Quote:
Originally Posted by patrickt
Pikers. Where I last worked in the U.S. you could not smoke in any public building, either owned or visited by the public, and not within 25 feet of a window or door. I asked if it matter if the window was one that didn't open. No, didn't matter.
I was at a restaurant with a friend and we strolled outside to have a cigarette and chat before dessert. In that state, the magic 25' rule applied to restaurants, too. A nice young man came out with a tape measure.
I don't smoke now but I find the anti-smoking crusaders to be silly and tasteless and I do expect smoking to be outlawed with characters in books.
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Reminds me of my business trip to California some time ago. There were several smokers in my group, and in that town there was a "no public smoking" ordinance. That meant not even outside, except in your vehicle. But they had no signs saying such. Apparently "no smoking" signs are as unseemly as smokers. There were, however, several helpful locals who pointed out the best hiding places to smoke.
If smoking is ever outlawed in books here in the US, I'm not sure what road they will take. If they take the route they took with movies, a rating system would have to be in place to enforce it, and if they take the route they took with TV, it's allowed only if it's portrayed negatively. I think both would be ridiculous with books, but at least the movie route would give writers more freedom to be realistic. I don't think a ratings system would hurt ebook sales, but I can definitely see it having a negative impact on pbook sales.