Smoking bans are growing across the United States now more than ever before. Are bans the right thing to do, or are they conflicting with our rights and freedoms as Americans? Some states are banning only indoor smoking, while others are banning both indoor and outdoor smoking. We have bans in restaurants, bars, and clubs, but service industries (lawyers, financial consultants, etc.) are exempt and can decide for themselves to permit smoking or not on their premises. Some bans come with exceptions, such as smoking might be permitted if smoking areas are closed off from the nonsmoking side and properly ventilated.
What do you think of smoking bans? How should they be handled?
Thanks for your comments!
Dustin Claypool (8:00)
15 comments:
I think that banning smokin will decrease the number of smokers which is a good thing since smoking is indeed bad for you, And you cant forget the second hand smoke damage smokers inflict to others when they light up. overall i think the ban is a progressive law that protects the people from themselves.
Isaac Mitchell
Over all I happen to like the ban only because I don't like walking into a place and instantly getting hit with cigarette smoke but on the side of the smokers I agree it does take away their right to be smoke. This is the land of the free and if they want to smoke a cigarette thy should be aloud too, escpecially when they sit in the designated smoking section.
James Butler
i think that the smoking ban is a good thing in bars and restaurants. not everyone smokes and they have the right to a healthy life with not having to inhale someone elses ciggarette smoke. they say second hand smoke is the worse so why should the innocent people have to suffer the harsher side when they dont even want anything to do with it.
brandon sherfey
Smoking is a very big problem in todays world. Alot of people smoke and thats fine, but alot of people dont smoke and thats where it conflicts. I work at a hotel here in Champaign and i get alot more people coming up to me asking for non-smoking rooms than people asking for smoking rooms. Im pretty sure that everyone who smokes knows its not good for them, but yet and still they still have the right to do so. If we ban smoking from every where we are taking away there freedom to smoke, but if we kept it then we are taking away all the non-smokers right to a clean and healty environment. The whole smoking ban is split right down the middle. I mean i dont want someone who smokes to be blowing their smoke all in my face but i do want them to have the right to smoke because its what they choose to do.
Destini Reed
The smoking ban comes right down to the right and wrongs of smoking. I understand why people support the ban against smoking in public places. Second hand smoking is far worst to the health of a non-smoker than it is to a smoker. I do not smoke and I have always felt that smoking should have been banned from public places a long time ago, because I hate what it can do to the human body. It may or may not decrease the amount of smokers in the US or just in Illinois, but it is a start in building the health of the people to were it should be.
Jarrod Winder
Americans have been under smoking bans for years now. people used to be able to smoke almost anywhere, including, movie theaters, college campuses, and airports. these places i can understand why there would be a ban, but in Champaign bars are you kidding me. each year the government restricts more and more and yet there is nothing that we can do about it. It needs to stop at some point. i don't want to blow smoke in anyones face and i don't. but that is MY decision to make not anyone else's. please politicians back the hell out of my personal life.
Douglas King
To smoke around someone that doesn't smoke is pretty much in ever sense of the word abuse, yeh people who don't smoke can move away-yet they aren't the ones causing cancer,emphysema,asthma or just plain stink. Unfortunately the world has become so non-caring about ourselves & others that the Government has had to step in to protect us! It really isn't right that we can't be considerate enough to walk outside & harm ourselves, as opposed to hurting everyone around us too. Staying away from resturants,hotels,pool halls and bars is not an option to non smokers that only want to go out and have some fun(just like smokers). To be mad at the Government is silly-we should be mad at people that don't give 2shits about us and smoke around us killing our immune system.Amy M.
i think that smoking bans are a good idea for some places. When im going out for dinner i dont like smoke to be in my face when i eat. so i think if over half of your sales are food then you shouldnt be allowed to smoke. smoking should be allowed outside! People dont have to stand next to you if they dont want to smell it.
Amanda Borders
The smoking ban is good to a certain extent. Inside smokeing ban is a good thing. It goes back to the second hand smoke issue. Not everyone wants to inhale smoke. For those who do they can easily go outside or in a designated room. For violating right, i think that is a bunch of crap. Rights isnt even a question right now. Its more unconstitutional to smoke than to ban it.
I think that the smoking ban is a good thing because smoking is bad for you in the first place. Really its kind of a selfish thing to do in certain places an a way. I think over time the smoking ban will grow and have a larger impact throughout the country. I have always felt that smoking should be banned from public places. Overall i think the ban will improve the health of people and the enviroment around us.
Luke Brown
there are more than half of the people in the United States are smockers. the banning of smocking reduced a good percentage of these smockers. smicking is bad a bad habit and everyone know that. i think the banning of smicking in restaurants,bars,and other public areas was a good idea. there are people who do not like to smoke and when they go out somewhere they have to deal with smocking. where as today no one have to complain about sitting in a restaurant where you can smell smoke.
I think the ban is a load of crock. The way I see it is that when someone wants to smoke they should be able too wherever they want too.
Josh Kaufman
I think that the smoking ban is a good thing in restaurants, and public places, but bars. I just never would of imagined it passing for the bars. I don't smoke, but know several people who do. I just think that the bars should be different, because now all you see is a group of people hanging outside the bars smoking (this is true for restaurants as well). I think places should have beer gardens or garden seating to allow smoking. I hate going out and smelling like smoke when you leave.
Cheri A
I feel that the smoking ban has good and bads flaws within it. On one point I feel that it is good for people's health and overall well-being. However, smoking in bars is something that goes hand and hand and most people just expect it. It should be the bar owner's decision on whether he/she allows smoking. I feel that all resturants and public places should be smoke-free with the exception of bars.
Charlie Ramshaw 12:00
I don't have a problem with the smoking bans at all. And you're hearing this from an ex smoker and i agreed with the bans even before i quit, so this is not just the view of a person that doesn't smoke. This is a ban that protects us, america is "the land of the free" but not when it interferes (physically) with others in a way that hurts them. Indoor smoking in any public place does affect those around you, parents will have to leave that building if they have children with them, this could also trigger a child to have an asthmus attack and in the most serious case die. And you may think that you can smoke in a building, put it out and everything be okay but that is not the case. Second hand smoke is very dangerous and the effects of it can still remain for several hours after smoking only one cigarette.
Christopher L. Cole
Post a Comment