News-Letter

Thank god there's another non-smoker out there who understands what the goverment is doing to us smokers!!!

The smoker's rights issue is more one about censorship and taxatation without representation than anything else. It has nothing to do with health issues anymore. The nanny state is taking over in America and passing all kinds of legislation as to how private citizen's can live their lives.

Seatbelt laws sounded good, so they passed. Trans fats are bad, so let's ban them ... sounds good. Secondhand smoke is soooo bad for you, so let's ban that also. And everyone feels so good about themselves beacuse they passed a law which they feel is in everyone's best interest.

But what about those of us who want to live "on the edge", or "free", as we used to put it. No choice but to buckle up, eat what the law tells us, and enjoy our bars the way the law tells us. Yup, we're headed right into Nazi America.

I understand that smokers feel they are being punished with this smoking ban. But smokers can not seem to see the other side of the coin. According to statistics 80% of americans are non smokers. I was always told majority rules. It would be fine by me to have smoking and non smoking in resteraunts and bars, but the fact is that they do not seperate the two areas. I have gone into just about every big name resteraunt that there is and even sitting all the way on the oppostite side of the room I still could smell smoke. And I have never seen a bar that has smoking and non smoking sections. I am happy about this ban because now I can go in any resteraunt and not be assaulted with smoke while eating, and I can now go to bars and play some pool while having a few drinks. Smokers whine about how their rights are being taken away, well us non smokers are finally getting our rights back.

if they created a private room indoors where smokers could smoke (like they have in airports), that was indoors and warm, but separated from the rest of the bar, would that satisfy you? It would in effect shield non-smokers from second hand smoke while providing you with a warm environment to smoke in...

How stupid can you get?
I have had a sister and a brother-in-law both dying of second hand smoke induced cancers.
I have talked to people who were dying of smoke induced lung cancer, regretting that they had not stopped many years earlier.
Smoking is not a right, but a gun pointing at your head!
Living in clean air is a right! That is democracy!

People should not have the right to threaten other people's lives!
That's democracy!

When we got non-smoking laws in Toronto, restaurant and bar owners were complaining. Now after a couple of years, they found it did not make any difference to their profits and everyone is healthier for it.

Let's support the clean air movement and vote for a healthier environment at any time.

oh quit bitching about your tobacco. Look at the drug war problem in our country if you want to see constitutional right infringements
i was laughing as i read this. its unbelievable that when a rather vast majority of americans not only don't smoke but also dont want to have smoke lingering indoors while they eat/drink, you smokers automatically take it as an infringement on your rights.
If you want to get your nicotine fix, take it outdoors. they aren't taking your cigarettes away.

bunch of pussies.
and yet it's still illegal for medical patients all throughout our country to access very safe marijuana for medical purposes even though it's been used since before the United States of America was even a thought.

What's the correlation between "tomorrow" being a sad day for democracy in the state of Maryland and the fact that a smoking ban was passed into law May 17, 2007?

Is Feb. 1 when this ban goes into effect? Or what?

What a strange lead.

We don't allow people who are intoxicated to drive cars. Are we infringing on their rights as well?

Not only does the government tell you what you can and can't put into your bodies, they are also making as many attempts as possible to control the when and where as well. You don't understand the importance of your rights if you are so willing to give them up.

You can continue to 'live on the edge' when it comes to matters that involve individual consequence only, such as driving without a seatbelt and hoarding/consuming trans-fat goods to your little heart's content.

However, smoking, obviously, does not just have an individual impact. The mother who smokes during her pregnancy will be at an increased risk of experiencing complications during delivery. The smoker lighting up a cigarette in front of their infant daughter several times a day will potentially endanger the long-term health of the child. A couple who makes weekly visits to a smoking-permitted restaurant and unknowningly inhales second hand smoke, over time, will be at a greater risk of developing smoking-related cancers. As a smoker, you are subjecting others to over 2,500 dangerous chemicals and toxins, and THAT, my friends, is an incredible, unjustifiable infringement of rights upon the healthy, non-smoking population.

On the bright side, smokers should be happy that Maryland has been so slow to implement this ban - many states across the country have banned smoking in restaurants and clubs for quite a while.

After witnessing my uncle, a life-long smoker who suffered from throat cancer, undergo a laryngectomy, I'm 100% content without having to life on that type of 'edge.' Good luck to you all, especially the smokers.

i don't agree at all, i think that there should be a ban on smoking in doors, it doesn't make sense that one should be able to harm another because of their addiction, everyone knows that second hand smoke is worse for you than actually smoking so while it may be an inconvenience for you to step out side and smoke, you have made the decision to be a smoker and we should not have to suffer because of your bad decisions.