Quote:
Originally Posted by Kumabjorn
I get it! Being a non-smoker (my whole life) I have absolutely no problem with it being banned. Here in Sweden it is the same. You want to smoke, you hang out in the doorway and litter the entrance with butts. I find it appallingly disgusting. But I also realize that for better or worse they are also people, not as productive (considering the amounts of smoking breaks) and here they will pretty much be eliminated within this decade. The latest is talk of a smoking ban in apartments buildings, the ventilation brings second hand smoke into other apartments. So people are beginning to stand outside on their balconies to smoke (you notice it from the amount of butts under balcony equipped apartments).
Despite my antipathy to smokers I think we will have to accept their presence in society unless we outlaw cigarettes and enforce capital punishment on smoking. Now that would be a clear cut message.
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In Arizona, the law also bans smoking within 20 feet of an entrance. The non-smoking ban includes all public places, including restaurants, businesses, govenment buildings, places of employment (a Mom and Pop business with no other employees is excepted) and any bar that serves any kind of food (including the little bowls pretzels and peanuts intended to make you thirsty so you'll buy more booze). Indoor smoking areas have to be walled off from the rest of the room/building and have separate HVAC systems so smoke ladened air is not recirculated into non-smoking areas. Otherwise, they have to be outside 20 feet from any entrance (other than the one reserved for the smoking area)
Where I last worked, that really limited smokers because the only public entrance had portable propane tanks stored 15 feet from the entrance. Since the only ashtrays had been attached to the trashcans which were kept by the door, we had to remove the ashtrays when the law was passed, meaning there were a ton of butts to clean up from the ground. We were also required to enforce the no-smoking laws to avoid being cited ourselves (and any employee who got cited or got the store cited for any reason was subject to termination). It was amazing how often we got static over it, no matter how nice we tried to be. It was also amazing how many people became almost violent over being asked to put them out or move, even when we tried to politely explain that it was State law that set the no-smoking rules, not us or the company. I wish I had a dollar for everytime I had to call the police because someone refused to put it out or move, especially when they became became abusive about it. Their selfish, inconsiderate and childish behavior is just another reason why no-smoking laws were necessary.