubs and taverns [from restaurants]. They know numbers are bad there." Rabin said bar and club employees have taken second jobs to make up for lost tip income. "Is that an increase in jobs?" he quipped. Frieden said opponents falsely predicted doom and gloom when they warned employment and revenue numbers would drop 30 percent to 50 percent. "They were wrong," Frieden said. "That doesn't mean there aren't businesses that are hurting for a whole variety of reasons. Around the country, stand-alone bars are not doing well."

[Ghengis]

I'm an ex-smoker since last November 10th. I have quit a couple of other times for long stretches. I used to frequent the pubs all of the time persuing my hobby of billiards.

Regardless of whether I was smoking or not smoking, I never have presumed it my right to tell others whether they should or should not smoke in the pubs. That's part of the deal. A lot of people like to have a smoke with their drinks.

I do not go into a lot of pubs/bars/taverns that have patrons who induldge in behavior I do not like or approve of. But I never went to the bar and told them they could not do what they did there. And I sure would not frequent the establishment if I felt it endangered me.

But there I go, controlling what happens to me and my life again!

[DumpsterDiver]

Is this guy a nut or what.

Let's just say that the burr is so far up his... that even a highly skilled surgeon couldn't remove it.

[NYCVirago]

This column is so ignorant I don't know where to begin! First off, the revenue figures showing a 9% increase are extraordinarily misleading, because the year of comparison is 2002, which was a horrible year for restaurants and bars because of 9/11. If the city wanted to be fair, they'd compare revenues after the smoking ban to pre-9/11 revenues, which would paint a very different picture.

Then there's this:

What's wacko is the assertion that the First Amendment creates a right to smoke. It doesn't. It protects freedom of speech and religion. If it created a right to smoke, New York City would still have hashish houses and opium dens, as it did in the 19th century.

Last time I've checked, hashish and opium are illegal, while tobacco isn't. And I guess the author hasn't heard of the hookah houses run by Arabs in NYC, and how Peter Vallone is lobbying to allow those places to stay open.

And isn't this author allegedly a conservative? How can he justify the government unilaterally imposing such rules on businesses?

[ShadowDancer]

But there I go, controlling what happens to me and my life again!

I've read rants and diatribes here over the years that were pages long and very well spoken and intelligent. I can honestly tell you that what you wrote there is the best summation of how I view life and beats in one single line, hands down, all of what I've ever read here. Just perfect.

[Publius6961]

This guy is beyond nuts.

He babbles on presenting silly arguments I have never heard before and knocking them down, without addressing the basic topic:

What "good name" does drinking have? I have never heard of a smoker being driven to date rape. Or becomeming obnoxious after too many cigarettes. Or killing a whole family on his way home. Or just turning into an as****e after too many cigarettes.

The point is simple. Recreational smokers affect only the neurotics. Recreational drinkers offend everybody; and kill a good number of the innocent public.

[dallasgop]

I love smoke free environments. All you nicotine junkies can go outside and get high, but not around me and my family. Smokers are losers!!!!

[Damagro]

So if it's such a great idea to have a non smoking bar with great live music, open one yourself. You'll make a million, or fail. Business is business, don't expect the government to outlaw things you don't like to even the playing field. One thing these cities are doing that riles me, is that they are passing these ordinances to "protect" employees, thus ruling out private membership clubs that allow smoking

[thackney]

40 percent of the cigarettes sold in America are consumed by people with definable psychological diseases and mental illnesses

Now, if you can just get a doctor to write a prescription for carton of cigs, you could get the health plan to pay for it.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

The study -- done by the same department that advocated the ban in the first place

Glad to see that there's no bias involved in this one. /sarcasm