I don't smoke nor do I care for breathing in smoke. I do feel certain places and businesses should be smoke free, like governmnet buildings, hospitals, etc. which I believe all are except for maybe a few private businesses. Smoking in bars and restaurants should be left up to the owner of the establishment. I don't want to breath in smoke when I am eating or if I want to go to the bar and have a drink. But it is MY CHOICE to go to that bar/restaurant. If I or anyone else doesn't like the fact that people smoke there THEN DON'T GO!!! The government should butt out of this one.

FINALLY!!! Let the puffers pollute their own air, homes, etc. Nasty, inconsiderate peeps.

Looks like the smoking ban will take effect July next year!!!

http://gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-ne...

During the usual 40 year period of a smoker he will spend about $150,000 on cigarettes. He spends less if he dies before the 40 years are up.

The history of smoking bans proves that smoking bans do not harm businesses.

jrgrl-you have the "right" to pollute your own air, not other peoples. You don't have the "right" to jeprodize other people's health.

So Hanna you think that business owners don't want smoking in there bar's just because they make more money with smokers? your right smokers spend more money. Also not all smokers are rude. I smoke & I have asked my non-smoking friends if I'm bothering them they have told me that I am pretty good around them. No one says that you have to go to that br that has smoking. I still think that even smokers you still have place's to also go and have a few drinks and hang out. I hate to tell you this but we are humans also we are not the dirt under your shoes. We also work and pay taxes we still should have some rights. Just like I said that you should also.Let the owners deside for them self's

I think it is easier for smokers to go outside and pollute the air than it is for non smokers to have to go outside to find fresh air. Makes more sense. I am looking forward to going out for dinner and a few drinks and not having to leave right away due to the heavy smoke. This ban is long overdue.

Quick follow-up for SuperDave.Your last point is a very good one, and i totally agree with it.But yet it seems a lot of smokers are that way and still we get put into a smaller and smaller box.It boils down to if you smoke or don't, be respectfull of each others rights and concerns.It's no fun to feel ashamed,demonized,hated for doing something we still have a legal right to do in certain situations/places.

Maybe we could get t-shirts made up for everyone that says smoker or non-smoker? That way the smokers could know who to move away from when we light up.Good points from everyone, i guess my point is we (smokers) don't respond as well to the extreme vehement stance some non-smokers take.And btw, when and if anyone asks me to move if i'm smoking, i'll gladly do it.Smokers are not ignorant of what smoking does to us or people around us.It's an addiction we either enjoy or want to rid ourselves of.A little consideration or help goes a long way.

I do understand that non-smokers want A smoke free place to go and hang out & drink just as much as smokers want the same thing. That is why you need to let busniess owners have the right to say what they want in there buildings. I would think that we should all agree with that. Your place your rules.

15yearsthere: You are correct, consideration and politeness go a long way! I demonize no one, btw. To your question "How do i know i'm being 'rude and obnoxious'"? Because I just told you in my last post, and I even went to the extent of comparing your cigarette smoke to a spraying skunk in the room. Again, if you are within ten feet of another person, it is rude and obnoxious to light up. This is not to "demonize" you, just to let you know how many of us feel about your smoking, but are usually too considerate and polite to say anything in person. And once again, you have every right to smoke your cigarettes, just do it away from non-smokers, that's all I ask. And if you need another analogy, I have every right to have a humungous bowel movement, but I do that in the bathroom, not the dining room.
You might be surprised to know that I am against a government-imposed smoking ban, except in government buildings. It should be up to business owners to allow it or not. But I think that smokers have put themselves in the headlights by their own behavior. Think about it - if all smokers uniformly respected their non-smoking friends, families, and the general public, this would not even be an issue and it would not be in the news.

Why should someone who does not want to breath in you cancer have to move. Your the one who is affecting them not the other way around. Since you bring up the fact that "how should a smoker know they are bothering someone" YOU DO NOW.

Want to determine if it is a good idea to smoke? I'd suggest going to your 45+ HS class reunion and seeing who is missing. Also take a good look at the ones who are still coming and see who is in good shape versus looking a bit older than they are. Then notice who is going out for a smoke. This is far from scientific, but try it when you hit that age.

PS: If you are a smoker, good luck hitting that age.

For SuperDave and the rest of the non-smokers, do you know what would go a long way to help the situation between smokers and nons? It's called consideration and politeness.How do i know i'm being "rude and obnoxious" unless you come over and ask me to move? Or better yet why don't you move away from me? It's a slippery slope when a group of people continue to be demonized all the time.If our rights and freedoms are taken away (as smokers) totally, where will it go from there, maybe something you nons value as a right and freedom next?

Great post, SuperDave.

Smokers have every right to smoke. I don't understand it, especially since we've been told about all the additives that the tobacco companies put into cigarettes. If I were a smoker, I would roll my own! My friend lost both of his parents to lung cancer, both were smokers, and he is a smoker. But I digress. Yes, smokers have a right to smoke, but non-smokers have a right to breathe clean air. And business owners have a right to make the rules for their own property. So that's the problem, how do we weigh these seemingly conflicting "rights"?
Smokers - here's my take on the issue. If you are within ten feet of me, and choose to light up, you are being rude and obnoxious. It's no different than if I had a skunk in a box, and you were sitting there having dinner at the table next to me, and I decided to take out my skunk and let her spray the area. YES, I have the right to own a pet, but do I have the right to bring it out and stink up the place wherever and whenever I feel like it? It's a personal choice, right???? What if we were outside, you with your picnic basket and me with my skunk in a box, would that make a difference?

To call smoking a "right", whether it is legal or not, is to elevate it to a status that it does not deserve. Smoking is a habit that the smoker cannot control. It is an addiction, pure and simple. The majority of people do not smoke so if they choose to impose their will on smokers and forbid them from smoking in their presence, smokers will just have to live with it.
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If you can find a constitutional "right" to smoke, proceed with your argument. If not, then I'm afraid you've lost the battle.

Kay5: If you believe in liberty, then you should believe in reproductive and sexual liberty. I defend your right to smoke in many places, especially taverns, but you apparently don't want to defend my right to choose an abortion. Hey, and it's a fetus, not a "baby": infanticide is illegal in all 50 of the United States.

No one has the freedom to poorly affect my health. You have the right to smoke but not to give me lung cancer.

Kay--Walk outside and smoke your cigarette.....If you really need it that bad, you can deal with the rain and the cold. Nobody is going to stop you--just don't do it in a building next to me......

All our freedoms are being slowly taken away.
Where's that "choice" we are supposed to have?
It is legal to choose to murder our babies but not a choice to smoke a cig as it might kill us 50/60 years from now? gimmee a break.
I'm sure we all have andidotes about someone who died and never smoked and people who have smoked for years and are fine.
I say every one dies sometime and no one dies healthy.
More big daddy/nanny state. Gov. control.

It's a health issue!

guzler,
Exaggerate much? We have bans on plenty of harmful substances in the air, beverages, and food of bars and restaurants, what makes cigarette smoke different? Why is it a step closer to communism? Do you even know what the word communism means? Why is it not communism to ban the burning of tires in a bar but a smoking ban is?
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booch,
The "it's legal, therefore it should be legal in a bar" defense is horribly flawed. Plenty of legal things are not permitted in bars.

Finally! Some rational people!

LEAVE THE SMOKERS ALONE, STOP CRYING AND GET OVER IT, WOW I NEED A CIG, I BE BACK.

But don't forget that doyle has stock in the cig. companies,so he makes money either way! It's like covering his ass,as doyle would say,heads i win,tails you loose.

i detest smoking.
but it's friggin legal.
the denny's in janesville has invested a lot of money to build a smoke room.
if those people want to smoke with their food, it's ok with me and the government should butt out.
they won't.
there was very little notice given to the general public on this so called "debate."
however, all of the anti-smoking zealots were given ample notice so they could clear their calendars and show up to voice their opinions.
see any dissenting voices in this article?
when we start giving up our freedoms, where do we stop?
your beer is next.
smokers -- please realize the jimmy doyle administration has hiked takes on smokes by $2.00. barry o has added another 62 cents.
and now, jimmy d is taking away your ability to have a friendly cig in a bar.

Gee if people quit smoking who's going to pay the taxes for Doyle. Oh I'm sure they will tax the air we breathe then. Everyone will be mandated by the state to get a medical screening and determine how much air we consume on a normal day. Just one more step closer to communism! So much for the land of the free huh.