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GoogleAsked to comment on effects of the ban on city government, Flannery said a lot of that will depend on the "shake out" on the Iowa Department of Health's enforcement of the new legislation.
What is apparent at this time, Flannery said, is that no smoking is allowed on city government property. This, he observed, includes parking lots as well as buildings.
Public park shelter houses, even the parks themselves, as well as the golf course, he said, are seemingly susceptible to the ban. Swimming pool areas, he added, are already subject to earlier no-smoking rules.
The golf course and parks are what Flannery described as "big questions" in the No Smoking ban scenario with the possibility existing that the city council could act to allow smoking on the holes of the golf course as well as in grassy park areas.
"The situation," Flannery said, "is a fairly dynamic one."
Council members indicated they intended no immediate action on the smoking ban locally with Councilman Rex Knapp indicating his desire "for some other city to have the first lawsuit" in the wake of the ban.
The state ban, members also realized as the result of Flannery's observations, is not without some cost to the city.
No Smoking signs are required not only in all restricted property areas, but in city cars and vehicles of all types. All ash trays in these vehicles must also be removed, as well as from governmental buildings.
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please
No smoking in the hospitality industry.
To protect the workers???
To protect the non-smokers???
Protect them from what??
Smoke from tobacco is a statistically insignificant health risk
I get the feeling that the 'powers-to-be' are trying to quarantine/isolate the smokers.
All smoking laws mean..it is against the law to use or permit a legal product on 'private' property.
Is this the American Way??
http://smokersclubinc.com
http://pasan.thetruthisalie.com
I am glad to see that smoking will be prohibited in parking lots. I often see children playing with the colorful fumes from exhaust pipes and enjoying the clean, clear, fresh scent of diesel, and worry that there might be a smoker hiding somewhere on the lot, perhaps in the back of a van, polluting their pink little lungs with traces of evil smoke from a few grams of burning leaves.
Our lungs were made to breathe exhaust fumes, not smoke! Just look at all the great figures of history who grew up in nurseries with little model internal combustion engines purring away by their cribs, the great ones who went on to write novels and paint pictures and rule nations while sucking on twin turbo exhaust pipes, filtering out any traces of tobacco smoke that might seep in and destroy their lungs, minds, and, perhaps, even their very souls!
When Saddam Hussein set his oil fields afire, it was incorrectly viewed as an act of eco-terrorism. In point of fact he was simply purifying the air that had been defiled by the Marlboros and Salems and Newports smoked by the agents of the Great Satan.
Thank you Iowa, for keeping our children safe and doing your bit to protect our pristine shores from the advances of the Evil Nico Terrorists and their Big Tobacco Bosses.
Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"
I hope they make sure all those smokers standing outside the bars now are throwing their butts in an ashtray.
The ones I saw yesterday outside THE BAR were just throwing them on the ground.
Michael - that is the best response to the smoking ban nonsense that I have ever seen!
Snowbird - not only are they protecting non-smokers, apparently they are protecting the asphalt too. You know....all those evil butts laying around. God only knows the damage.
What I would like to see now is the banning of alcohol on the cities public areas too. No liquor on the golf course?! Heavens.
I wish the state and local governments of Iowa, the same 'economic benefits' of this dreaded smoking ban as all of their local businesses will experience.
Marking Iowa off my 'To Do' list.
I am glad to see that smoking will be prohibited in parking lots. I often see children playing with the colorful fumes from exhaust pipes and enjoying the clean, clear, fresh scent of diesel, and worry that there might be a smoker hiding somewhere on the lot, perhaps in the back of a van, polluting their pink little lungs with traces of evil smoke from a few grams of burning leaves.
Our lungs were made to breathe exhaust fumes, not smoke! Just look at all the great figures of history who grew up in nurseries with little model internal combustion engines purring away by their cribs, the great ones who went on to write novels and paint pictures and rule nations while sucking on twin turbo exhaust pipes, filtering out any traces of tobacco smoke that might seep in and destroy their lungs, minds, and, perhaps, even their very souls!
When Saddam Hussein set his oil fields ablaze, it was incorrectly viewed as an act of eco-terrorism. In point of fact he was simply purifying the air that had been defiled by the Marlboros and Salems and Newports smoked by the agents of the Great Satan.
Thank you Iowa, for keeping our children safe and doing your bit to protect our pristine shores from the advances of the Evil Nico Terrorists and their Big Tobacco Bosses.
Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"
I am glad to see that smoking will be prohibited in parking lots. I often see children playing with the colorful fumes from exhaust pipes and enjoying the clean, clear, fresh scent of diesel, and worry that there might be a smoker hiding somewhere on the lot, perhaps in the back of a van, polluting their pink little lungs with traces of evil smoke from a few grams of burning leaves.
Our lungs were made to breathe exhaust fumes, not smoke! Just look at all the great figures of history who grew up in nurseries with little model internal combustion engines purring away by their cribs, the great ones who went on to write novels and paint pictures and rule nations while sucking on twin turbo exhaust pipes, filtering out any traces of tobacco smoke that might seep in and destroy their lungs, minds, and, perhaps, even their very souls!
When Saddam Hussein set his oil fields ablaze, it was incorrectly viewed as an act of eco-terrorism. In point of fact he was simply purifying the air that had been defiled by the Marlboros and Salems and Newports smoked by the agents of the Great Satan.
Thank you Iowa, for keeping our children safe and doing your bit to protect our pristine shores from the advances of the Evil Nico Terrorists and their Big Tobacco Bosses.
Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"
Oh my, first you have the RWJF, aka J&J, funding smoking bans through the ACS, ALA, AHA and the smoke free orgs. Big profits from smoking cessation products & stocks will follow.
Then you have the anti smoking ASH lawyer JOHN F. BANZHAF who is pushing for all smokers to be fired and only non-smokers to be hired. Claims it saves companies money.
Wonder how soon he will push for only neutered and castrated men and sterilized non childbearing wonem to be allowed to hold jobs? Son't worry if you are already pregnant, he might demand you abort it to save the companies money.
RIP Iowa, you are now owned, you have a smoking ban!!
On the eve of July 4th, our Independence Day, I reflected on the changes in this country over the last decade..and quite frankly I am disgusted. The Declaration of Independence asserts we have a right to the pursuit of happiness and in that pursuit, we have a right to make a living from businesses which we have purchased. Unfortunately, a zealous group of individuals in this country have taken our ability to make decisions that impact our businesses, have taken our freedom to enjoy a product which is legal in this country, and our government has not only allowed this to happen but have tripped over themselves to impose smoking bans on its citizens. Have any of our politicians asked for proof of claims of supposed harm to SHS? Who ARE these 53,000 who died last year from SHS? They've taken the words of extremists without independent review. They've taken vast amounts of money from pharmaceutical companies, one of which paid for smoking bans through its "non profit" foundation who directly PROFITS from its stock in the pharmaceutical company that sells the drugs and patches. Where is the government who is supposed to protect us from these charlatans? This has been a grand marketing scheme which profited the drug companies, their stockholders and fed the anti smoking extremists who now want to ban smoking in OUR HOMES, do you hear me? OUR HOMES. And why not? If our businesses belong to "the people", then so do our homes. Action on Smoking and Health, John Banzhaf Exec. Director, wants employers to FIRE smokers. He threw out the number of 40 MILLION smokers and wants us all fired. He even wants to make it illegal for fast food restaurants to serve children without their parent or guardian. What is happening to this country? Who has allowed these lunatics to have any credibility and power? Where will they stop?
It is time to take this country back. It belongs to US. As I sit here writing, I hear fireworks outside. I'm reminded that the Declaration of Independence said we have a right of revolution; that its people have certain rights and when a government violates these rights, the people have the right to "alter or abolish" that government.
It would be wise for our elected officials to remember that we not only have that right, we have the DUTY!
I smoke and my husband and I own a bar in a state with a smoking ban. Our state, in the first 12 months of the smoking ban, permit holders lost a potential of 67.44 MILLION DOLLARS from liquor sales. This does not include beer sales, vending losses or the losses to musicians, etc. who no longer have venues who can afford to pay them. The first 12 months of the ban saw 5,400 lost jobs in the hospitality/leisure industry.
Yes, I smoke, we own a business, and I vote. I think it's time we elected our own people to run for office..those who are mindful of the few inflicting their moral values and personal opinions on the rest of us. Tomorrow, I plan on boycotting any celebration of our "independence". We may no longer be under the tyranny of a King..but really..isn't it a matter of symantics?
The same phony 16 Cigarette Claim that the American Cancer Society used to push the Illinois smoking ban also drove the Iowa smoking ban.
Senator Staci Appel's version of the claim is quoted in the Quad-City Times:
"In one eight-hour shift a casino worker inhales the equivalent of 16 cigarettes from second-hand smoke," she said. "That makes a pack-a-daysmoker out of everyone working in casinos even if they're not smokers themselves."
http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2008/02/...
Senator Appel makes the claim again in the Des Moines Register:
"During an eight-hour shift", she said, "a worker in a smoky casino inhalesthe equivalent of 16 cigarettes."
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb...
Using bad info supplied to him by Public Health Director Tom Newton, Rep. Philip Wise upped the number to 19 cigarettes. According to The Daily Gate City:
"Wise cited a study that found people who work in taverns and bars have had the equivalent of 19 cigarettes by the end of their work day."
No such study exists.
I would like to deeply apologize for the multiple posting earlier. AOL's browser consistently showed the post as not having gone up.
:/
Michael
Guys and Guyettes,
Time to raise the white flag. Forget ya hissy fits and throwing ya toys outta the cot. You've lost!!! Revolution, change of political representatives wont change it. the new law is set in concrete.
You see, you live in a democracy, augurably the best in the world, it might have been founded on terrorism, a word that has come back to bite it in the rear end but none the less you have ended up with a political system where the majority rules and the majority has said enough of blowing your fowl smelling smoke in our faces.
They say, we let you smoke in our breathing space for too long, we askedyou nicely but you didn't take the hints, the suggestions, the prompts, you just kept on getting on our nerves until we couldn't take it anymore and we spoke!!! We told our representatives, we were backed up by academics, the medical fraternity and lobbyists many of whom may not have been totally honest, but then, have the tobacco industry been that honest over the years.
This no-smoking ban, isn't the first and wont be the last that was introduced with less than 100% honesty. If all political decisions were based on fact, you wouldn't have lost 3,000 servicemen in Iraq.
The majority of those opposing this law are the very ones who have caused it to be introduced. You have been the ignorant, arrogant, self-opioninated dickheads who forced business owners not to go smoke-free with your bullying threats of boycotts and retribution. That is why the State moved, cos they are bigger than you and they have the backing of the majority.
I don't agree with State intervention, as I've said before in other posts, I have defended the rights of smokers for three decades. I love smoking, I was probably guilty of being inconsiderate at times in my smoking days. My favorite line in a restaurant was " I don't mind if you eat while I smoke". It was a tongue in cheek comment but I probably crossed the line on occasions. But even I got sick of protecting the rights of those who wouldn't give an inch. If you had've shown a little more consideration you wouldn't be in the situation you are now in.
Smoking is an addiction and that addiction can make the best of us act a little off-center under stress and that is why so many are passionate about this issue. But find a town, a city, a state, a country that has introduced similar legislation that has or wants to abolish it and I'll show you a flying pig.
The majority have spoken and will continue to speak and it is not words smokers want to hear. But as you stand out in that cold alley flicking your butts all over the pavement, at least you'll be able to recall the good ole days when you annoyed the hell out of the non-smokers in bars, restaurants, ballparks, malls, and anywhere else with walls and a roof.
Can anyone name one business in the country that has closed due to a no-smoking ban? A golf course that has gone out of business, a baseball franchise that has collapsed? I'm sure I can show plenty who, while suffering short term losses have gone on to be sucessful businesses with alot lower overheads with no smoke damage or cigarette damege to contend with.
There will be more restrictions placed on personal freedoms but don't get paranoid, Big Brother aint out to get you. Just occasionally a majority of people have to remind a few of us, what's really best for us.
ATTN: DAN ROBERTS
All of the following blame the ban for lost business!
Doherty's Tavern 66% Tulare CA
Dunkhouse Saloon Tavern 50% Clearlake Oaks CA
Femino's Blue Gum Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Willow CA
Fireside Lounge Tavern 70% Escondido CA
Grand Central Casino Casino 42% 15 Lakewood CA
Since the ban took effect in February, liquor sales are down 42 percent and food sales have dropped 25 percent. Fifteen employees have been laid off and another 40 to 50 jobs are in jeopardy.
Laurel Bowl Bowling Alley Closed 100% 100% San Luis Obispo CA
385 league bowlers quit when the smoking ban went into effect, with a loss of $200,000. Laurel Bowl had been in business for 37 years before the ban.
Marco Polo Lounge Tavern 80% Tulare CA
"On nights where we allow our patrons to smoke, we make about $120 a night. Last Monday we didn't allow our customers to smoke. Our total sales were five dollars."
Rim Ram Tavern 75-90% Santa Fe CA
Before the smoking ban, we would take in about nine-hundred dollars on Wednesday nights. The week following the start of the smoking ban we barely made three-hundred dollars. The next week we only made seventy-five dollars, and we made even less in the weeks following,"
The Lika Club Tavern 60% Bell CA
The Old Dog House Tavern Closed 100% 100% Soulsbyville CA
Bart's Bar/Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Louisville CO
Bart's had been in operation for nearly 30 years.
Red Garter Lounge Tavern 45% Greeley CO
Roasty's Steakhouse Restaraunt 60% Greeley CO
Union Colony Brewery Brew Pub Closed 100% 100% Greeley CO
Bear and Grill Bar/Restaurant 30-40% Fairfield CT
"I used to close down at 1 a.m. Now I close down at 9:30. The next three hours are dead."
Brown Derby Tavern 50% Montville CT
La Primavera Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Meriden CT
When the statewide smoking ban snuffed out cigarettes in his bar area last October, 80 percent of his business went up in smoke. The restaurant was one of the few family restaurants remaining in the city.
Pinstripes Sports Bar Closed 100% 100% Norwich CT
Pinstripes Sports Cafe Sports Bar Closed 100% 100% Norwich CT
Rack N' Roll Pool Hall 30% Stamford CT
Tracie's Pub Tavern 40% Bristol CT
My business has dropped about 30 to 40 percent since the smoking ban. I've spoken with a lot of bar owners in town and they all have the same problem.
Back Stage Cafe Bar/Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 20 Wilmington DE
Coach House Bar/Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 8 Wilmington DE
Just Mugs Saloon Tavern 33% Bear DE
Naamans Cafe Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 8 Wilmington DE
Bogey's Restaurant/Sports Pub >20% Venice FL
Cherry Pocket Restraunt 30% 30% Lake Wales FL
Small business work so hard for their business, it is hard to believe the Goverment can just take it away without any thought at all.
Collier Lee Vending Vending Machines 40% N/A Cape Coral FL
We have over 60 customer accounts in 4 counties all of which have shown losses of 25% to 60% since the start of the ban.
Double Nichol Pub Tavern 10% 10% 3 St.James City FL
Elks Private Club 50% (Bingo Ft. Pierce FL
"Our Charity money is down 50% or more over this time last year. We are going to be able to spend only about $5,000.00 this year on our Christmas programs vs. $12,000.00 plus last year. The Christmas programs include Salvation Army, Waterfront Mission, Sharing and Caring (food bank) and then we take needy families shopping for food, clothes and a few toys for the kids. We did about 17 families
Elks #1795 (Private Club) Lodge Private Club 40% 22% Fort Walton FL
"Charity money is down 45%. Our Charities are Kids of Florida and the Veterans. That is who is really getting hurt the most by this!"
Elks #2256 (Private Club) Lodge Private Club 20% 30% Pensacola Beach FL
"We've lost 70 members because of the ban"
Elks #2273 (Private Club) Lodge Private Club 60% 60% 1 Plantation FL
Grandma's Kitchen Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 5 Thonotosas FL
Gulf Harbor Yacht Club Private Club 68% New Port Richey FL
Jerseys Sports Cafe Sports Bar 25% 20% 4 North Fort FL
Whatever happened to the individuals freedom to choose where you go and what you do in public?
Melons Bar & Grill Bar/Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 4 Port Charlotte FL
Before closing they experienced a 50% loss in sales and a 60% loss in tips becuase of the smoking ban.
Miller's Ale House (35 Locations) Jupiter (and FL
After the law took effect July 1, 2003, the Ale House chain experienced the first decline in business in its 15-year history, said Dave Reid, vice president for operations. ...For the first five months of 2004 alcoholic beverages sales were down $2 million compared with January through May of 2003"
The Falls Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Naples FL
"We lost 70 percent of our income," Renzello said. "The law put us out of business." 90 percent of her customers were smokers.
Toucans Bar & Grill 30-40% 50% 3 Tampa FL
Zook's West Palm Beach FL
"It has almost put me out of business. We are down about 45 percent for each month," Zook said. "Our food sales were 48 percent of our business. Now they are down to 10 percent. A lot of people who had drinks with lunch or dinner are not coming in now. They can't eat here."
Village Inn Sports Bar 37% 6 Skokie IL
Friends and Company Bar/Restaraunt 30% Lexington KY
The restaurant has experienced the lowest revenue in the last 19 months.
Jackpot Bingo 50% Tatets Creek KY
The Tates Creek High School Marching Band stands to lose about $80,000 this year in bingo money.
Lynagh's Pub Bar/Restruant 40% Lexington KY
"Smokers still come, but not as often and they don't stay as long. "
Maxwell's Tavern Closed 100% 100% Lexington KY
Maxwells had been open for 14 years.
Nicholson's Cigar Bar Cigar Bar 100% 100% Lexington KY
Owners of Nicholson's Cigar Bar say it didn't make sense to operate a smoke-less cigar bar
Aloha Tavern Closed 100% 100% Hingham MA
Blarney Stone Tavern 25% Springfield MA
Blue Room Cafe Tavern 25% Chicopee Falls MA
The business has been open since 1936
City Line Cafe Tavern 50% Springfield MA
"People are complaining about it. They're saying 'Why go out for a drink when I can buy a six-pack and sit at home?' It's really hurting us."
Gold Mine Restaraunt Bar/Restaraunt 50% 50% 2 Fall River MA
"There should be places for both the smoker and nonsmoker. I do not smoke but you are killing our business!!! "
J.C. Grear's Restaurant Closed 100% 100% South Weymouth MA
Marlboro Cozy Cafe 60% 2 Marlboro MA
We had 5 employees, now have 3 and that includes me. If this is result of one month of the ban after 35yrs in business I may have to close my doors.
Anchor Inn restaurant Closed 100% 100% Gaithersburg MD
Since the ban was implemented October 2003 Anchor Inn suffered a 40 percent loss in Keno, beer, wine, liquor and food sales.
Buffalo Billiards Pool Hall 50% Gaithersburg MD
Buffalo Wings and Beer Bar/Restaurant 50% Gaithersburg MD
Corner Pub Tavern 40% Silver Spring MD
Dietle's Tavern Tavern Closed 100% Silver Spring MD
Gentleman Jim's Restaurant 40% Gaithersburg MD
Grand Marquis Caf‚ 30% Olney MD
J.J. Muldoon's Bar/Restaurant 20% Gaithersburg MD
Mark Timmons Tavern 20% Rockville MD
Middlebrook Restaurant and Lounge Bar/Restaurant 50% Germantown MD
"I'm so bitter today because I have worked too hard to keep this business going. It's just not fair."
Mrs. O'Leary's Restaurant and Pub 50% Gaithersburg MD
Normandie Farm's Bar/Restruant 50% 2 Tysons Corner MD
Pelican Pete's Restaurant 60% Germantown MD
Potomac Valley Lodge Lodge 17% 75% 4 Poolesville MD
"I think in the future we'll have to close in the winter. We'll lay everyone off, let them collect unemployment for a few months and bring them back. They'd make more on unemployment."
Quarry House Tavern 70% Silver Spring MD
New customers who come to the bar because it's smoke-free don't bring in the revenue that smokers did, she said. "They have one beer, a glass of water and something to eat," she said, whereas smokers tend to stay longer and eat and drink more alcohol.
Silver Fountain Restaurant Restaurant 33% Rockville MD
Stained Glass Pub Tavern 30% Olney MD
Uncle Jed's Roadhouse Tavern 50% 70% 2 Bethesda MD
...Smaller establishments have seen total sales decline by an average of 30 percent during the week and 50 percent on weekends, according to Melvin Thompson, vice president of the Restaurant Association of Maryland
Black Duck Lounge Tavern 70% Houlton ME
"I've never seen it like this before. It's like all the customers just disappeared."
Nutshell Tavern Tavern Closed 100% 100% Biddeford ME
Village Variety Closed 100% Fryeburg ME
Grandma's Restaraunt 33% Cloquet MN
Perkins Restaraunt 26% Duluth MN
Aessa Bar/Restaurant 35% 6 New York NY
Airport Inn Tavern 40% Binghamton NY
Evans says business has dropped at least 40-percent in the last year. Her liquor license expires next April, and she says, she doesn't plan on renewing it. The Airport Inn was a successful business for 18 years.
American Legion Private Club 60% 50% Elmira Heights NY
American Legion Post 1041 Bingo Hall 68% Buffalo NY
Amherst Bowling Center Bowling Alley Closed 100% Buffalo NY
Argyle's EasyStreet Tavern Tavern 12% Cortland NY
Athens Cafe Restaurant 55% 10 Astoria NY
B&G Bar and Grill Bar/Restaurant 30% Buffalo NY
Barker Brew Pub Bre Pub Closed 100% 100% Fredonia NY
Closed after 10 yrs. in business
Barrie's Tavern Tavern 40% Syracuse NY
Bec's Ivy Grill Bar & Grill 23% 3 Oneida NY
Blarney Stone Bar/Restaurant 15% 1 New York NY
Blessed Sacrament Church Bingo Hall 50% Albany NY
Blinkey's Tavern Closed 100% 100% Delhi NY
Blondie's Tavern Tavern 25% Elmira Heights NY
Bowl-O-Drome Bowling Alley 14% 2 Ithica NY
TThe business lost almost $30,000 and 110 bowlers during the 32-week league season... In the bowling alley's busiest months between January and May, Parkin saw a 14 percent decrease in activity comparing the same period in 2004 to 2003.
Brazen Head Pub Tavern 40% Monroe NY
Brown Shanty Tavern 20% 1 Watertown NY
Buoy's Dockside Tavern Tavern 36.5% Oswego NY
Cabaret Tavern 40% 1 Buffalo NY
Caffe on the Green Bar/Restaraunt 35% New York NY
Bar business fell about 35 percent immediately after the ban. It has picked up since he added a "butt hut," an outdoor tent where patrons may smoke, but it's still less than before the ban.
Canandaigua Billiards Pool Hall 40% Canandaigua NY
Caseys Pub Tavern 35% 1 Sunnyside NY
Castle Heights Tavern Closed 100% 100% New York NY
Celtic Cultural Organization Bingo Hall 30-35% Troy NY
"From July 25 through Nov. 1, we are down about $12,000 from the same period last year."
Central Hotel Bar/Restaurant 50% Port Leyden NY
Champions Billiards Cafe Brew Pub/Pool Hall 33% Parkville NY
Chances Tavern Closed 100% 100% Falconer NY
Chili American Legion Post 1830 Private Club 70% Scottsville NY
Christanis Bar and Grill Tavern 40% Rochester NY
Clifford's Tavern Bar/Restaurant 40% Cold Brook NY
Coin Operated Amusements Vending Machines 20-50% Jamestown NY
Revenue from vending machines and games cut in half in many places.
Coldspring Volunteer Fire Dept. Tavern 50% 75% 1 Steamburg NY
The fire department owns the bar. Money from the bar buys equipment for the fire department. The income has been cut in half. This money buys new ambulances, trucks, gear ect. Remember, this all volunteer. Without the bar money we are going to have to rely on the town for revenue. You may lose your house or even someone's life without the money for the equipment.
Coleman's Irish Pub Bar/Restaurant 19% 4 Syracuse NY
Cook Bar & Grill Bar/Restaurant 40% 2 Buffalo NY
Cork and Bottle Tavern Closed 100% 100% Potville NY
Located near the PA border, this was literally a Mom and Pop business, run by a couple with no employees to "protect."
Crossroads Steak House Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Kennedy NY
D&S Diner Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Savannah NY
Sales were down $3,000 in July 2002 compared to July 2001. Hardest hit were on Friday nights and Sunday mornings.
Dadio's Central Tavern 30% Corfu NY
Damon's Party House Tavern 40% Cicero NY
Delmar Sportsman's Tavern Tavern 30% 1 Massena NY
"We had hoped...nonsmokers who haven't been frequenting taverns due to the smoke-filled air would make up for at least some of the financial loss. Unfortunately, at least in our place, this has most definitely not happened. Our sales are at an all time low"
Desperado's Tavern 90% Wallkill NY
"I can count on my fingers the people who don't smoke who come in here. The regulars say they won't come."
Doc's little Gem Diner 27% Syracuse NY
"We fought tooth and nail and won a local County victory, only for the state to turn it over to a complete ban."
Dodesters Tavern 20% Syracuse NY
"My business is down 20% from the same period last year, even though I'm now open three more hours a day and I didn't have a kitchen then."
Eagle Beverage Company Distributor 25% N/A Oswego NY
"Deliveries to pubs and taverns have decreased substantially, greater than 25 percent."
Edigan's Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Binghamton NY
Elbo Room Tavern Closed 100% 100% New York NY
Elks Lodge (Private Club) Private Club Closed 100% Jamestown NY
Bingo, which funded their charitable work, is now completely shut down.
End Zone Bar/Restaurant 30% 1 Liverpool NY
Euzkadi Restaurant 50% New York NY
Fiddler's Green Tavern Closed 100% 100% New York NY
We have just lost too many customers to this law, which I did not vote for, bar owners did not vote for, bartenders did not vote for, and the public did not vote for."
Fieldstone Recreation Billiard/Bar/Snacks 40% 1 Bronx NY
Finish Line Bar/Restaurant 40% 2 Bellerose NY
Five Corners Bar/Restaurant 32 oneida NY
After 20 years of hard work this is what NY state does to us. Where are all these nonsmokers?
Fountain Bowl Bowling Alley 40% N/A 8 Jamestown NY
Freddies Bar/Restaurant 50% 3 Buffalo NY
Friar Tuck's Restaurant 50% Cotati NY
"Just as my establishment was beginning to flourish, I'm hit with this smoking ban which has killed my daytime business. People who used to stay for a couple of hours now only stay for one quick drink and leave."
Fulton Ale House Tavern 25% Fulton NY
George & Shirl's Tiny Tavern Tavern 41% Southport NY
In October 2002, the bar made $6,000. This past October, after the ban went into effect, they made just $3,500,
Golden Rail Ale House Tavern 25% Newburgh NY
Hancock's Hudson Tavern Bar/Restaurant 15% Rochester NY
Harry's Hanover Square Bar/Restaraunt Closed 100% 100 New York NY
"Overnight, we lost 60 percent of our evening bar trade. For the bar, it was the difference in profit and loss. Sales of expensive cigars had been almost as important as the sales of Scotch" Harry's had been in business for more than thirty years
Harter's Bar/Restaurant 40% Camden NY
Holmes & Watson's Tavern 30% Troy NY
Hotel McDonald Hotel 70% Bath NY
Ireland's 32 Tavern 50% Suffern NY
Jean's Bar & Grill Tavern 26% Wilson NY
Just One More Tavern 30% Bath NY
KayCey's Tavern 45% Hyde Park NY
Kim's Trackside Tavern Tavern 25% 25% Auburn NY
Our local cayuga county health dept. continues to refuse to issue smoking waivers to businesses who have suffered a financial hardship.
Knights of Columbus Bingo Hall 80% Malone NY
La Bataclana Tavern Closed 100% 100% Jackson Heights NY
Lakeview Hotel/Blues Rock Cafe Tavern 50% 50% mayville NY
On the first day of the ban, my tips and number of customers dropped 50%, and never came back up.
Le Bar Bat Tavern Closed 100% 100% New York NY
Liberty Lanes Bowling 27% Camden NY
Madame X Tavern 50% New York NY
Mama Lena's Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Binghamton NY
Mama Lena's had been in business for more than 40 years.
Manhattan Beer Distributors Vendor 19% New York NY
Stagnant sales have led to a 7% drop in beer demand citywide, and a 19% drop citywide to clubs.
Maple Tree Inn Tavern Closed 100% 100% 3 Portville NY
Mel's Place Tavern 78% 100% Falconer NY
After proving they had lost significant business, Mel's place was granted of the NY's few wavers. Their business immediately returned to the pre ban level, but the owners are worried about what will happen when the waver runs out in a year.
Metropolitan Restaurant Bar/Restaurant 25% 2 Cheektowaga NY
Middleport Inn Bar/Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 13 Middleport NY
"This damn state really knows how to kill people's dreams."
Millennium Restaurant 40% 3 New York NY
Mills Race Restaurant Bar/Restaurant 40% 2.5 Mt. Morrison NY
Nibsy's Pub Bar/Restaurant 18% Syracuse NY
Nocturne Nightclub Closed 100% 100% 70 New York NY
O'Neill's Tavern 20% 3 New York NY
"People who don't go to pubs just don't go to pubs. They said the ban would be good for business and for employees, yet my business is down and three good staff are out of work and unable to find another job...Most of my staff are smokers, and now they're being protected from second-hand smoke."
Olympian Sumont Inc Pool Hall/Bar/Rest 40% 3 Long Island NY
Open Net Lounge Tavern 11% Massena NY
O's Place Tavern Closed 100% 100% Endicott NY
Pangaea Tavern Closed 100% 100% New York NY
Panorama Sports Bar/Night Club 50% 50% 4 Rochester NY
We are a small night club that was doing very well until the smoking ban hit us and it hit us very hard. We are very scared of our future, if any .
Partner's Pub Bar/Restaurant 20% 1 Johnstown NY
Patsy's Lounge Tavern 46.4% 50% 2 Jamestown NY
"I have let 2 employees go and the other 3 have had their hours cut in half."
Peter K's Bar/Restaurant 35% 2 Cheektowaga NY
Pocketeer Billiards Pool Hall 60-70% Buffalo NY
"The President says small business is the backbone of our country, NYS says screw small business just give us your money and your blood! All of it!!!!!!
Pocketeer Billiards South Pool Hall Closed 100% Springville NY
From the Owner: "Pocketeer Billiards South is now officially closed due to the Hitler like laws the NYS. Politicians have enacted! NY continues in its efforts to drive business out to other states. I like many others have now chosen to leave after living here 58 years."
Rafferty's Bar/Restaurant 35% 2 Syracuse NY
Richard's Ole Timer Bar/Restaurant 17% 1 Clay NY
Riverside Lanes Bowling 20% 2 Marcy NY
Roesch's Tavern Closed 100% 100% New York NY
Lauterborn, 60, said his bar, Roesch's in Queens, saw 40 customers nightly before the ban but only about five after it. He closed in September and says his children are supporting him while he looks for work. His tavern had been a 100 year old family owned business.
Rough Kutts Tavern Tavern 21% 1 South Dayton, NY
Roy D Graves VFW Post 1194 Tavern 22% Potsdam NY
Salingers Tavern 35% 2 Rochester NY
Sammy G's Bar/Restaurant 50% Rome NY
Seven's Bar Tavern 30% Malone NY
Shamrock Tavern Tavern 50% Oswego NY
"It's not right. Our livelihood is being taken away."
Sharkey's Sports Bar and Grill Sports Bar 60% Staten Island NY
Shorty's Sports Bar & Grill Bar/Restaurant 30% Utica, NY
Silo's Bar & Grill 35% Chestnut Ridge NY
Slade Restaurant 40% New York NY
Slick Willie's Pool Hall 25% Tonawanda NY
Southgate Lanes Bowling Alley/Bar 55% 7 West Seneca NY
Stumble Inn Tavern Closed 100% 100% Champlain NY
Sugoba Bistro Bistro Closed 100% 100% 28 New York NY
After 8 years of success in NYC, the NY smoking ban killed my Bistro in less than a year! In less than 3 month my business declined 37%. Within six months I was unable to meet payroll and I had to lay off 28 employees.
Susie's Corner Bar/Restaurant 23% 1 Buffalo NY
Swan's Tavern Closed 100% 100% 7 New York NY
"I felt bad laying off seven workers. Most of them had been with me for the five years Swan's was open. None of them had ever complained about secondhand smoke. "
Swift's Tavern 40% New York NY
"It's absolutely killed us. This time last year the bar would be packed with the after-work cocktail crowd. Now they just take a bottle of wine or a six-pack to each other's apartments, where they can smoke."
Syracuse Brigadiers Bingo Hall 61% Syracuse NY
"The hall was losing about $60,000 per month in net income for the past three months because of the smoking ban."
Taylor's Trackside Bar/Restaurant 50% Remsen NY
Temple Israel Bingo Hall 50% Albany NY
According to Herb Holland, some of the regulars told volunteers that they would abstain from playing bingo, to protest the smoking ban. He hasn't seen them since.
The Alps Restruant Closed 100% 100% Wheatfield NY
The Cam-Nel Tavern Closed 100% 100% Mattydale NY
The Cam-Nel had been in operation since 1952
The Dog House Bar/Restaurant 28% Utica NY
The Lodge at the Lake Inc Bar/Restaurant 50% 1 Broadalbin NY
The Loft Tavern 30% Frewsburg NY
"Our town has no attractions to draw in outsiders. We have only locals to rely on as patrons and 95% of them smoke. It will be worse when the snow sets in."
The Loop Lounge Bar and restaurant 30% Rochester NY
I own a small local tavern and I have a 90% smoking cliental. Let me say it just sucks.
The Meeting Place Restruant/Tavern Closed 100% 100% Wheatfield NY
The Press Box Tavern Closed 100% 100% Niagara Falls NY
The Press Box had been open for 45 years.
The Roadhouse Tavern 40% Brewster NY
The Royal Pheasant Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 20 Buffalo NY
The smoking ban caused an instant 80 percent decrease in revenue. The Royal Phesant had been a family business for 58 years.
The Web Tavern Closed 100% 100% Ogdensburg NY
Owners Janet and Anthony Doerr say the smoking ban destroyed their business.
The Wonderbar Tavern 50% Goshen NY
Thompson Road Tavern Bar/Restaurant 25% Syracuse NY
Tommys Park Place Tavern 40% Syracuse NY
Unique Lounge Bar/Restaurant 40% 4 Sloan NY
Varick Restaurant Inc Bar/Restaurant 35% Utica NY
VFW Post 6533 Private Club 20% 25% East Randolph NY
Village Tavern Bar/Restaurant 10% Marcellus NY
Village Tavern 50% Wellsburg NY
Viva Debris Comedy & Magic Club 30 30% Syracuse NY
Voelker Bowling Center Bowling Alley 30-40% Buffalo NY
The smoking ban hit us like an anvil, curtailing bowling activity by 30 to 40 percent and the bar business by 20 to 30 percent.
Walmore Inn Restruant/Tavern Closed 100% 100% Sanborn NY
Whiskey Ward Tavern 20% 2 New York NY
Whispers Cocktail Lounge Bar/Night Club 50% 90% Middletown NY
Windsor Ale House Tavern Closed 100% 100% Jamestown NY
Woody's Pub Bar/Restaurant 25% 3 Lockawanna, NY
Ye Olde Anchor Inn Bar/Restaurant 18% 22% Lakewood NY
Adam's Place Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Bait Shop Bar & Grill Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Blue Jeans Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Consaul Tavern Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Consaul Tavern had been in business over 53 years.
East Broadway Nightclub Nightclub 50% Toledo OH
"From the get-go I've lost business. I've lost 50 percent -- everybody's losing money."
East Broadway Nite Club Night Club Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Elbo Room Pizza Parlor/Tavern 25% 2 Toledo OH
End Zone Electronics Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Fat Tuesdays Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Jordan's Place Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Kacy's Sports Bar 50% Worthington OH
"Kacy's Sports Bar and Grill has room for 300 customers, but now, it's virtually empty."
Laskey Lounge Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Prime Time South Night Club Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Rack Time Billiards Pool Hall Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Ragtime Ricks Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Rooster Inn Brew Pub Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Shamrocks Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
The "In" Zone Tavern Closed 100% 100% Toledo OH
Bliss' Steak Ranch Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Eugene OR
Closed after 32 years in business
Doc's Pad Tavern Closed 100% 100% 24 Eugene OR
"Let's face it, the economy is horrible. But for us specifically, the smoking ban was the knockout punch." The Olsen family had owned Doc's for 16 years.
Max's Tavern Tavern Closed 100% 100% Eugene OR
The Peacock Bar/Restaraunt 40% Corvallis OR
Connor owned the Peacock for years - and says it was the ban that caused him to sell the bar. He says business gross fell from $1.5 million in 1997, the year before the ban went into effect, to $900,000 last year.
The Peacock (New Owner) Bar/Restaraunt 50% 36 Corvallis OR
China One Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Round Rock TX
Good Time Charlie's Restaurant 30% San Antonio TX
Matt's No Place Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Dallas TX
Business simply dried up, restaurateur Matt Martinez said, after the City Council enacted a smoking ban in restaurants and other public places. "I just got fed up," said Martinez, "You work to get a clientele and build your business, and then the city comes and takes it from you."
Alexander Mackenzie Inn Hotel 92% 16 Fort St. John CANADA
"Since we were `beaten' into compliance by the WCB, our business has dropped in the lounge from $1,000 a day to $80. "
Bacchus Nightclub Closed 100% 100% Vancover CANADA
In its first two years, it regularly would close to its 275-person indoors capacity, Sorochan {the owner} says. As business dwindled, you'd be lucky to find 60 patrons on hand.
Beacon Hill Arms Tavern Closed 100% 100% Ottawa CANADA
Dave O'Connor, who successfully ran Ottawa's Beacon Hill Arms pub for nine years, said the ban forced him out of business. "From September to February, we lost close to $80,000 in sales"
Bovine Sex Club Tavern 50% Toronto CANADA
Branigan's Tavern Closed 100% 100% 50 Polo Park CANADA
Bud's Place Tavern 23% 5 Cambridge CANADA
Cellarman's Alehouse Tavern 35% Midland CANADA
Friday nights used to generate $2,400-$3,100 before the smoking ban. Since the ban those numbers dropped to $900-$1,400.
Cobalt Tavern 50% Tornoto CANADA
"You build this business, and you're proud of it, and all of a sudden the city makes this blind decision...places like us get totally screwed."
Coffee Time Coffee Shop 50% 100% Barrie CANADA
Coffee Time Coffee Shop Closed 100% 100% Markham CANADA
Eightball VIP Sports Cafe Sports Bar 40% 2 Chatham CANADA
Elements Nightclub Closed 100% 100% Toronto CANADA
Elsewhere Tavern 50% Toronto CANADA
We cut staff early to save cost and boredom. The City of Toronto promised us a deluge of non-smokers who would be deliriously happy to visit us because we're non-smoking. Where are they?
Gardeli's Bar/Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Castlegar CANADA
Hemingway's Bar/Restaraunt 40% 6 Ottawa CANADA
Inuvik Curling Club Private Club 66% Inuvik CANADA
The president of Inuvik's Curling Club predicts it will lose $40,000 by the end of the year, and says the town's smoking by-law is to blame.
Larry's Pit Stop Tavern 49% 1 Kingston CANADA
MacKenzie Lounge Tavern 80% Yellowknife CANADA
Mingles Coffee Shoppe Coffee Shop Closed 100% 100% Kitchener CANADA
Before Closing, Mingles saw a 45% drop in sales.
Mr. B's Restaurant Closed 41% Tilsbury CANADA
nastys Sports Bar 37% Dunnville CANADA
Red Dog Cafe Restaurant Closed 100% 100% Acton CANADA
Rupert Pub Tavern Closed 100% 100% Prince Rupert CANADA
Sam's Hotel Tavern 60-70 Wallaceburg CANADA
"(Business is down) probably 60-70 per cent (at night) and 90 per cent in the daytime."
Sky Garden Restaurant Closed 100% 100% 6 Ottawa CANADA
"It was 100% because of the bylaw. Sales dropped 50%. Our cups of coffee were down 400 to 500 a day, our meals 20 to 30 a day."
The Coffee Bar Coffee Shop 50% Whitehourse CANADA
The Patch Tavern 70% St. Albert CANADA
The Spotted Dick Taverm 60% Toronto CANADA
Tubbys Pizza Pizza Parlor 20% 2 Crescentwood CANADA
Bewley's Oriental Cafe Tea and Coffee Shop Closed 100% 100% Dublin IRELAND
The shop, located on Westmoreland St, had been in business since 1986
Bewley's Oriental Cafe Tea and Coffee Shop Closed 100% 100% Dublin IRELAND
The Grafton Street Shop had been open since 1927.
Fibber Magees Closed 100% 100% Eyre Square IRELAND
``We're damned if we do and damned if we don't,'' Lawless said {Defying the law}. ``We're either going to go out of business or be put out of business.'' Before closing the bar suffered loses of 66%
MacTurcails 20% Dublin IRELAND
If your business has been harmed by a smoking ban, or if you know of one that has been, please let us know. If possible, have the owner contact us. Newspaper articles are also welcome. Please include the URL. .
Click here to contact The Facts, and here to send information to Samantha Philips, who maintains the most current version of this list.
Last Update: Sunday, October 31, 2004
© 2000 - 2004 Dave Hitt
wow with all those facts, its hard to say that this smoking ban is good for the U.S.
The one malignant cancer erroding America is the blind ambition of Pharmiceutical Companies and Organizations Like the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation funding social restructuring of American Society at the expense of Millions of Americans Autonomy.This Country should be outraged that this organization funded experimental research on our military men an women with a dangerous drug that they knew was responsible for over 500 deaths and refused to divulge this information. The FDA. has since ordered the drug CHANTIX off the market.Even more appaling is the number of Americans willing to give up their freedom because they lack the capacity to make an adult choice. Please America, be advised the key word in Taliban is (BAN).You can not have freedom with out choice.That does not mean letting others choose for you. Grow a pair Iowa.
To Oh Yay. The name's Don not Dan, guess the smoke was in yer eyes while ya typed.
Let me be a bit more specific on my question. Name one business that has had to close due to the ban, that wouldn't have closed anyway. That is the cycle of the hospitality industry. It is all very well to blame bureaucratic meddling in the affairs of businesses as the reason for the decline in a particular business and in the case of a smoking ban such interference can be the whipping boy businesses are looking for.
However, the hospitality industry is a transient industry. What's hot this week is cold the next. Cities hand out liquor licences like Santa hands out Candy so the potential customer base is spread over many more businesses. 90% of businesses fail in the first three years. That is either new businesses or new owners taking over an existing business.
I said in a previous post that I was in California when the ban was introduced there, in New Zealand (and in the industry)when it happened there and now in Australia, six months into a ban here. There are short term declines in business in most cases and they are caused in the main by the arrogant ones who just wanted to go out of their way to show businesses it will be affected, while stocking up on booze to consume in the comfort of their own dwelling. Bans or no bans, I can't recall any nation where the annual consumption of alcohol has declined. It still gets drunk, just the environment changes.
When ya get lemons, make lemonade and add a little sugar to it!!!! That's what happened in the bar/cafe I was working in when the ban was imposed in New Zealand. We ran all kinds of promotions that kept the clientele coming through the doors. The smoking ban was the least of our troubles. Rents, wage rates ($18 per hour for a bartender....no tipping here) Drink-driving blitzes (Entire routes blocked and everyone tested) and a council that dished out licences by the dozen (230 more licensed premises in our city of 300,000 in 12 months, not all new businesses but some existing business that converted from no or BYO licences to full licences). So the potential dollar was being eroded by more competition all the time.
Bars have opened, bars have closed in good times and in bad. Once great bars declined and closed long before smoking bans were imposed. Oh Yay has an impressive list but I'd be more convinced by a list that showed an increase in bars going out of business after a ban was imposed while still taking into account other economic and social factors.
The new ban in Iowa comes into affect at the same time gas is at an all time high, mortgage rate increases are on the up, eating into the recreational dollar and inflation in general is creeping ahead of wage increases and there is a general downturn in the economy.
These are factors that would in most times in history have caused mass closures of business in the hospitality industry. I fear these will be ignored as bar owners face tougher times along with the rest of industry but will use the smoking ban as the sole reason for a loss of business.
Now if all you die-hard smokers really liked your host and remembered all the good times you had in those local bars, it would be nice if you showed that same support as they go through their hard times and retain your favorite seat at the bar, order like there is no tomorrow, pop outside into the fresh air for a fix and carefully place your butt in the receptacle supplied. But more likely you are going to use the excuse that the price of gas is too high, the mortgage/rent has gone up and the wife needs breast implants as the reason you can't occupy a seat at the local as often as ya could in the good ole days.
This all comes from an individual who lost his much envied job in the tobacco industry to a ban on advertising. Who has smoked as many 60 cigarettes a day in the past, who has fought for three decades for the rights of smokers. Who still spends far too much in bars, whether I smoke or not, whether the bar is non-smoking or not.
But I know when its time to get on with life, make lemonade instead of sucking on the lemons dished out in life and just get on with it!!!! Show me one survey where 50% or more of the population want smoking in bars and maybe you'll swing me to join the fight.
Hay Don. Name one one non-smoker that has been proven to have died from SHS. The ACS can't do it. You seem to know it all so you must surely know a dozen or so. Just because you are a smoke hater doesn't mean you know squat.
The research I have been doing since 1998 has shown me the real truth of the myth being spread about Second Hand Smoke worldwide by the Pharmaceuticals. They do this to boost their profits into the Billions through the sale of pills and patches.
I found the largest studies ever done. These studies were completed by the American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, the National Oakridge Labs, one simply called The Enormous German Study and many others. These were all long term and the largest ever done to date. NONE have been larger or longer in years to complete. None have ever been more complete in their investigation of the supposed problem. The largest percentage started their studies to prove the link of SHS to cancer and or Heart Disease.
They all agreed in their findings. None found any connection of SHS to Cancer or Heart Disease. The World Health Organization even stated they also found no connection of SHS to Heart Disease. They also stated there is the possibility that SHS may have the beneficial effect of helping the immune systems of children to develop. The WHO also found that Children of smoking families are 22% less likely to contract cancer.
I also fond an almost unbelievable co-operation between Government Agencies, Studies by non-profit organizations, scientist, National Media, Doctors and almost everyone who stands to profit by spreading the misinformation provided by the Big Pharma/RWJF.
The worst of the myth spreaders are the EPA and the American Cancer Society. The EPA study was no study. They came up with 3,000 deaths a year caused by SHS by computer generated junk science and that so called study has been proved rigged and false. Even our Surgeon General is still using that figure today,, and the 3,000 figure is still the same. He couldn't even adlib. His review of studies was a farce and he is no longer the Surgeon General. He is currently working at a health spa.
The Surgeon Generals study by press conference ( his study of selected studies provided by the EPA) is the product of politically connected charlatans led by Jonathan M. Samet, who has been the ringleader of every major anti-smoking fraud since the EPA ETS report. Like ALL the anti-smokers' reports, it is founded on the deliberate and systematic use of defective studies to falsely blame passive smoking for diseases caused by INFECTION or VIRUS as stated by the ACS in 1955. It is also the most flagrantly politically corrupt: Fred Malek, who was deputy director of President Nixon's board of directors of the contracting firm which concealed the identities of the anti-smoker authors of the EPA ETS report behind illegal pass-through contracts. The EPA's own scientists would not stand behind this false study but it is being used by every Health Department here and overseas.
The American Cancer Society is the worst offender of all the NON-Profits. The last figures I have are they have over a Billion dollars in cash and they have over 23 fundraisers a year and poormouth at every one of them. Most of their money goes into six figure incomes and more misinformation. The smallest part of their funding goes to research.They even get in a huff if there is mention of a cure. Why kill the Goose.
The RWJF (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) was set up by Johnson and Johnson Pharmaceuticals to fund the smoking bans through the ACS. Johnson and Johnson is the largest seller of stop smoking products. They own over 250 drug companies with the aim of controlling the nicotine market. The ACS was about to lose its tax free status because of their political funding of smoking bans and they had to create the ACSCAN foundation as a for profit agency to provide funds for pushing the bans.
It's been a long, deliberate process that continues to become evermore sophisticated in its manipulation of the minds of the American public.
One of the principle architects in the takeover of the American mind is a man named Edward Bernays, who is considered the father of the American public relations industry. If his name doesn't ring a bell, then maybe his Uncle Sigmund Freud's will.
In 2002, the BBC broadcast a four-part documentary called "The Century of Self," covering the story of the relationship between Freud and his American nephew, as Bernays learned about the human mind and how to manipulate the masses. Bernays' goal, from the early part of the 20th Century, was to be able to teach corporations how to make people want things they didn't need through a variety of manipulative techniques appealing to people's unconscious fears and desires.
What makes this production interesting is that it covers post-war America and illustrates how politicians and policymakers learned to use Freud's ideas in their desire to control the masses as well. It shows how Sigmund Freud's daughter, Anna, and his nephew Bernays, were central players, along with the U.S. Government, corporate America, among others by controlling the masses via engineering consent.
Lasker (a student of Bernay) and his wife, Mary, longtime board members of the American Cancer Society, realized that really big money could be had for research, if only the public could be convinced that tax dollars -- if poured into research year after year -- might lead to cures for all sorts of diseases, particularly cancer.
Over the years, Lasker had developed a number of Madison Avenue propaganda techniques similar to Bernays that he applied to motivate people to generously fund the American Cancer Society (ACS). Lasker's campaign strategy detail Lasker's central role in creating the money hungry machine we call the National Institutes of Health, which began when he retired as the richest man in the history of advertising. was based on our fear of death and the hope that with enough money, we could cure cancer. He coached his friend, Elmer Bobst, president of the American branch of Hoffmann-LaRoche and later Warner-Lambert drug company, to start every fundraising speech with the following statement, "One in five of us here - every fifth person in the audience - will die of cancer." He would then turn the fear he had engendered into hope with his next line, "We want to cure cancer in your lifetime…donate generously."
If you have been mislead into believing that SHS is killing people you are just part of the millions so don't feel too bad. Our City Councils have fallen for this overload of junk science by hearing and reading the same lies everyday in our major media since Surgeon General Coop had the first cigarette labels warn about cancer.
The Fat Police are coming. Can you even guess how many Billions the Big Pharma will make on diet pills? I may be wrong on this; they may go after alcohol next.
I'm up to over 360+ studies and reports on the myth of SHS and growing. I know I can't stop this control of our lives by myself. There are too many people and too much money against me and too many people who won't believe and won't take the time to find the truth.
We don't have an immigration problem either. Do you believe that?
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts.
P.S. Since I wrote this a few years ago, the only thing I can add is.
Government at all levels has been drafted into this drug company (RWJF). This ACS fraud in being blackmailed into allocating limited tax dollars to the scheme at the expense of the very programs government is mandated to provide, education, public safety and transportation infrastructure. The states are scrambling for revenue and unwittingly funding the big drug company agenda; while the ACS has over a billion-dollar endowment fund they would rather have tax dollars for their programs. RWJF could fund the anti tobacco efforts in every state and not even make a dent in their endowment fund. that is constantly being replenished by the earnings of J & J stock. Isn't is strange they pat the states on the back for taking millions from the General Fund to pay for anti tobacco efforts that only enrich J & J.
Virgil,
You are not getting my point from my last or previous posts. I AM NOT anti-smoking, I love it, it made a very good and exciting living for me for 15 years. I know there is no proof that non-smokers have died of SHS. I don't believe much of the health hazard propaganda.
What I have said is that non-smokers wanted a bit of give and take and they didn't get it. Inconsiderate smokers have wound down the patience of people over recent times and generally, all people have become alot more intolerent of things that bug them and this led to the current situation.
No one in their right mind can convince the majority that second hand smoke smells alright. All the other excuses are smokescreens to promote their goal. Smoke stinks, it makes clothes and hair stink and is annoying while trying to enjoy a meal. In this modern age they have used whatever means possible to push their case. All's fair in love and war!!!
All I've stated is that smokers continued to give them ammunition and paid the price. THE MAJORITY HAVE SPOKEN!!! It may well be the booze next, and the lard bodies after that, don't blame politicians, they run with the foxes and hunt with the hounds and will continue to throw their support behind the ones keeping them in power.....the majority!!!
You have to change the thinking of individuals and in this era of intolerance, that is where the problems lies and why I've said, give it up, wave the white flag. Its a done deal, it will NEVER be undone. not one area that has introduced such legislation has repealed it. Thank your lucky stars you held off the inevitable for so long. Make lemonade with the lemons you've been dished up instead of sucking on them.
And support your local bar!!!! It has supported me for years, I mean if that bar hadn't supported me, Id have fallen flat on my face on many occasions!!
Without being too patronizing, you have my sympathy. I've had years of having to go out for a smoke. In California, New Zealand and Australia.
I even had to go outside of my accommodation for a dury in Iowa, in all four seasons. It's an inconvience but it really aint that bad and if it keeps those grumpy non and anti-smokers happy then that at least is a plus.
What I'd like to see is a law with huge fines for those digusting people who think flatulence is OK in confined spaces. Now at least that problem is halved as smokers can let one go while out in the fresh air!!!
Joe Thiel, owner of Otto's Corner Bar and Grill, lost his health insurance, his house, and finally his bar due to the Columbia smoking ban. Joel claims 16 Columbia businesses have so far gone under due to the smoking ban.
http://www.showmenews.com/2007/Dec/20071...
An economic study of the Columbia smoking ban by Federal Reserve economist Dr. Michael Pakko backs up Joel's claim. Pakko found the Columbia bar business down 11 percent due to the smoking ban. Restaurants that serve alcohol are down 6.5 percent. Though many Columbia businesses were already smoke-free before the smoking ban was imposed, Dr. Pakko shows that the smoking ban caused a 3.5 to 4.0 percent drop in the Columbia bar and restaurant business overall.
http://research.stlouisfed.org/regecon/o...
http://research.stlouisfed.org/econ/pakk...
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2008/Mar/...
Don, what do you think of air filtration machines that take tobacco smoke out of bar air?
http://www.air-quality-eng.com/tobacco.p...
Why can't we apply the exact same ventilation solution that ASHRAE accepts for enclosed parking garages to bars that allow smoking? I would really like an answer to this.
http://www.garasjeventilasjon.no/lager/V...
Bill,
Smoke filtration systems don't stop the ass next to you blowing it in your face. and that has been what's got up the noses of the anti-brigade. By the way, if you saw the state of the filters at the Ickey Nickel down the road from Le Mars (as I saw on many occasions, you might find yourself on the opposite side of this argment!!!!).
You appear to have spent alot of time arguing but at the end of the day the damage has been done, minds have been made up and you are on the loosing end. As sad and unfair as it may sound, again I say, the majority have spoken.
I'm sure Dr. Pakko is more versed in surveys than I but you omit to say over what period the survey covers and what other influences were taken into account. remember, I spent 15 years in the tobacco industry. I was the PR spokesman for the company. I know how statistics are bent to suit the argument, from both sides!!!! Partial quotes from reports don't do much for me, from either side. I've been around long enough to form my own opinions and I don't need biased surveys from interest groups to sway me.
I repeat. I don't like political interference, I love smoking. Smokers in the main are inconsiderate (due to the addictive nature of the product and that I can attest to!!!!) and that inconsideration has resulted in the current plight. The law WILL NOT be repealed. Make the most of the situation and support your local bar.
Don't dwell on what can't be changed. It isn't healthy for you.
Would you like some cheese with your whine?? My goodness!
Don Roberts wrote, "Show me one survey where 50% or more of the population want smoking in bars and maybe you'll swing me to join the fight."
Don, wouldn't the more relevant question be to show you a survey where 50% or more of the people the ban was supposed to protect (the bar/restaurant staff) wanted smoking in their workplace? Unfortunately you'll never find such a survey anywhere. Why? Because the antismoking lobbyists have consistently refused to fund such a survey despite being asked multiple times over the years. Why have they refused? Simple: they KNOW that the staff of bars and restaurants would overwhelmingly reject a ban.
The way you simply pass off OhYeah's listing of not just one, not just a couple of dozen, but HUNDREDS of bars and restaurants that have been severely hurt by bans says a lot. The fact that you try to chalk it up to "other things" being behind the closures DESPITE the fact that many of the listings include statements from long time successful owners themselves that the ban was to blame also says a lot.
Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"
www.TheTruthIsALie.com
Now Michael, you are grasping at the same straws the antis have been for years. Move the goal posts one way to change the slant, move them back the other way for the next question once a question has been asked. Manipulating surveys has been done for years.
But to show I'm up to a bit of give and take, lets ask that question. Lets ask each employee; "Do you want smoking in your workplace and are you willing to be liable for any financial costs faced in the workplace resulting from legal action by a client, the City, State or any other organisation that may sue the establishment. In addition, are you willing to absolve all interested parties from any personal claims you may have in the future relating to workplace health issues". There you go Michael, a fair question, relating to those it affects and includes them in any legal action as they are the ones that supposedly want it. Have it, but on the same terms as the business owner, City and State.
If these laws are not put in place, have you any idea what business insurance premiums are going to be like in a few years time. It wont be loss of trade closing bars, it will be the overheads. So the only relevent survey is the one to the mass population. Do you want smoking in bars, yes or no.
You cannot seem to grasp that it is no longer a health issue, it is a social issue. People DO NOT like inconsiderate people blowing foul smelling smoke in their faces!!!! I've said on many occasions, the health issues are a smoke screen but if you shout from a high enough point long enough, people start to believe and so far the medical, insurance and human resources industries have been convinced.
It is absolutely ludicrious to suggest that a survey directed at those directly affected may hold any water. Does a turkey vote for an early Thanksgiving? We are talking the USA here, the land of the Suing Lawyer!!!! There are OSH issues now and down the track the very people you want surveyed could turn around and sue their employer, the city, the State etc., etc.. They may never win, they may never beat the Tobacco companies and they may never sway a jury with the medical evidence. Then again, they may just win. Either way it will cost, it will cost big and that is why many are happy for it to be in place. It's one less problem down the track.
And Michael, I provided examples of other circumstances that could have led to the closures of bars, I have repeatedly agreed that there will be a down turn. By die-hard, pigheaded smokers who want a downturn cos it may cause the State to reconsider.....yeah right!!! Just do what I've done, keep supporting your bar owner and go outside for a smoke!!!!
What I did say about closures was show me if there ha been an increase in closures of businesses above the usual trend after a ban has been enforced. No one has come up with that statistic, I wonder why?
Now if you don't mind, I think I've exhausted this subject. I am against government intervention, I love smoking,I have defended the actions of smokers for a long time and can see why and how the antis have won. My message is, get on with it, it is dangerous for the soul to dwell on things. It won't ever be like the good old days again!!
I will not be swayed, you will not be swayed. Lets just go out and smell the roses (while we still have a sense of smell!!!).
While air filtration machines aren't a perfect solution, at least they can substantially protect bartenders all the time. As Ohio has found out, a ban only protects workers if it is kept:
http://www.smokechoke.com/
Don, our arguments are getting a bit too involved for this medium, so I'm going to try to hit the high points briefly: forgive me if I miss anything, OK? :)
1) I wasn't moving the goal posts, I was proposing an alternate survey method that I felt was equally or more valid and would give different results. Try your well-phrased survey question but with regards to alcohol in a restaurant setting and you'd see workers rejecting alcohol service.
2) I believe the "higher future costs" from lawsuits is simply a chimera created by the antismoking lobbyists in order to put fear into owners and into restaurant associations. I'd konwn this for a long time but didn't have hard evidence to back it up until the British Tobacco Control folks were bragging about their success recently and said "Extra pressure was put on employers in the hospitality trade to go smokefree by threatening them with the possibility of employee legal action under existing health and safety law. ... these initiatives had a significant impact on the hospitality trade which was their desired aim." The antismoking groups are now pursuing the same terror tactic with landlords to push for bans in private apartments.
3) If the issue is purely a social issue as you say it is now, then there's clearly no need for a law: if people want smoke-free bars and restaurants they won't go to smokey ones and the smokey ones will change or close.
As far as "die-hard pigheaded smokers" boycotting bars as part of a social movement to overturn the laws.... sheeesh... I *wish* ! Believe me, smokers are no more "socially conscious political activists" than anyone else... sadly they seem to be even less.
4) and finally, I do want to quote and directly answer one thing since you seem to feel it's been ignored: "What I did say about closures was show me if there ha been an increasein closures of businesses above the usual trend after a ban has beenenforced. No one has come up with that statistic, I wonder why?"
OK: in the two years before the ban in England pubs were closing at an average rate of 3 per week. In the year since the ban that rate has gone up to 27 per week. That's a 900% increase. Can I prove that it's because of the ban? No. Can I prove that the Irish Vintners' Association's claims that 1400 Irish pubs have cloesd due to their ban is accurate? No. Can I prove that all the hundreds of owners who've blamed their business losses and closures on bans truly understand their own businesses? No.
But I can see what's there.
Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"
www.TheTruthIsALie.com