Ha! Not anymore. Our city’s smokers are being rounded up and shot.
First was making people smoke 16 meters from any intake window or door of a public place. I can understand this, yes.
But the bars and pubs? Now it’s getting to be so smokers dont have any rights. Hell, we can be written up for walking down a sidewalk with a lit smoke.
The other thing I dont get is why non-smokers will stand next to a smoker and constantly complain about it instead of moving to a different spot. Hello! You have all the outdoors to stand around. At least I also stand outside in the pouring down rain to have my smoke.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2008.
This whole issue conflicts me.I feel this is a free country and we all have the right to smoke somewheres if we want. However, my ex could not be in the same room as someone who is smoking due to her asthma. So should she then be forced to not go to a bar because someone else chooses to smoke. They chose, she didn’t. I do however see no issues with dedicated smoking rooms as was once allowed.Thorny issue, either way glad I don’t smoke.
I think the “freedom” arguement for smoking is a little misplaced. People are “free” to choose to smoke and can take on the risks associated with that choice. However, with all of the evidence out there pointing out the heath risks of smoking, it would be a violation of others’ right to life, which is endangered by inhalation of second hand smoke. It’s the same situation with a lot of things. You have the right to play loud music, but not to disturb your neighbours with it. You have the right to own a gun, but not go around killing people with it. You are free to drink your face off, but not get behind the wheel of a car where you endanger the safety of others. Your right to freedom of conscience (to choose) should never trump another person’s right to life and security of person.
I’m not sure if you were directing that at me or adding to my point. But the point I was trying to make is someone should be free to smoke if they choose. But not impose on someone else’s choice not to. Just to clarify. 🙂
Sorry…I was just adding to your point. I agree with you completely, smoke if you want, but not around others, because that makes them smokers too.
i agree with all the comments.i was quite glad when HFX bars became non-smoking.and to Smokin personally: you choose to smoke where you are standing, while i choose not to smoke where im standing. you are the cause of the inconvenience by your own choice. somehow its not fair to punish the non-smoker by forcing THEM to move, when they did not CHOOSE to cause inconvenience to others.one thing i did notice though, when smoking got banned in bars in toronto, for the first little while, people at small concerts would still smoke pot inside, but go outside for cigarettes (which they stopped smoking when the ban came in effect), when they banned it here, people continued smoking cigarettes inside. i just found that curious.
i agree with all the comments.i was quite glad when HFX bars became non-smoking.and to Smokin personally: you choose to smoke where you are standing, while i choose not to smoke where im standing. you are the cause of the inconvenience by your own choice. somehow its not fair to punish the non-smoker by forcing THEM to move, when they did not CHOOSE to cause inconvenience to others.one thing i did notice though, when smoking got banned in bars in toronto, for the first little while, people at small concerts would still smoke pot inside, but go outside for cigarettes (which they stopped smoking inside when the ban came in effect), when they banned it here, people continued smoking cigarettes inside. i just found that curious.
The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins. – Claude Arien Helvetius Smoking is not a “right”.
oopsie Oliver Wendell Holmes
The anti-smoking bylaws were brought in to protect children from tobacco and adults from second hand smoke while at their workplaces. This means a pregnant woman, say, serving in a bar doesn’t have to quit her job to protect her unborn baby from the, now proven, harmful effects of second hand smoke. Now the government provides that protection for everybody.However, the bylaw protects us while at or near the workplace, not on the street where human beings are expected to walk upright and communicate with higher brain functions than that of, say, apes. WHY do people require the government to do all the talking for them? As soon as people realize they have a voice and learn how to use it we’ll have little need for a government to tell us all how to live with each other.The interesting point this post and the comments bring up is about a person’s right to make a living. If I am a proprietor and my client base wants to smoke in my place of business, as a business person in this country, I should have the right to capitalize on that. But NO, Big Brother sets limits on how much money we can earn by DICTATING how we can earn it. This is really no different than government telling farmers they HAVE to plant a certain crop or the government will ensure they can’t earn a living. How long will we put up with this?It’s all bullshit, really. The fact that we have to involve government in forming social behaviors and culture is pathetic and a sure sign we need to learn to TALK TO EACH OTHER.Fuck this, I’m going to cozy on up to a non-smoker to see what it takes to make them speak.
“why non-smokers will stand next to a smoker and constantly complain about it instead of moving to a different spot” OMG I KNOW!
Because smoking is proven to cause death, and it is the ethical decision of the government to keep people as alive as possible.Personally, I’m greatful that they’re making it oh so hard for you smokers to keep smoking.. maybe one day you’ll realize what you’re doing to yourselves and stop.
i for one am not happy they are making it harder to smoke here
Bullets, bombs, weapons of mass destruction, pharmaceutical cocaine are all proven to cause death too but I don’t see any fucking bylaws outlawing their creation. Pull your head out of your oh-so-controlled-by-government ass and try again. WHAT is the government’s motive? Keeping you healthy and alive? Try again.
Second hand smoke on a side walk is about as dangerous to your health as listening to stupid people talk about things they don’t understand. There is absolutely no scientific or logical reason people shouldn’t be allowed to smoke around others, but especially outside, as the cancerous effects of the smoke comes from prolonged exposure to the smoke at its initial temperature, which cools in a matter of like two seconds. This is all widely available information. If you are going to be a dick to people for doing something that has nothing to do with you or your health, try investigating it first. Sure, its irritating, but so are most of you.
Kay, how would you feel if the government just banned the sale of tobacco as a hazardous substance? Or should they decriminalize hard drugs like crack? Where is the line for you between the government’s responsibility to protect it’s citizens’ health and it’s responsibility to preserve their rights to make choices? Dan, where do you get your info? You are right that second hand smoke outside on a sidewalk does little to affect human health, but it is VERY serious in an enclosed space. Especially since when you smoke a cigarette it takes you only a few minutes…but a person who spends their day working in a bar with smoking patrons. They are CONSTANTLY being exposed to smoke.And cold carcinogens are just as toxic as hot carcinogens.
“Bullets, bombs, weapons of mass destruction, pharmaceutical cocaine are all proven to cause death too but I don’t see any fucking bylaws outlawing their creation.”Um, Kay? This is one of the most assinine statements I’ve ever head. Las time I checked it was VERY illegal to manufacture bombs and weapons of massive destruction.I’ve never heard of pharmaceutical cocaine? Is this something drug companies manufacture to help this sick? If that’s the case, it doesn’t really fit the statement “is proven to cause death” now, does it? If you’re just talking about regular cocaine, it’s VERY illegal to produce also.Making statements like that makes you sound like a COMPLETE MORON.
Well as far as I’m concerned;until the government imbollishes away with cigarettes,than it’s legal! They cannot plat double-jeopardy,which they seem to do with about every law they make!
And Kay:Get Real!If your going to sit their and complain about smokers,then why are you deliberately ignoring to make motorist a factor while your at it! Oh and again while your at it,THE FACTORIES!!!
“The other thing I dont get is why non-smokers will stand next to a smoker and constantly complain about it instead of moving to a different spot. Hello! “Yeah, hello. Hello to the people who stand at bus stops smoking their ciggies even though there is supposed to be a fine of up to 1000$ for that, and instead of being nice and clustering their nicotine sucking selves into a nice small area, they spread out along the bus stop every few feet so that if I want to avoid the smoke, I have to stand so far away that I am no longer -at- the bus stop. Indulge in your smokes all you want — just put a plastic bag over your head to hold all the fumes in there with you, okay? Thanks.