The waiter brings your dinner, and the person lights up at the next table

[Beaverhausen]

No one wants to breath in smoke while they are trying to eat.

Most smokers are courteous and considerate of others.

It's the ones who aren't that piss off the rest of us.

[LTR]

1. Sit in the non-smoking section (nt)

[Beaverhausen]

5. This only works if they put walls up between sections

otherwise the smoking section can be right next to the non-smoking, and last I saw smoke doesn't really know the difference.

What is the big deal with stepping outside to smoke?

[Diane R]

6. 'Smoking Sections'....what a laugh.

As if smoke will just sit in one area of a restaurant, and not mingle with the air in the rest of the room.

Thank goodness I live in Washington State. Last year at this time we passed a REALLY restrictive initiative to regulate smoking in public. It is fantastic. No smoking in offices, restaurants or even bars. No smoking in indoor areas, period. And no smoking within 25 feet of any doors or windows to those buildings.

The business in good restaurants is booming. YOu can go anywhere and breathe fresh air. I no longer feel like a second class citizen because I am allergic to cigarette smoke.

Hopefully, all other states will follow suit soon. If not, you all are welcome to move to Washington State.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. A three foot high partition, wide open room. What a joke.

You may as well be eating in the restroom, for all the smells that circulate thru the room.

[survivor999]

85. Exactly!

They may as well just put a line on the floor...

[electron_blue]

75. how's the joke go? It's like having a peeing section in a pool.

[survivor999]

86. Ahahahah! Good one.

[Warpy]

15. Yeah, like the stench is going to respect the boundary

of a velvet rope.

Set fire to that thing outside, willya?

[nini]

59. makes as much sense as a pissing section in a pool

that line was borrowed from a very wise man :-) and it's so true.

[Catchawave]

2. I'm a smoker,

and I never go to restaurants that allow smoking. :hi:

[Zhade]

90. You're one of the good ones!

NT!

[sproutster]

3. OMG!! Turn in the restaraunt! :)

Last I heard, you can't even smoke in restaraunts any longer.

But whatever... there is only a kajillion more threads on this. :) Let's cry over stuff that is easily avoidable.

Who the *bleep* cares that America ended today.
Who the *bleep* cares that congressmen seduce kids and blame priests.
Who the *bleep* cares billions are missing.
Who the *bleep* cares about nukes.

Seriously who the *bleep* cares that you went to a smoking restaraunt, sat in the smoking section and had someone light up next to you.

[Goblinmonger]

35. My son has asthma

and my wife has a severe allergy to cigarette smoke. We CANNOT go out to eat at a restaurant that allows smoking without threatening the immediate health of half of our family.

And, just so you know, I can multitask. I can care about smoking in restaurants AND care about all the things you list. I don't have tunnel vision nor ADHD.

[Zhade]

94. Heck, GM, I *do* have ADHD, and even I can multitask!

:)

[misternormal]

91. I agree with you...

... Enough of the smoking threads already... there are non-smokers and there are smokers...

bitching about it here over and over is not going to change things... If you are that adamant about it, change the laws where you live... There are many important things going on this country right now.

I have seen important threads die a horrible death, while the smoking-anti-smoking threads do a good business...

Let's talk about the demise of "America, land of the free."

[Zensea]

4. Not in NYC!

I'm a smoker but I wouldn't like it if I were in your situation either.
When I leave New York to visit other places it always surprises me and takes me aback a bit to see people smoking in restaurants.
It seems really strange to me and just wrong somehow.

[Starlight]

7. What's with the dozen threads on smoking?????

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

[Warpy]

16. One of the right wing ranters

must've rallied the troops.

[hedgehog]

50. No, it just happens to be a lowest common denominator in that

everyone has an opinion. Not everyone you disagree with is a troll. Sheesh!

[SammyWinstonJack]

65. overkill.

[aquart]

8. Tell the jackass to put out the cigarette. NOW.

If he says, and they all do, "if you'd asked me nicely....." tell him that you don't beg anyone for permission to breathe. If he can't control his addiction in public where it can verifiably harm others, perhaps he should seek help.

Embarrass him publicly. This matters. His friends won't. Only a stranger can make it less comfortable to smoke in public.

Then inform the manager that your meal has been spoiled and you won't be able to return until you know you can enjoy your meal.

Then call your local legislators and ask why No Smoking regulations aren't in place in your area.

Or you can just wuss out and let the person next to you have an asthma attack and send all your clothes to the dry cleaners afterward.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Libby2]

20. I would probably light up another one.

[depakid]

52. The easy solution to this is to ban smoking in ALL restaurants

Nationwide.

Problem solved- no more assholes blowing smoke while I'm enjoying my meal- no potential fights- workers and kids don't have to be around second hand smoke.

This shouldn't be a local thing- it ought to be an OSHA thing. Wanna smoke, go outside. No big deal.

[avb7]

21. If you happened to YELL....

at the wrong guy while demanding he put out his smoke, you just might wind up digging his foot out of your ass...be nice, cause you never really know who you might be talking to.

[High Plains]

24. Try that shit and you're likely to end up eating that cigarette.

Self-righteous asses sometimes get what they deserve.

[karlrschneider]

26. Yes, they most surely do.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

[aquart]

41. Actually, no.

It pretty much proceeds on the Gandhi format: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they
fight you, then you win."

Ain't nothing as unamusing as an air polluting smoker accusing someone else of self-righteousness.

[asthmaticeog]

44. So being a combative, rude dick makes one ... Ghandi?

[aquart]

48. No. That's someone else's job.

Somebody must take the extreme position: PUT THAT OUT NOW! Otherwise there are no grounds for negotiation.

Nobody reasons with the reasonable because they can be talked out anything. People, however, seem to rush to reason with the unreasonable. How else did the Palestinians wind up at the UN? How else did this country move to the right?

Unless you personally know the smoker, there is no excuse for being polite. Have the guts to cause the trauma and public humiliation that makes it more uncomfortable to smoke in public than not.

[Bunny]

54. Even if they are smoking in the smoking section?

If I was smoking in a designated and lawful smoking area, and you did that to me, I would blow the smoke in your face and then tell you to blow it out your ass. The "trauma and public humiliation" would most assuredly not be mine in that scenario.

BTW, I do not smoke.

[Dorian Gray]

105. If someone spoke to a friend of mine

while he or she was smoking in a smoking section.... I would light up in solidarity to piss the person off even more. Sanctimonious BS.

[asthmaticeog]

69. Wow. Scorched earth policy.

Applied to most areas of life, that would leave one without any friends at all. Justifiably so.

Frankly, I take the opposite position: when dealing with a complete stranger in public, there's no excuse not to be civilized, even if you're so close to your last nerve that you have to fake it. Smokers, after all, are people, and almost all people respond better to politeness, especially when weighing the grievance of a stranger in public. Sure, now and then you'll run across an asshole smoker who won't put it out if you ask politely. But that's an asshole problem, not a smoker problem, and there are PLENTY of asshole non-smokers, too.

[susanna]

92. Now there's the voice of reason... n/t

[Dorian Gray]

103. WTF?

When I used to smoke, I never did it in restaurants, so that wouldn't be a problem. But if someone spoke to me like that? Like HELL I would put it out. No way! :eyes:

If, however, someone asked me nicely, "Would you mind putting out your cigarette? It's really bothering me! Sorry!".... Well, I'd put it out in a flash!

[Lindacooks]

88. And you just made the non-smoker's point.

Thank you!

[fishwax]

27. that would be a productive response

:eyes:

A better response might be to not sit in (or near) the smoking section.

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. I wouldn't go to a place that allows smoking in the first place.

Why go sit and smell that shit drifting in the air?

Go to a place that has some class instead.

[mondo joe]

10. Start farting. Loudly. And as frequently as you can.

[SeattleGirl]

12. All restaurants and bars are smoke free here in Washington

except for Tribal Casinos, so non-smokers have tons of places to go and eat smoke-free.

[karlrschneider]

13. Go to a nonsmoking restaurant. Jesusfuckingchirst GET OVER

your pissyfit rant. :grr: :grr: :grr:

[Beaverhausen]

17. Why is being considerate so hard for some people?

You fucking get over it. Smoke all you want, just don't do it where other people have to breathe it in. Fuck.

[karlrschneider]

19. I smoke only where it doesn't directly affect those who it offends.

I live by a road with thousands of vehicles belching out EACH one far more carbon dioxide and monoxide than any single smoker could exhale in a fucking lifetime. Do NOT lecture me about that politically correct bullshit.

[aquart]

55. Offends, or kills? Or simply hospitalizes?

Restaurant workers got tired of dying to support the profits of the cigarette companies.

So did airline workers. So did office workers.

All addicts rationalize their addiction. But cell phones offend. Cigarettes kill.

[pinto]

37. We encourage discussion to remain considerate and civil as well.

Thanks.

[spacelady]

40. Fuckety Fuck F--Puff Puff Whew--Fuckacck Ahem. What were you

saying? I was Taking a big drag on my fag.

[kiahzero]

33. I've yet to find one in a state that doesn't require it

It's definitely something that I miss about Delaware. Fortunately, I'm not allergic to the smoke, so I can put up with it, but I know many who are not so lucky.

[aquart]

43. In New York, all restaurants are non-smoking.

We decided to save lives rather than enable addiction.

[magellan]

14. Ya know, I learned this lesson in the Navy

I was 18. We were all sitting elbow to elbow in the mess hall. When I finished eating, I thoughtlessly lit up a cigarette. One of my classmates -- a big guy -- reached across the table, snatched the ciggy from my lips and pulverized it. "Don't smoke at the table without asking others if they mind first!" he growled.

Believe me, I never, ever did that again! :)

I still smoke but have never found myself in a situation where a stranger at a nearby table lit up in a designated non-smoking area, and I certainly don't do it to others. If I want a smokeless meal, I avoid restaurants with smoking areas.

[RebelOne]

22. Normally, if you are dining in a better restaurant,

you have a choice of smoking or non-smoking. So, next time, request a non-smoking table. Is that so hard???

[High Plains]

23. Try a non-smoking restaurant or else stop whining.

I really don't understand why people who hate smoke go to places where they know people will be smoking--and then complain about it.

[karlrschneider]

25. Some people go out of their way to find something to bitch about.

:eyes:

[tyedyeto]

28. Oh my! Smokers are the vilest people on earth!

What the fuck is this thread all about?

Someone smoking in a restaurant where smoking is allowed? Or just another person seeking to place ALL smokers as second or third class citizens?

Just asking... :shrug:

[Nevernose]

29. Why did you go to a smoking bar/restaurant?

Smoking in an establishment that allows both smoking and designates smoking sections is neither incourteous nor inconsiderate. It was your CHOICE to go there.

If your problem is that smoking sections allow an unpleasant odor to drift odor to your table, or even a marginally slight health risk, then why did you CHOOSE to go to that establishment?

[lies and propaganda]

30. Well, that logic is out the door when you sub Bar for Restaurant.

I wnat to punch all binge drinkers complaining about second hand smoke while killing their liver.

/rant ;)

[spacelady]

31. Why did you not post this in the threads already in place?

Did this just hit you out of the blue or are you just a gaping flamer?

[trayfoot]

32. As a smoker who does not buy into......

the propaganda, I only patronize restaurants which have a smoking section. Smokers should not be treated as "second class citizens"!

[kiahzero]

34. You poor poor soul.

I guess restrictions on where you can drink are making drinkers "second class citizens" too. They're not even allowed to drive!

[Warren DeMontague]

87. Then you might want to avoid restaurants in this small area

Cuz if you come to California, you'll have to go outside to smoke.

[sandnsea]

36. And a woman with stinky perfume sits down

It makes you nauseated and you have to get up and leave.

I can't even smell smoke, and would prefer it any day to some of the toxic perfumes women wear. I don't even know what chemicals are in perfume.

[KansDem]

58. On occasion I have experienced overly-bearing perfume...

...to the point my throat muscles seem to contract, making it difficult to breathe.

Perhaps "perfume-free" restaurants?

[sandnsea]

68. Perhaps odor tolerance training n/t

[AtomicKitten]

38. I live in California so this isn't an issue.

thank gawd

[mdmc]

39. I would call the police and have the pub staff escort him out

but I live in NYS.

[devilgrrl]

42. What restaurant in California allows smoking?

What restaurant in America still allows smoking?

Where do some of you live? A pool hall?

[NaturalHigh]

45. Is this really a problem?

Good grief, how many restaurants even allow smoking these days? It is usually illegal. Even where it isn't, a good deal of smokers (myself included) would never light up unless we were in an area that is specifically designated for smokers.

[Cleita]

46. I haven't really found any rude ones, but if they do, just ask

them to put it out because you are trying to eat. If they don't, ask the waiter for a different table. Most restaurant managers will ask the offender not to smoke.

[warrens]

47. Ask him or her to put it out

Or go to the bar to smoke it. That's what I'd do. It's only common courtesy.

[truebrit71]

49. If you're in the smoking section you shut the fuck up and deal with it...

...otherwise what's the problem....or would you complain if you went into a Bar and someone served you alcohol...

If smoking is allowed, GET OVER IT!

[hedgehog]

51. No one even asked you whether this was in a non-smoking

area or what. Everyone is so quick to jump in with an opinion, no one needs the facts!

[Touchdown]

53. You have money to go to a restaurant?

Must be nice in Bush's America to have have disposable money and SOMETHING to bitch about. After all, The Bill Of Rights is in no danger of being destroyed, and we're not occupying another country, so things really are just ducky here.:eyes:

Here's a tip. Drive throughs don't seat smokers in your car. If living witrh other people is that much trouble for you, then take your food home, so you can die lonely, but not inconvenienced.

[Balbus]

56. Luckily in AZ we don't have to worry about that.

No smoking in stores, no smoking in restaurants, and come Nov 7 - no smoking in bars!

[yasmina27]

57. Ok, what about MY rights

or that of my 8 yo daughter? We are both SEVERELY allergic to tree nuts, to the point where even the SMELL of peanuts can send us to the hospital or kill us. No I am not being over dramatic.

If you sit next to us in a restaurant and are served your pecan-encrusted chicken breast, or your peanut-laden chinese food (or whatever), we can potentially die within minutes. My daughter swelled up like a balloon after they made peanut butter pine cones for the birds in Sunday school - that was when we discovered her allergy. I've had difficulty breathing on airplanes where peanuts were served as a snack - and I had a window seat and turned the fan to blow away from my face.

If your child orders the PB&J from the kids menu, touches the table, then we sit at your table after you leave, we could have a serious reaction.

I would love to ban all tree nuts from the world - you can only consume them in the privacy of your own home. But this is the real world - ain't gonna happen. So I've learned to live with it, as will my daughter.

Try grocery shopping with a severe allergy to MSG and nuts. Fortunately, we have a garden which provides most of our veggies and we buy our meats from private farmers. It is virtually impossible to buy any products commercially without "preservatives" or "natural flavoring" (2 of the many code words for MSG). At least you non-smoking fanatics can go to the grocery store without fearing hospitalization or death.

Here in Pittsburgh, they are currently in controversy about a smoking ban. OK, I'm a smoker, so I'm opposed to it, but reality is that most of the country is banning it. Peachy keen - hey, I can have a meal w/o smoking. But it's very difficult to go out to eat without fearing another food item, which JUST BY BREATHING IT, can cause significant health problems for me and my child.

[alcibiades_mystery]

60. I go outside to smoke even if it's allowed in the restaurant

I guess I'm well trained by the nany state...:shrug:

I don't smoke in my house, and I don't smoke in other people's houses, and I don't smoke indoors, period.

[Beaverhausen]

67. No, it just sounds like you are a considerate person. Thank you for that

:hi:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

61. Oh Poor Non-Smokers. Life Is So So Rough. If ONLY It Revolved Around Them.

Sighhhhhhhhhh, but alas... it doesn't.

Poor poor non-smokers.

[Warren DeMontague]

80. Nah, life is pretty good here in California.

If people need to smoke in public, they just can't do it indoors. They have to go outside to light up. Wah.

Like I said, life is good.

[GumboYaYa]

62. IMO there are some people who are just too self-righteous about

chastising smokers for smoking in areas designated for them to do so. I don't smoke, but it is no particular bother to me to be around people who do. It just isn't that big of a deal. If it does bother someone, they can go somewhere else. If enough people stop going to a restaurant b/c smoking bothers customers, the owners will change the policy.

I have friends who will go into a fit if we are at a restaurant and someone lights a cigarette in the smoking section. One person in particular that I know can ruin an evening if anyone smokes near him. The reactions of these friends bother me more than a little cigarette smoke.

[pokercat999]

63. Simple solution, yell "Fire" and throw your water on them.

:smoke: :sarcasm: For the one person that thinks I'm serious.

[Bake]

64. So I'm in the elevator at work today ...

And this woman gets off the elevator as I'm getting on. She had on the strongest, nastiest perfume I've ever smelled. It LITERALLY made my nose and throat burn, and I'm not allergic to much (hell, I'm a damn smoker!).

Was I smoking? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Because I'm a considerate motherfucker! How about that stench of a perfume though? Smelled like a damn $2 whore. That was fucking AWFUL. SOME SMOKERS ARE CONSIDERATE. I'D SAY MOST OF US ARE!

THIS REALLY HAPPENED. Yes, I posted a bunch of "fart" posts in one of the other Smoke Nazi threads, trying to lighten things up a bit -- but THIS really happened and it REALLY PISSED ME OFF!!! It would have pissed me off if she had been at the next table at a restaurant. If she had been my secretary, I would have sent her home to wash that shit off!

Bake

[spacelady]

84. That stinky perfume stuff happens even more than inconsiderate smoking.

But go ahead & wear your stinky perfume, I would never DREAM of making a law against it!

[guinivere]

66. Not likely to happen.

Most all restaurants I have been in have a no smoking policy or a different smoking room/section.

[dysfunctional press]

70. next time- eat at home, and make your own damn dinner.

then you can designate your entire house a non-smoking area.

[SmokingJacket]

71. that hasn't happened to me in at least a decade...

oh, wait, once when I was travelling and couldnt' find anywhere else to eat. I avoid cheap, crappy restaurants -- why pay to eat out if you're going to eat crap and smell smoke?

It's just not an earth-shaking problem.

[Odin2005]

72. Smokers have no right to endanger the health of those around them.

QED.

[bigwillq]

73. That's not allowed in CT.

We have smoking bans in bar, clubs and restaurants.

And this SMOKER loves it! :bounce:

[NotGivingUp]

74. Some restaurants should be smoking and others nonsmoking...

leave it up to the owners. There should also be combo restaurants. The ones YOU visit are up to YOU.

[Catchawave]

76. Exactly ! No more laws,

Vote with your dollars! I'm a smoker and I approve this message :D

[Warren DeMontague]

78. Sorry, I grew up in the Midwest, and never in my LIFE did I see such an

animal as a "non-smoking restaurant" or a "non-smoking bar" until it became the law. "Leave it up to the owners" ALWAYS ends up meaning, "as much smoking as possible, everywhere"

So, yes, people have choice. And my state, California, is like one big non-smoking restaurant/bar. If you want to smoke, you have to go outside to the sidewalk. And if you don't like it, you're free to eat or drink in a different state.

[BlooInBloo]

81. That would require that nonsmokers be something other than...

... lying, thieving, moralizing, greedy people.

[Warren DeMontague]

83. Jesus. Generalize much?

Actually, we're just jealous. You know, 'cuz those things make you look so sexy and cool. Shhh! That's what it's really all about.

[BlooInBloo]

99. (shrug) If you say so. I just think it's the lying greedy moralizing....

... different strokes for different folks :)

[Warren DeMontague]

100. Well, despite the fact that I am an NBA superstar, I will need to steal

your wallet. Because you are a sinner. :patriot:

[Warren DeMontague]

77. God Damn! What Planet are you living on?

I live in California, and I swear, every time I go to a state where there's even smoking sections in restaurants (like peeing sections in the pool), it's like walking into a stinky fucking meal-destroying time warp.

Gakkkkkkkk. Thank god, that's not an issue in my state.

[spacelady]

93. Go Jump In The Pee Pool.

[Warren DeMontague]

95. No, California is pretty big.

It's rare that I even need to deal with it.

When I do, it's more jarring than anything else. Like a flashback to my childhood in the midwest. Peee-yuuu!

[spacelady]

96. Doody!

[Warren DeMontague]

97. .

[spacelady]

106. Made my day!

I am a Nebraska native. A blessing & a curse.

[BlooInBloo]

79. Why do nonsmokers use the most idiotic example possible?

Are they really THAT genius?

[Warren DeMontague]

82. Every time I've been in a "smoking" restaurant

I've had pretty much that experience. Seems to me, if the restaurant is smoking, someone is probably getting their food at any given time. Not an idiotic example, at all.

[BlooInBloo]

98. So go to a nonsmoking restaurant. Don't steal ours. Duh.

Unless you're a greedy, lying moralizing thief, of course.

Let establishments make themselves smoking, and other establishments make themselves nonsmoking. Then everyone can make their own choices.

Of course, greedy won't let nonsmokers be ok with that arrangement. They need EVERYTHING in order to be happy.

[Warren DeMontague]

102. Or, stay out of California if you need to smoke inside while you eat.

As I said elsewhere, I grew up in the midwest, and I never once in my life saw a "nonsmoking" restaurant or bar until there were laws mandating it. This idea that businesses will "voluntarily" become nonsmoking is a crock. The folks who need EVERYTHING are the people who act put upon by the Gestapo if they have to go outside before smoking a cigarette. When smoking is allowed indoors, it invariably takes over every establishment it is allowed in. Not having any regulation means ALL establishments become "smoking". And it's the SMOKERS who demand all the air. That's the fact and will remain so, at least until someone invents a bubble y'all can pop over your heads so no one else has to breathe that stuff.

But, being a greedy, lying, moralizing thief, I don't give a shit, because my state's laws are just fine in that regard. And you are more than welcome to voluntarily stay away if it bugs you so much to go outside before you light up.

[BlooInBloo]

104. Cool - being upfront about it suffices for me as far as the greed...

... is concerned.

Rock on.

[Zhade]

89. I sincerely appreciate smokers who don't let their addiction...

...make them selfish assholes endangering others.

You guys and gals who respect our right not to be exposed unwillingly to your smoke, I salute you!

[Dorian Gray]

101. I wouldn't know...

Here in NYC, you can't smoke in restaurants anymore. Actually, last time I went to New Jersey, Florida, California, Massachussetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont, they had the same rules. Of course, Las Vegas wasn't quite so enlightened, and in Greece, forget about it! Everyone was smoking, even on the ferry from Santorini to Athens. Inside.

But, my original point before I started babbling, was that in most states, it is against the law to smoke in restaurants. So the point is moot.