Ditka: Smoke won't hurt you

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | January 10, 2003 | FRAN SPIELMAN

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[eno_]

What is it was like, Ditka against a bunch of pencil-neck santi-smoking fascists? Da Bearsss!

[Tax-chick]

My cousin died from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke. Her smoker husband is still alive in his 60's.

I was sick every winter when my mother smoked. I haven't had bronchitis since I left home.

There's more to the smoking/health equation than one person's anecdotal evidence. If they want customers for the restaurant, they should have a non-smoking section. Some people don't want to pay to stink, and others don't want to deal with the health issues.

A simple, free-market situation ...

[VMI70]

Ditka for President!

[Max McGarrity]

When Mayor Daly first floated the idea of a smoking ban in Chicago, Mike Ditka was quoted as opposing it.

The cigar-chomping former coach has granted television interviews defending smokers' rights. He has even wondered aloud why smokers have to suffer just because Ald. Edward Burke (14th), the City Council's leading anti-smoking crusader, has a "bug up his butt."

Antis, of course, squealed like stuck pigs, saying Ditka was a "shill for the tobacco industry" and that he "won't stand up for the little guy, especially those who are getting killed working in restaurants."

We know Mike Ditka will be the target of massive, deceptive pr campaigns, they'll try to get the ban statewide to make a "level playing field," and they'll fly in Stan-the-Sham Glantz to "prove" how successful such bans have been in Kookiefornia with his fudged statistics and doctored data. I'd like to see that Ditka has the facts to back him up as well as letting him know we appreciate his support. No one else with any clout has been so vocal.

The address for his restaurant is:

Mike Ditka's Restaurant
100 E Chestnut St
Chicago, IL 60611-6036
Phone: (312) 587-8989
Fax: (312) 587-8980

[Tacis]

Well, I guess I was wrong. All this time, I've been saying that these idiot smoke nazis were so enslaved by their addiction that they didn't care who they poisoned or offended.

Now, they come up with this persuasive, scientific proof. If Ditka says it's OK, that is as close to proof as these idiots are going to get.

He runs a public place and if I am in it, I don't want to be forced to suffer the by-product of some other customer's personal weakness or stupidity. Whether that customer is playing a radio at max volume, burning strong incense, burning tire chunks or burning tobacco, he does not have the right to take my freedom.

The smoke nazis refuse to recognize how annoying their addiction is and their name calling isn't going to change that. They claim that since they got there first, they can burn what they want. That's facist thinking. But, they have an authority like Ditka backing them and they know how important that is.

As you drive around Chicago, please be kind to the little groups of people huddled outside buildings, off to the side. That is the smokers' ghetto, where poor people, too weak to over come their terrible addiction, go to smoke and talk about the fine support they're getting from Ditka. Freeze your a** off, you stupid smoker!

[Max McGarrity]

I won't address your family history, but even you say there's more to it than "one person's anecdotal evidence."

I will agree with you completely that there is a very simple solution: Let the free market work; keep government out of private business.

[Mr. K]

Ditka made his point clear: if you don't like smoke, don't come to his restaraunt...

if you believe it is dangerous, dont go there- dont pass laws telling him he has to do what YOU believe

[TheSpottedOwl]

Reminded that smoking has been banned for years in California restaurants and bars, Ditka said: "That's fruits and nuts. That's what they are. A lot of liberals. . .. All the do-gooders in the world. The people in California who abolished smoking are the same people who want to legalize marijuana. Come on. Give me a break."

Hahahhaahaaa, Ditka not only kicks ass, he makes sense!

[bigfootbob]

"My cousin died from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke"

Sorry for your loss. I too had severe allergies and was in and out of the hospital for several years between ages of 2-5. After my father died my mom married a smoker who insisted on smoking around me. My allergies cleared and I haven't suffered from them since. I'm 49 now and don't smoke, I know second hand is benign. Your cousin's cancer was caused by something other than second hand smoke,

[Tax-chick]

Let the free market work; keep government out of private business.

There it is! Let smokers have their place; let nonsmokers have theirs. It seems to me, from what I see in the market where I live, that the free market will accommodate both segments.

Admittedly, this doesn't help 10-year-olds with bronchitis every winter. It would be responsible if their parents recognized their responsiblities.

[Max McGarrity]

tacis, were you born a jerk or did you have to work at it?

He runs a public place and if I am in it, I don't want to be forced to suffer the by-product of some other customer's personal weakness or stupidity. Whether that customer is playing a radio at max volume, burning strong incense, burning tire chunks or burning tobacco, he does not have the right to take my freedom.

He does NOT run a "public place," he runs a PRIVATE BUSINESS! Your freedom is not to enter. If you do enter, it's Ditka's "air," not yours.

The smoke nazis refuse to recognize how annoying their addiction is and their name calling isn't going to change that.

Smoke is not nearly as annoying or offensive and you and your kind, at least to normal people. And YOUR name calling isn't going to change that.

Freeze your a** off, you stupid smoker!

You're such a shining example of your kind. Bet you failed your IQ test.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Ditka for President!

Hell I'd vote for him! Ditka in 2008!!!! Can you imagine a debate between him and Hitlery????

[patton]

Find the logical flaw in my tagline, and I might bother to listen to your statist rants.

Truth to tell, both are of equal value. Doubleplusgood.

[patton]

My cousin died from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke. Her smoker husband is still alive in his 60's. I was sick every winter when my mother smoked. I haven't had bronchitis since I left home. There's more to the smoking/health equation than one person's anecdotal evidence. If they want customers for the restaurant, they should have a non-smoking section. Some people don't want to pay to stink, and others don't want to deal with the health issues. A simple, free-market situation ...

The above is internally inconsistent - that is, you contradict your own reasoning.

Did I miss something?

[Tax-chick]

I agree with you! Businesses should make their own choices, based on their marketing plan.

That doesn't make Mike Ditka a medical expert. Exposure to cigarette smoke does harm some people who aren't smokers. And sometimes doesn't harm people who ARE smokers.

Our country is in a muddle because we've lost the concept of personal responsibility. (But I still asked Mom to smoke outside, not around the kids, until she quite in the 90's.)

[TheSpottedOwl]

Quit being nasty, it doesn't work.

[patton]

Good evening. Niconazi alert.

[Tax-chick]

I guess (my fault!) you missed my point, which was that cigarette smoke, or any other toxin, affects different people in different ways. So any generalizations, whether it's Mike Ditka's "Cigarette smoke won't hurt you!" or the tobacco nazis' line, are not applicable to everyone.