A kick in the nuts due to new law....

CigarNut · 01-04-2010, 09:38 AM

This is the same thing that happened in Oregon 1/1/2009. A new statewide law (ban, really) went into effect:

No smoking withing 10 feet of any door or window of a public establishment. If someone smokes within 10 feet of a business, and someone else complains, the business owner is fined. Ridiculous! Why should a business owner be required to police the public property outside their doors??
No smoking anything other than cigars at existing cigar bars
No new cigar bars - Only cigar bars with established cigar-related revenues in 2006 can be cigar bars after 1/1/2009 -- lots of places closed due to this
Only 40 people allowed in a cigar bar (regardless of actual capacity). This caused several cigar bars to stop allowing cigars due to the loss of revenue
Ad infinitum

One of the major justifications for this is "employee safety" -- employees required to work in an unsafe (second-hand-smoke environment). If you don't like working in a smoky room, get a job elsewhere...

The Oregon Bar Owners association has complained to the legislature because their business is off 29%. The Oregon Lottery revenue from Video Poker is down 20%. Several of the B&M cigar stores are no longer able to allow smoking so their revenue is off... (have to be a free-standing building, ventilation requirements, etc. that most B&Ms cannot meet -- particularly the free-standing building requirement).

What ever happened to people voting with their feet/dollars? If you don't like a restaurant or business due to smoking or non-smoking requirements, you take your business elsewhere.

I used to have a choice of at least a dozen cigar-friendly places to eat or drink within a reasonable drive. Now I have two in the winter and a third in the summer.

Like many others, I went out and got propane heaters for my deck, so as long as it is not too windy or wet, I can smoke out there. If it is windy or wet I can smoke in the garage, but I have to be careful about smoke getting into the house from the furnace intake...

01-04-2010, 09:38 AM	#36
CigarNut Fck Cancer! Join Date: Jan 2009 First Name: Michael Location: Clermont, Florida Posts: 18,042 Trading: (111*)	Re: A kick in the nuts due to new law.... This is the same thing that happened in Oregon 1/1/2009. A new statewide law (ban, really) went into effect: No smoking withing 10 feet of any door or window of a public establishment. If someone smokes within 10 feet of a business, and someone else complains, the business owner is fined. Ridiculous! Why should a business owner be required to police the public property outside their doors?? No smoking anything other than cigars at existing cigar bars No new cigar bars - Only cigar bars with established cigar-related revenues in 2006 can be cigar bars after 1/1/2009 -- lots of places closed due to this Only 40 people allowed in a cigar bar (regardless of actual capacity). This caused several cigar bars to stop allowing cigars due to the loss of revenue Ad infinitum One of the major justifications for this is "employee safety" -- employees required to work in an unsafe (second-hand-smoke environment). If you don't like working in a smoky room, get a job elsewhere... The Oregon Bar Owners association has complained to the legislature because their business is off 29%. The Oregon Lottery revenue from Video Poker is down 20%. Several of the B&M cigar stores are no longer able to allow smoking so their revenue is off... (have to be a free-standing building, ventilation requirements, etc. that most B&Ms cannot meet -- particularly the free-standing building requirement). What ever happened to people voting with their feet/dollars? If you don't like a restaurant or business due to smoking or non-smoking requirements, you take your business elsewhere. I used to have a choice of at least a dozen cigar-friendly places to eat or drink within a reasonable drive. Now I have two in the winter and a third in the summer. Like many others, I went out and got propane heaters for my deck, so as long as it is not too windy or wet, I can smoke out there. If it is windy or wet I can smoke in the garage, but I have to be careful about smoke getting into the house from the furnace intake...