Just so I understand, your mom sat around and watched your dad's lungs fall out and still keeps smoking? I like her dedication.

1/3/2010 2:13:24 PM

My parents are divorced. She knew he was in bad health but as most people with addiction tend to do, she was/is in denial.

She says, "Something has to kill me."

1/3/2010 2:23:46 PM

I love how all the smokers are saying that the non-smokers have been bitching because they had to be put out by dealing with a little smoke. And yet the fact that they are being put out a little by having to walk 15 ft out the door to smoke is akin to being sent to Auschwitz. God you people are a bunch of entitled pricks.

1/3/2010 2:27:30 PM

this non-smoker doesn't care about the smoke or the smokers walking, just that the owners of the restaurant or bar have no say in whether their establishment is smoke-free or not.

1/3/2010 2:31:39 PM

xplosivo -- No. Just no.

For years now, people have had a choice. If they wanted to avoid smoke, there were nonsmoking establishments. If they wanted to smoke, there were smoking establishments. I didn't go into Mitch's and whine about not being allowed to light up; instead, I took my business elsewhere.

Now, nobody has a choice. Every single place is for the nonsmokers and no place is for the smokers.

1/3/2010 2:36:08 PM

and there's no place for non-smokers to enjoy the scent of a black and mild

1/3/2010 2:39:10 PM

Quote :

"For years now, people have had a choice."

you still have a choice. Don't go out. Entertain at home, drive to another state, whatever. And if you think that is too inconvenient, well, then you are starting to get an idea of what being a non-smoker has been like because whether you want to admit it or not, the odds have been overwhelmingly tipped in smoker's favors.

1/3/2010 3:05:23 PM

i did not read this whole thread...in fact, i only read the first post

i, for one, will be one of those people calling to report smokers and/or establishments allowing smoking indoors in the hopes that they actually get a caught and issued a monetary fine

1/3/2010 3:09:46 PM

^ Good thing being a dick doesnt have 2nd hand effects.

1/3/2010 3:10:26 PM

wait...what's dickish about reporting someone who's breaking the law? ah, i see...you're one of those people who think that your OPINION of what laws are "fair" should dictate the validity of those laws for everyone else

1/3/2010 3:13:19 PM

No. I'm just saying you are a dick. Which you clearly are.

1/3/2010 3:14:56 PM

1/3/2010 3:15:59 PM

Quote :

"No. I'm just saying you are a dick. Which you clearly are."

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

1/3/2010 3:22:51 PM

The only one crying is the one reporting people at bars. AKA the dick.

1/3/2010 3:24:11 PM

Just look into those eyes

1/3/2010 3:26:15 PM

You know what I do when I go to bars? Have fun and hang out with my friends. Maybe try to get laid.

What do you do? Tattle like a bitch.

1/3/2010 3:28:51 PM

Quote :

"Every single place is for the nonsmokers and no place is for the smokers."

Damn, I didn't realize there were people checking the doors of these places asking if you were a smoker, and if you are apparently barring you from entry. I guess this law is bad

1/3/2010 3:31:36 PM

My ONLY issue with this law is that it has caused multiple businesses that were doing well to close their doors because tobacco is their livelihood. And others are forced to decide whether to close down or try to defy the law.

I still find it atrocious that hookah bars did not get the same consideration that cigar bars did. And i find it just as atrocious that country clubs did get such consideration.

I suppose your argument would be that hookah bars should just stop serving any and all foods and/or beverages, but that's not totally unlike telling a clothing shop that they have to stop selling perfumes.

I am a smoker who is/was not upset at all by the law's impact on my life. I do dislike the impact it has on the livelihoods of private business owners who have had to close their doors despite the fact that anyone entering their establishment was inherently consenting to the environmental smoke thanks to the place being a fucking HOOKAH BAR.

1/3/2010 3:53:42 PM

Quote :

"My ONLY issue with this law is that it has caused multiple businesses that were doing well to close their doors because tobacco is their livelihood. And others are forced to decide whether to close down or try to defy the law."

Someone doesn't believe in small gov't

1/3/2010 4:02:30 PM

the fact that hookah bars were not exempted is completely ridiculous

1/3/2010 4:03:03 PM

I can imagine it would be hard to define what a hookah bar was. I mean, couldn't any place just put a hookah on a table and call it a "hookah bar"?

1/3/2010 4:04:49 PM

I know that at least a couple of the hookah bars in Asheville didn't allow smoking of anything other than the shisha they sold. So cigarettes were already banned there. Now they just don't have a business. Fair enough, right?

And i don't like it when the government looks out for the country club crowd specifically and then causes private business owners to shut down because they can't take the time to add a clause to the law for hookah bars like they did for cigar bars. I guess the hookah lovers just need to hire better lobbyists next time.

1/3/2010 4:09:11 PM

^You slightly missed the point. Everyone should be able to choose whether or not they allow smoking, not just country clubs, not just cigar bars, not just hookah bars, but every bar/restaurant

1/3/2010 4:12:59 PM

if it makes you feel any better, I wish the cigar bars has been shut down as well.

1/3/2010 4:13:26 PM

rawr rawr rawr i don't smoke so no one else should be able to!

1/3/2010 4:13:56 PM

^^

1/3/2010 4:14:41 PM

^^^ just out of curiosity, have you ever set foot in a cigar bar? if so, for what reason?
if not, what's it to you?

1/3/2010 4:14:48 PM

I have to agree that it is a bit absurd that the hookah bars are affected, however, I didn't realize they also served food, so I can see why the suits in Raleigh didn't give them a pass. For those that have gone, is it eating with a little shisha being smoked or is it mostly smoking? Regardless, like some others mentioned, I think a good compromise would be to have a limited number of yearly permits (that is, you don't get it for life) for places that can establish smoking as vital to their existence. Cup a Joe is an excellent example of this as well.

1/3/2010 4:15:50 PM

get 'em, EMCE

1/3/2010 4:16:05 PM

He's just being a faggot.

1/3/2010 4:16:33 PM

^^^Marrakesh Cafe was definitely centered around hookah smoking. It was nice to be able to eat a little something while you smoked though.

[Edited on January 3, 2010 at 4:17 PM. Reason : ^]

1/3/2010 4:17:06 PM

A better compromise is the owner of every establishment deciding on their own whether or not they want to allow smoking. The government doesn't need to decide that for them.

1/3/2010 4:17:16 PM

Fantastic, I'm glad you have a basic idea of your politics. It seems to go so far as you don't like government, but you don't really seem to know why. Now get the hell out of the thread.

1/3/2010 4:19:56 PM

I don't disagree that the private owners should be allowed to choose for themselves, but if the government IS going to regulate it, it should at least be done fairly so that none of those private business owners are forced to close their doors because of the regulations put in place by the law.

I know of no bars that were closing down even before the new year because of the law. There were numerous hookah and cigar bars that closed in December however. (The cigar bars didn't meet the 25% sales requirement, and thus, were no longer considered a cigar bar.)

1/3/2010 4:22:33 PM

Quote :

"Fantastic, I'm glad you have a basic idea of your politics. It seems to go so far as you don't like government, but you don't really seem to know why. Now get the hell out of the thread."

Really kid. Really? Really?

1/3/2010 4:24:59 PM

Quote :

"I don't disagree that the private owners should be allowed to choose for themselves, but if the government IS going to regulate it, it should at least be done fairly so that none of those private business owners are forced to close their doors because of the regulations put in place by the law."

The government just needs to say out, they have as much place deciding that bars should be non-smoking as the national government does with steroids in baseball (none) or with the BCS (again, none)

1/3/2010 4:27:08 PM

Barring any argument that even tangentially approaches cogent or any reasonable rebuttal to what others have posted, yeah, really kid, really.

And who are you calling kid, aren't you just a shade north of a buck o five and like 5'3" with balls that haven't dropped yet?

Christ...you're a first class moron. Do you make trolling Chit Chat your favorite pastime, because I can't imagine anyone being as stupid as you.

[Edited on January 3, 2010 at 4:29 PM. Reason : .]

1/3/2010 4:28:08 PM

Quote :

"The government just needs to say out"

Goddamn could you say the same fucking thing one more time?

1/3/2010 4:29:04 PM

Quote :

"Cup a Joe is an excellent example of this as well."

I didn't know coffee shops rely on smoking to stay in business.

If any food or drinking place stops allowing smoking, all it does is make people have to go outside to smoke or wait until they leave. If a place that labels itself as a hookah bar can no longer allow smoking, then what the hell else are they supposed to do?

1/3/2010 4:29:18 PM

^^^Are you really going to attempt to call out someone who you've never met on the internet because they make more sense than you?

^^Why should the gov't get involved?

1/3/2010 4:29:37 PM

Quote :

"A better compromise is the owner of every establishment deciding on their own whether or not they want to allow smoking. The government doesn't need to decide that for them."

That is not how law works. Every single facet of running a business in NC is regulated. You don't like this law because this law affects something that you wanted to do. You haven't been railing against the government for not allowing segregation. You weren't railing against the government when they instituted sanitation grading. Don't act like you are the defender of freedoms just because you are too lazy to walk outside to smoke.

1/3/2010 4:30:43 PM

I guess this law has been in effect state wide here in NY for some time. Before I even moved up here.
I suppose the law is different here though, because there is a hookah bar downtown, and there is a cigar club down the street.

From what I've seen, everyone respects the law in restaurants. As for bars, it's give or take. I've never seen anyone report anyone though. I have heard some bar owners and restaurant owners complain about a loss of business though. (as in sometimes smokers that used to come in just don't anymore. or smokers just won't stay and spend money for as long as they used to) Who knows...things might go over differently in NC though, just because of the historic agriculture economy of the area.


NC smokers still probably have it much better than NY smokers though. In NY, you can't find a pack of cigarettes for less than 7 or 8 bucks.

1/3/2010 4:31:37 PM

Quote :

"That is not how law works. Every single facet of running a business in NC is regulated. You don't like this law because this law affects something that you wanted to do. You haven't been railing against the government for not allowing segregation. You weren't railing against the government when they instituted sanitation grading. Don't act like you are the defender of freedoms just because you are too lazy to walk outside to smoke."

Oh, but it is how law works. And don't even compare segregation of schools to smoking.

and FWIW I don't really care if they institute sanitation grading. If a place is nasty I just won't buy their shit.

one more thing: I don't smoke.

1/3/2010 4:32:21 PM

I am kind of afraid of what Jackpot smells like without the pleasant odor of stale cigarette smoke masking the rest.

My money is on stale beer, BO, and farts.

1/3/2010 4:33:41 PM

^There are a few bars in charlotte i've been to that are non-smoking only, and they just smell like stale/warm beer. cigarette smoke is much better smelling IMO

1/3/2010 4:35:59 PM

Also, I should add that I've been in a few bars up here and have seen the owner walk from behind the bar, sit at the end, and light up a cig. I think that in that situation, any customer complaining about the smoke would probably just get laughed at.

1/3/2010 4:38:16 PM

^^I can't say I've ever noticed a stale beer smell stay in my clothes for a significant amount of time (unless beer was spilled on me), but smoke smell will stick around for a LONG time

[Edited on January 3, 2010 at 4:39 PM. Reason : asdf]

1/3/2010 4:39:19 PM

wash your clothes every now and then and it's not a problem

1/3/2010 4:39:49 PM

RAWR RAWR RAWR gubment took our smokes RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE

1/3/2010 4:41:19 PM

Without smoke, you just smell the vaginas of the militant non-smokers.

1/3/2010 4:41:24 PM