Senate bill bans smoking in Texas bars and restaurants

[Fst86gt]

What about someone that smokes in their apartment and the people beside and below can smell it. I have been there and it sucks. Non-Smokers have rights too!!!!!! (I used to smoke many years ago)

[bcoop]

What about someone that smokes in their apartment and the people beside and below can smell it. I have been there and it sucks. Non-Smokers have rights too!!!!!! (I used to smoke many years ago)

Yeah. You have the right to move. Or you could take it up with the apartment management. Sounds like a building problem to me.

[Venom]

No big loss. Only white trash and ninjas smoke anyway.

[bcoop]

No big loss. Only white trash and ninjas smoke anyway.

Well aren't you a close minded piece of shit?

[Skidmark]

I agree with Brent.

Non smokers do not care since it benefits them, but if the government was trying to ban something they did, they sure wouldn't be happy.

I wonder what will be next?

[46Tbird]

Purely and simply, this is an issue of rights.

Do we as Americans have the right to manage our business as we want, or do we let legislation dictate how we operate?

If bar owners thought it would be profitable to kick smokers out of their establishments, then there wouldn't be any smoking in bars. But since we all know that smoking + alcohol + hoochie mommas = dinero, then you should understand that if you want to drink beer and leer at bitches, you'll end up smelling like smoke when you get home.

I'm always shocked when I see how many crying skint-knee bitches we have around here on this subject. If you don't like to be around smokers, then take your business to non-smoking establishments or stay at home and pout. BTW, I have never smoked a cigarette in my life.

[dustin]

I really don't understand the issue here. If I enjoyed ramming people with my car, I don't think that people should have to be careful where they go so that I don't run them over. While, that sounds like an extreme comparison, its one health issue compared to another. Smoking is a nasty ass habit. By allowing smoking and telling non smokers to go to a different bar, you are (in effect) banning non-smokers from that establishment. If you want to smoke, walk outside and smoke. It's really not that big of a deal.

[Skidmark]

I really don't understand the issue here. If I enjoyed ramming people with my car, I don't think that people should have to be careful where they go so that I don't run them over. While, that sounds like an extreme comparison, its one health issue compared to another. Smoking is a nasty ass habit. By allowing smoking and telling non smokers to go to a different bar, you are (in effect) banning non-smokers from that establishment. If you want to smoke, walk outside and smoke. It's really not that big of a deal.

You have 2 types of people, smokers and non-smokers.

You have 2 types of bars, smoking and non-smoking.

You now have 2 types of people, smokers and non-smokers.

You now have 1 type of bar, non-smoking.

You had choices on which bar to go to and so did smokers, but no smokers do not.

You won't give a damn unless something you do is banned.

[bcoop]

By allowing smoking and telling non smokers to go to a different bar, you are (in effect) banning non-smokers from that establishment. If you want to smoke, walk outside and smoke. It's really not that big of a deal.

And that's a bar owner's right to do so. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." Blows my mind how non smokers always piss and moan like a bunch of bleeding pussies about "smelling like smoke" when they have now, and have ALWAYS had non smoking options for restaurants and bars. You have your options, what the fuck gives you the right to take mine?


Yes, it is that big of a deal. Our rights are being taken away one by one, and I'm sick and fucking tired of it. Today, smoking. But what about tomorrow? What's next? What right of yours will they trample before you say you've had enough of the nanny state? I don't need a government to protect me from myself. And it is mind numbing to see how many of you are not only perfectly ok with it, but support and encourage this.

For the record, I'm a smoker. I've been struggling to quit for the last 3-4 weeks. I'm down from 2 packs a day to half a pack or less. While banning smoking in bars would make it easier on me, I am whole heartedly against it because it's a right and freedom issue.

[Avery'sDad]

First the abortion law and now this! Nanny state is right.
I despise smoking in bars, but it should be up to the business.

[Sean88gt]

First the abortion law and now this! Nanny state is right.
I despise smoking in bars, but it should be up to the business.

I had this discussion with a 1st Amendment scholar. Texas gets the reputation of being the wild west with unbridled freedoms, but in reality is an extremely regulated state that has their hands in absolutely everything. I semi joke about the californication of Texas, but that is exactly what is happening.

[clevelandkid]

Who are you to say how things will be for bar owners? You own a bar? Owned one in the past? Ever had more to do with one other than waiting tables or serving drinks? What experience makes you an expert? I know for a fact that bar owners have suffered from the local legislation. Things settle eventually, but to say "they'll be just fine" when you have no first hand knowledge how much they are affected is just absurd. I know how much revenue has been lost. I know how many loyal patrons haven't been since the legislation went in to effect.

No - I have never owned a bar, never worked as a server or bartender either. I have spent a whole lot of time in a whole bunch of bars that used to be smoking and now are smoke free. Those bars are ALL still in business, and many of them have even expanded,. adding sqft, new tvs, volleyball courts etc. I don't have access to their books, but on the surface, it appears that they survived the change, and in many cases are prospering. They have absolutely not had to shutter their doors - so at the very least - the bars I am familiar with that have gone through the change are "fine".

I think the number of non-smokers who choose to stay home instead of going to a smoking bar is small. I think the number of smokers who would choose to stay home instead of going to a non-smoking bar that they can smoke outside of is even smaller. I have nothing to base this on - it's just my opinion. People will always want to drink - whether they can smoke or not. Stepping outside is a pretty minor inconvenience, if you can do it in the dead of winter in Cleveland, you can do it in the worst weather here.

Cry me a river. Everything causes health problems these days. You don't like smoke filled bars, don't go. You have PLENTY of options of other places to eat or drink at. Smokers don't. Whiners like you complain because you don't like something, and have it taken away from the rest of us. That is NOT freedom, and that goes against everything this country was founded upon.

I go to bars that are non-smoking more often than ones that allow it. I prefer non-smoking, but it's not a deal breaker for me. There is certainly no whining involved, and I am not writing to my senator or petitioning anyone to have the rules changed. I am willing to accept the will of the majority on this issue.

Smokers still have the exact same number of options of places to go to as I do. They will still have the same number of options if all of the places are smoking, or if all of the places are smoke free. If they don't like the non-smoking places, they don't have to go there either. A non-smoking bar allows both groups to have compromise. Smoke free on the inside, smoke all you want on the outside - not just a "if you don't like it, don't go" proposition.

Bullshit. Life is full of choices. I don't want to hear some sob story about "Well it's the only place I can work, it's the only job I can hold." That's somehow my problem? Here's an idea, grab yourself by the nuts and make something out of your life instead of making it everyone else's problem.

I don't feel sorry for waiters or bartenders. To be honest, I don't really care if they get cancer from second hand smoke. Society has made pretty much every indoor work environment smoke free - why are bars and restaurants any different? I know if my company suddenly changed their policy and allowed the 5 chimneys I work with to chain smoke in our office, I would probably be looking for a new job, but smoking is pretty much unanimously unacceptable in an indoor work environment, so I don't have to worry about it.

As it stands, the smokers can still get their fix, right here on the property, they just have to step outside to have it. I am unaware of anyone that has quit because they aren't allowed to smoke at their desk.

That's your opinion, and smokers have theirs. Again, this is a slippery slope and you're just too ignorant to see it. Maybe I can do enough bitching and complaining to get race tracks banned. I mean, noise pollution, polluting the environment, and we all know 90% of the crowd at Kennebelly these days has illegal guns, drugs, and everything else. That's it. I'm calling all the news stations and starting a crusade. I don't like it, so nobody else has the right to do it.

I'm not sure how my personal opinion that smoking is vastly over rated makes me ignorant. I used to smoke, realized it wasn't for me, so I quit. I'm not attacking smokers for continuing to smoke. For me personally, I can't justify the costs and problems that smoking brings based on the very small reward it gave me.

As far as hypothetically banning race tracks or any other activity, by all means, if you feel that strongly about it - push to make it happen. It is your right. If you convince enough people to get behind your cause, you can probably get a law made or changed, too. The people that want to ban smoking have the right to do the same, and the majority will most likely get their way.

[dustin]

You have 2 types of people, smokers and non-smokers.

You have 2 types of bars, smoking and non-smoking.

You now have 2 types of people, smokers and non-smokers.

You now have 1 type of bar, non-smoking.

You had choices on which bar to go to and so did smokers, but no smokers do not.

You won't give a damn unless something you do is banned.

Unfortunately, smokers and non-smokers are not protected groups. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pissing or moaning. When I go to smoking bars, I just deal with it. My point is that I've dealt with it for years without crying. Now it's time for the smokers to do the same. Second hand smoke is a health risk and people should be allowed to go out without having to deal with it. It takes 2-3 minutes to smoke a cigarette when someone isn't just watching it burn. Step outside, smoke your cigarette, and go back in. Not a big deal.

And that's a bar owner's right to do so. "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone." Blows my mind how non smokers always piss and moan like a bunch of bleeding pussies about "smelling like smoke" when they have now, and have ALWAYS had non smoking options for restaurants and bars. You have your options, what the fuck gives you the right to take mine?


Yes, it is that big of a deal. Our rights are being taken away one by one, and I'm sick and fucking tired of it. Today, smoking. But what about tomorrow? What's next? What right of yours will they trample before you say you've had enough of the nanny state? I don't need a government to protect me from myself. And it is mind numbing to see how many of you are not only perfectly ok with it, but support and encourage this.

For the record, I'm a smoker. I've been struggling to quit for the last 3-4 weeks. I'm down from 2 packs a day to half a pack or less. While banning smoking in bars would make it easier on me, I am whole heartedly against it because it's a right and freedom issue.

You haven't lost your right to smoke. You've lost your ability to infringe on someone elses right to breathe clean air. You can still smoke outside of these establishments. I still don't see the big deal.

You made a choice to start smoking. Now your saying everyone else has to deal with it and treat you special because you like to smoke. It's funny that some of the same people that are crying about this are the same people crying about when a person eats themselves into obesity and ten expects everyone else to deal with the side effects of that.

As far as losing rights, I prefer to look at things that matter and devote my attention to causes worth fighting rather than cry about someones inability to participate in a recreational activity.

My Dad is a smoker. Has been at least my whole life. He's never smoked inside the house and he never makes us sit in a smoking section when we go out to eat together. He realizes that it's his choice and he deals with the inconveniences that come with it.

[Skidmark]

Unfortunately, smokers and non-smokers are not protected groups. Don't get me wrong, I'm not pissing or moaning. When I go to smoking bars, I just deal with it. My point is that I've dealt with it for years without crying. Now it's time for the smokers to do the same. Second hand smoke is a health risk and people should be allowed to go out without having to deal with it. It takes 2-3 minutes to smoke a cigarette when someone isn't just watching it burn. Step outside, smoke your cigarette, and go back in. Not a big deal.

Why go to a bar where you know people will be smoking and that you are putting yourself at a health risk, when you know there are other non-smoking establishments to go to?

[dustin]

Why go to a bar where you know people will be smoking and that you are putting yourself at a health risk, when you know there are other non-smoking establishments to go to?

What if there's a band playing that I want to hear? Should I not be allowed to because I don't want to deal with second hand smoke?