[Aaron]

Welcome to Calabasas...

Now get out.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'T')he ban, perhaps the most comprehensive smoking ban in the United States, prohibits smoking in all public places at times when other people can be exposed to secondhand smoke. Businesses can apply to create a designated smoking area far away from non-smokers starting in April.

The "Comprehensive Secondhand Smoke Control Ordinance" includes indoor and outdoor businesses, hotels, parks, sidewalks, restaurants and bars where people can be reasonably expected to congregate or meet, according to an announcement from the city of Calabasas.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'N')ow get out.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheTurtle', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'N')ow get out.

[TheTurtle]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheTurtle', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'N')ow get out.

[seldom_seen]

Wasn't that one of the first things Hitler did when he came to power...outlaw smoking? I hope this isn't the proverbial slippery slope.

I love how everyone's perfecfly happy breathing auto-exhaust which contains many of the chemicals in cigarettes and a whole bunch more.

[PrairieMule]

I think the next big legal fight in America will be smokers vs non smokers/saftey nazis. I always feel sorry for the smokers standing out in the hot Texas sun in August. I think soon smokers will start suing employers for heated lounges in the winter or cooled a/c rooms in the summer time by quoting some bureaucratic and forgotten OSHA regulation. It will later become the cornerstone for case law. Maybe it will be funded by hmmm, the tobbaco industry? Payback for these huge payouts to the states?

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrairieMule', 'I') think the next big legal fight in America will be smokers vs non smokers/saftey nazis. I always feel sorry for the smokers standing out in the hot Texas sun in August. I think soon smokers will start suing employers for heated lounges in the winter or cooled a/c rooms in the summer time by quoting some bureaucratic and forgotten OSHA regulation. It will later become the cornerstone for case law. Maybe it will be funded by hmmm, the tobbaco industry? Payback for these huge payouts to the states?

[PrairieMule]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrairieMule', 'I') think the next big legal fight in America will be smokers vs non smokers/saftey nazis. I always feel sorry for the smokers standing out in the hot Texas sun in August. I think soon smokers will start suing employers for heated lounges in the winter or cooled a/c rooms in the summer time by quoting some bureaucratic and forgotten OSHA regulation. It will later become the cornerstone for case law. Maybe it will be funded by hmmm, the tobbaco industry? Payback for these huge payouts to the states?

[strider3700]

As a canadian paying crap loads of taxes into the medical service I vote for a complete banning of smoking. Throw in alcohol, fast food, massive amounts of sugar,... as well. Or replace the medical system with one that doesn't treat people that try their best to stay healthy the same as one where people pick a poison and then get everyone else to support them which it catches up to them.

I used to be much more open minded about this but an ex coworker smoked 2 packs a day for years and then took 6 months off to have bypass surgery. He then cut back to a pack a day. Personally I think he should have sold his house to pay for the surgery. He did it to himself.

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrairieMule', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Specop_007', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('PrairieMule', 'I') think the next big legal fight in America will be smokers vs non smokers/saftey nazis. I always feel sorry for the smokers standing out in the hot Texas sun in August. I think soon smokers will start suing employers for heated lounges in the winter or cooled a/c rooms in the summer time by quoting some bureaucratic and forgotten OSHA regulation. It will later become the cornerstone for case law. Maybe it will be funded by hmmm, the tobbaco industry? Payback for these huge payouts to the states?

[eric_b]

I think it's ludicrous.

I live in Madison, WI. and recently they passed a law banning smoking
in area bars. Crazy. This has definitely hurt local business.

I feel sorry for the smokers now. On cold Winter nights you'll see a few
of them huddled outside local bars... the only place they can puff now.

I think the whole thing has gone too far.

[Daculling]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eric_b', '
')I feel sorry for the smokers now. On cold Winter nights you'll see a few
of them huddled outside local bars... the only place they can puff now.

[Specop_007]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Daculling', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eric_b', '
')I feel sorry for the smokers now. On cold Winter nights you'll see a few
of them huddled outside local bars... the only place they can puff now.

[smallpoxgirl]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('strider3700', 'A')s a canadian paying crap loads of taxes into the medical service I vote for a complete banning of smoking.

[0mar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('strider3700', 'A')s a canadian paying crap loads of taxes into the medical service I vote for a complete banning of smoking. Throw in alcohol, fast food, massive amounts of sugar,... as well. Or replace the medical system with one that doesn't treat people that try their best to stay healthy the same as one where people pick a poison and then get everyone else to support them which it catches up to them.

I used to be much more open minded about this but an ex coworker smoked 2 packs a day for years and then took 6 months off to have bypass surgery. He then cut back to a pack a day. Personally I think he should have sold his house to pay for the surgery. He did it to himself.

[Aaron]

I like eating pie.

Pie is good.

Pie is also fattening.

My extra weight causes health problems, which cost my employer man-hours & costs my insurance company money.

This raises costs for all you health nuts out there.

My poor choice has damaged your financial interests.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Santa Claus & the associated holiday, causes many to go into debt they can't really afford.

This foolish debt wrecks lives.

My belief in Santa Claus has heaped financial misery on my innocent family.

------------------------------------------------------------------

OK... So far we have Cigs, Santa & Pie...

What else can we ban?

Ooooo I know... Gay cowboy movies.

And anything with Meryl Streep in it.

------------------------------

Now that I think of it, I'm not really qualified to make decisions about anything in my life.

Thank Joe I can count on my government to tell me what to do & how to act.

I might do something stupid otherwise.

[gg3]

Pstarr shows exactly where this is going. First ban smoking, then alcohol, then fast food, then anything with more sugar than the puritans consider acceptable, particularly if it actually tastes sweet.

In Mississippi they just took it to the logical conclusion and banned the sale of sex toys, which is to say, now they have government-regulated masturbation where you can only use your natural & organic hands rather than artificial means. I suppose one could still use vegetables creatively, after all they're good for you.

Smoking and nonsmoking accommodations are reasonable. Smoking bans in closely-crowded areas are reasonable. But outdoors on the street the dominant source of ambient smoke is vehicular exhaust, so it's quite clear that this has less to do with protecting people from potential health hazards than about regulating individual behavior for the sake of regulating individual behavior.

The puritans can make all the excuses they want about health care costs, but there will always be *something* that can be blamed as the highest source of health care costs. Eventually the simple act of sitting in front of the TV or computer will come under puritan scrutiny; perhaps they will pass a law requiring people to get up and exercise for 20 minutes out of every hour spent staring at a screen...?

So in the end it comes down to this: People who try to regulate the behavior of consenting adults are control freaks who are intolerant of the idea that someone else may be enjoying themselves in a way that they (the puritan control freaks) don't happen to share.

Control freaks.

That's all.

And IMHO they can eat s--- and die.

Organic s---, you understand, made from fresh vegetables properly digested.