It's interesting to see the replies...you can tell who was a smoker at one point and who never has. Very pointed replies to the one's that haven't. Yes, I think that smokers should be considerate of people who don't wish to be around it. No, I don't buy the "they should go somewhere else if they don't like it" bit. As for the smell...well, once you smoke for a while, you don't notice it.

 

This has been a law here in Texas for as long as I've been a smoker. No smoking inside unless the business serves 21 or older only. I'm just about the only person that smokes in my group of friends so it doesn't bother me one bit to wonder off somewhere alone to smoke. I didn't like people smoking around me when I didn't, so I'm not gonna smoke around them if they don't.

 

We have an indoor smoking ban in Washington and you have to go 25 feet from a doorway. I love it. I used to smoke, haven't for 12 years. My husband is a musician besides his day job, and I hated it when I went to his gigs and we come home reeking. It was really hard on his lungs (saxophone player) to be palying all night in a smoke filled room. NOW the city I live in is trying to get a ban on smking in the parks. . . much outcry. The state just pased another buck-a-pack tax which will put them over $7!

 

I quit smoking more than two decades ago. I never missed it. MY brother recently quit after 50 + years. He was staring to have breathing difficulties. I'm wondering what the government will do as they tax to the max on cigaretts and the number of smokers drop and the tax revenue starts decreasing. Will they just keep increasing the taxes?

I didn't care for the smoke filled places so I just wouldn't go to places where smoking was allowed. In Florida just about all public places outlaw smoking..ok with me.

 

I'm still a smoker but have always been considerate of others...... even leaving my own house to smoke outside when I was married (she never asked, I just did it) The laws don't effect me much as I'm not likely to be in bars or restaurants, but if I was I would go outside anyways and have a smoke....... So it's no big deal for me.

I've got to say though, between the new laws/smoking bans and increased taxes on tobacco, I do feel I am being singled out as the cause of everybody else's health issues in this country because I smoke...... That's not quite fair.

 

I work in a welding/fabrication shop and the guys that smoke aren't allowed to smoke inside anymore. They have to go outside. With all the crap we breathe in at work, cigarette smoke is probably the least harmful thing we breathe in everyday. I am an ex smoker(been almost 10 years). Being a boss, I let the guys smoke inside, just tell them not to get caught,lol. Anymore everything that the government bans is just a way to make more $$$ from fines.

 

Florida had a similar law enacted a couple years ago. All restaurants are non-smoking. No matter, bar or restaurant, if the food sales of the establishment are above a certain percent then it is considered family friendly a has to abide by the new law. There are provisions that allow for them to have outdoor seating as well as other "outdoor" restaurants.

 

Michigan's law seems like it went toward the strict end. Doesn't matter if it's indoor or outdoor. If there is food or beverage served in that area, no smoking is allowed. Even Hotels/Motels will now be smoke free. The only exemptions are Cigar bars, tobacco specialty retail stores, and the gaming floors of casinos.

 

I haven't smoked in the house for over 3 years.
That makes over 10,000 times I stepped out for a smoke!

We decided when we quit back then that if we started back up it would be outside only.
WTH, a deal's a deal.
The wife has been smoke-free ever since.

I smoke in diners when it's permitted.
I think it was OK in North Carolina last time I ate at a Waffle House.

It's been outlawed in eating/drinking establishments in Mass for years.

It was pretty funny when we had a layover in the Atlanta airport.
They have smoking rooms and the closest one to us was air-circulation impaired.
The smoke was so thick I could barely see the opposite wall less than 40 feet away.
A non-smoker would have fainted in there in a minute.

 

My buddy and I stayed at the Greektown Casino for the NAIAS this past year (plan on going every year!) and it was uber smokey...it was mostly from the casino but there were ashtrays in the hallways of the hotel too!