State smoking ban begins Monday

Thank God it is good to see this start.
It will be good for all of us. Smokers, and non Smokers, in more ways then one.
We will all be better off and I do not think the smokers will be hurt that much.

well i stopped smoking and i feel alot better. and well im waitin for the beer to go up as well its just not the cigarettes that kill alcohol does 2 but hey its always the smoke huh well wake up obama ban alcohol 2 i wanna see people really go nuts those alchol lovers out there im sure will go nuts or just ban smokin all the way 2 i dont care.

Yes a dream come true ! I have been waiting for this my whole life. Now I can hit any bar or restaurant & not have to shower & change clothes after. This will only help business not hurt it. Job well done by Husker House they planned ahead the rest of these places its there own fault they had plenty of notice. See you at the watering hole.

Smoking is one of the nastiest things one can do. I'm glad I won't have to put up with the nasty smell any longer. THANK YOU!

Yeah like they are really going to ban alcohol! Get your mind outta the guttter.

I think that they should outlaw all booze in public places too. When you consider the second hand affects of a drunk driver, the associated medical costs, unplanned pregnancies, STD's, etc..., it is just as dangerous as smoking.

Oh, but wait, that's different. A smoker killing someone with second hand smoke is so much worse than a drunk driver killing someone, or "just" injuring them with their car. Just keep convincing yourselves, and as long as a majority agrees, that type of murder will become acceptable. An unhealthy drunk is just morally wrong.

Having mild COPD caused by a smoking mother and former husband and from having had to work and seeking entertainment in places were smoke was a given. I am so pleased to live to see smokers told to go some were else to smoke. For years I have been unable to go any where that smoke was present. I feel that we should do all possible to end smoking, it is proven to be bad for health of the smoker and the person who has to get it 2nd hand. How many indoor and out door fires have been caused by smokers. How many carpets, and furniture items damage by smokers.
Smoking is costly out of pocket and for the damage it causes. Down with it forever. Nothing good comes from smoking.

Word to the wise, something to look forward to:

All non-smokers think that smoking should be outlawed completely and that no one should smoke.

Say that did happen, then you'd all be bitching because taxes on everything else would go up because you wouldn't have smokers who were willing to pay three bucks in just taxes per pack.

Whether you realize it or not, you non smokers love and need us smokers slowly killing ourselves.

To "Nesbit"
No one is saying you can't kill yourself - just don't bother us non-smokers when you do!
Thanks

I quit smoking several years ago and it doesn't bother me when someone's smoking - I could care less.

What does bother me is that the government is telling me what I cannot allow in my own place of business. If I own it, it should be my decision, not someone else's.

I have heard only good things about smoke free places. When this happened in Lincoln, they all fretted saying we will have to close, but instead the families went out due to no more smoke. I think we are all fretting about something that is not worth worrying about. As for the alcohol, I tend to agree with less, since I am living with a recovered alcoholic, and when the temptation is there it is difficult. I am a nonsmoker and nondrinker but enjoy going out where I can leave without smelling like smoke or alcohol.

Private property rights? What the heck is that?

To quitter, that is a poor argument at best. Every business has a long list of health and safety regulations they must comply with before they can open their doors and to keep them open. Adding one more health requirement is hardly the government being intrusive.

I am so glad they finally did this now i can go to the bars and not have to come home and change clothes just to go to bed....also its nice to know that i can go to a restaurant with my nephews and they dont have to inhale that nasty second hand smoke and slowly harm them poor children too...think about that when ur sittin here bitchin about my business my rights!!!!!!

I'm glad I don't smoke because I wouldn't be able to stop laughing long enough to have a cigarette.

TO: quitter

The government doesn't allow drug trafficking, child pornography, cannabalism, torture (well, maybe), prostitution, underage drinking, terrorism, etc. in your place of business. Are you going to argue with that too?

Overheard, "You know, lady, you don't actually smoke. The cigarette does all the smoking, you are just the sucker!"

"It is now proved beyond doubt that smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics."

One thousand Americans stop smoking every day... by dying.

Nicotine patches are great. Stick one over each eye and you can't find your cigarettes.

Teenagers think smoking makes them look older. By the time they're 20 they look 40.

I have quit a year ago not by choice I think the law sucks I love the smell of smoke thats why i go to thed bars to get a belly full of booze and some good smoke smell.

I lie in here, beside the whitewashed wall,
My hair is gone, my head is bald,
The room is sterile and it's very cold,
Wish you were here, Dad, I need someone to hold.


I can't breathe, I'm on a machine,
It goes whirr and click, it's such a din,
I've got lung cancer, it's all black inside,
When Mom says smoking causes cancer, Dad, I think she lied.


I never lit up, even when you did,
I just sat next to you, a small little kid,
You huffed and puffed through your life, Dad,
And Mom always looked so very sad.


My friends asked me to smoke, but I never did,
Because Mom told me from young: smoking is stupid,
It soots up your lungs and blackens your teeth,
So when I see a smoker, Dad, I anger and seethe.


You smoked two packs a day but you're still healthy and strong,
I hate smokers, Dad, but I never thought you wrong,
I love you, Dad, I always sat next to you,
And I know that you always loved me too.


The room here is cold, I see you through the glass,
And I think back to long ago, Dad, of times past,
Of the memories, I recall as much as I can,
There's always been a cigarette, Dad, stuck inside your hand.


I remember the fun things, Dad, all the times we had,
But as I look at you from here, you look so very sad,
You're not smoking, Dad, no cigarette I can see on you,
Maybe it's just the hospital, and this is the ICU.


My breathing becomes labored, I don't think I'll live,
Well, I tried my best, I gave all I had to give,
But one thing, Dad, I cannot comprehend,
I'm not a smoker, so why is my life about to end?


Author Unknown

To SO GLAD boy your jammas are your daily clothes I bet your pretty ripe even if you go to the bars that are smokeless already before.

The problem with most of this centers around people not willing to accept other poeple. Those people are non smokers.

Listen up real quick, and I know this is common sense, but that gets hard for some of you: PEOPLE IN BARS SMOKE!!!!!! PEOPLE GO TO BARS TO SMOKE!!!

This is common knowledge. Has been for years. Look at all the places that have gone smoke free: Airplanes, malls, the vast majority of all public places EXCEPT BARS. You used to be able to smoke in hospitals, how ludicrous is that?

But no, non-smokers want to have the whole thing. They want to be able to take their kids into a bar at 10 pm and not have to deal with smoke. Idiotic. Non smokers are, without a doubt, AMONG THE MOST SELFISH PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

There are plenty of places for you to go that don't have smoke in them. PLENTY! However, there are now NO PLACES for people to go and smoke.

Fair? It's such gross injustice that it makes me puke.

So glad...I think most people change clothes before going to bed anyway, if that's an inconvenience then you have more issues to worry about than a smokey bar or restaurant!

TO: You know..

You can still smoke in cemeteries. Those people don't mind.

I have been on both sides of the fence. I understand the frustration of the smokers and I really believe that they don't understand how bad the smoke is until they quit. It makes it hard to breath, smells terrible, stains things, can be dangerous not only to your health but fire risks and etc. I know its hard to accept change but it really is for the best interest of EVERYONE!

After a night out, my eyes burn, my throat and nose burn, and my chest is so congested and hurts from the smoke. This usually lasts well into the next evening. I have to go home to shower and can smell the smoke on my clothes in the next room. Its nasty.
When my step son comes home from his mothers house his clean clothes smell like smoke. Imagine what his poor little lungs had to withstand while he was there. Where do his rights come into play?

To Clean Air: one more health requirement is an excellent way to put it! It is bad for our health.
To You Know...
"The problem with most of this centers around people not willing to accept other poeple. Those people are non smokers." I would have to say that I think these people are accepting others, in fact they are doing what is in the best interest of ALL people not just one or the other. And as for "people go to bars to smoke" that is so far from the truth. People go to the bar to drink and socialize. I would never take my child into a bar period, let alone at 10pm. It sounds to me like you are grasping at straws to come up with excuses and they don't make any sense!

Non smokers have the right to smoke and I have the right not to smoke! Nobody is taking away your right to smoke. Just don't make us breath it in. Go outside!


I AM VERY EXCITED FOR THE SMOKING BAN! I can't wait for my first smoke free night out on the town!

I can't believe no one has commented on this.

"Ron Sedlak, owner of Pawnee Bar, said the decision to go smoke free last August was one of the best business decisions he had made.

“It was great. We should have done it years ago,” Sedlak said."

I thought this smoke-free thing would kill the Pawnee Bar...since that's what so many people told me.

Many people in Lincoln thought it was the end of their business when the smoking ban showed up. If businesses are smart (The Pawnee Bar is a good example), they'll embrace the change positively and make the best of it. I was in the Pawnee a few weeks ago (first time in years) and I gotta tell you, it was awesome not having to go home smelling like an ashtray! Thanks Ron and staff at the Pawnee!

I also love the comment made by "You Know". Umm...people go to bars to smoke? Thanks for the wisdom. Let me give you some too. Since most smokers aren't the healthiest people I know (and don't try to kid yourselves...I've heard a lot of smokers hack and gag on phlegm)...I can help you out a bit! Get your fat butt off that bar stool and go outside. You'll help yourself to some nice fresh air to smoke in, and you'll keep the smoke away from those who don't want to breathe it in! Amazing! Two birds with one stone!

If I see anyone smoking in a public place I WILL call the cops. Did it in Lincoln and will do it in Columbus.

"Non smokers have the right to smoke and I have the right not to smoke! Nobody is taking away your right to smoke. Just don't make us breath it in. Go outside!"

Are you serious? How about this: DON'T COME TO MY ESTABLISHMENT WHERE I AM ALLOWED TO SMOKE INSIDE!!! I can't smoke in your smoke-free establishments, GO TO THOSE PLACES!!!! But no, you want to come to my place and then complain about me somking.

Idiotic and selfish, plain and simple.

i myself am a smoker. it should probably come as no surprise to the rest of you that i happen to disagree with the new law. the way i see it, before the law was instituted, there were smoking and non smoking bars alike. don't like to smell the smoke? fine, go to pawnee or maximus or what have you. want to smoke? that's fine too, you can go to the 4 jokers, sahara, westbrooks and the list goes on. if a bar like pawnee, for instance, as a business decision (not as a result of a law) decides they don't want me to smoke in there, fine, i'll go out side. i've got no problem respecting the business's decision.

however, i do find it to be total B.S. that i should have to go out in 10 degree weather and windchills of -30 to get my nicotine fix just to walk back in and find that my seat is re-inhabited and my drink is gone. i think that the non-smoking advocates are not looking at this from a multi-point perspective.

i know smoking is bad. most days my system is fine, and i'm not about to sit here and lie to every one of you and tell you i don't take a hit b/c of it when i get a cold or the flu etc. i know that 2nd hand smoke is bad. don't like it? then don't hang around me. i know its costly, but lately it seems to me that the government is willing to help out the tobacco chewers (and u ppl think smoking is gross?) and continually stick it to us smokers. smoking doesn't mean there is a 100% chance that i'm goin to die of cancer, but i cannot deny that it raises those chances, and i'm aware of that, these are consequences that i'm willing to accept as a result of my actions, shocking, i know. and besides, have any of you seen the cost of patches? at 70 bucks a pop, i think they're the ones shooting smoke up our rears.

people, what i'm getting at here is what ever happened to the term "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?" i understand that some of you don't like the way my cigarette smells and i'm no one to disagree with you, but if i wanna make the decision to do it, then who are you to tell me i can't? to me, it seems that the government is telling us more and more every day that we can't do this, and can't do that. this is a decision that needs to left up to the bar owners, not the government, period. it isn't something like child pornography, or theft or murder(tho i kno some of you are going to beg to differ) as some of you suggest. this is me choosing to do what makes me happy. it just so happens that smoke does, deal with it people.

so please, bring on your self righteous speeches and lectures about how i'm such a bad person for having this opinion. go ahead and tell me i'm killing millions around me as well as my self in an effort to preserve my "happiness" and deny you of yours. things were fine the way they were before, it was at least a two way street then. now i'm told i need to act and think this way. you people (the non smokers) are too stubborn to see this for what it is. and then on top of it all, i get threatened by people like "smoking COP" to mind my P's and Q's.

RIDICULOUS!

i know i'm probably out gunned in this debate, but o well. i'll just sit here under my shade tree, puffing away on my cigarette (until they tell me i can't do it there anymore, either) and wait for the next right they take away from me. and the way things have been going, it shouldn't be a long wait either.

Well there we go. Drunk drivers will smell better when they kill the innocent. I am glad we had this little blog. As long as your right to drink overrides my right to smoke, everything will be ok, with you.

All those poor little kids? They were just flailing in the gutters before June 1st because someone forced them to go to a restaurant and breathe second hand smoke. Sad, yes. But the saddest part is that the caregiver made a decision to let them go. If you took a kid to a smoke filled room knowing it would cause them harm, you should have been beat and then thrown in jail for child abuse. Now consider the 500,000 people that were injured, or the 14,000 people killed by a drunk driver last year alone. How many of them had a choice?

Your clothes might smell a little better, but our freedom just started to go rancid. As long as it is not your freedom they are taking away, everything will be just fine. It’s no more than entitlement without equity.

I do not drink or smoke, but when "we" start taking peoples legal freedoms away and call it good, I say America is changing, and not for the better. I do believe in my freedom. I also believe in the freedom of a business owner to make that decision for him/herself. I also believe in your freedom to patronize some other business. I also believe in your freedom to make up lame excuses and blog them on the Telegram website. Thanks for making us a little less free.

You can make all the arguments you want. If you don't stay away from, and keep kids away from; fireworks, campfires, atv exhaust, barbeques, fireplaces, welding, car races, etc… then I will believe your holier than thou attitude toward second hand smoke and the harm it causes. Otherwise, you’re just blowing smoke.

Welcome to the 21st century Nebraska, you'll love it! To the yellow-teeth minority, it's your turn to "deal with it". Now if we can just get you to stop throwing your disgusting butts out your car window, the world will truly be a better place. Of course, I'm not holding my breath on that one. If a person doesn't care what their lungs look like, how can they be expected to care that they are trashing the environment(and starting the occasional fire) with their non-biodegradable garbage. Smoker barflies, look on the bright side, you might meet some new people. Just don't let their white teeth, fresh smell and wrinkle-free faces intimidate you!

Chicago Mike:

i don't fit your description of a smoker at all. but heck, why don't we just lump all of us in the same boat and stick us all out to sea? at least we can't start fires there w/ our wayward cigarette butts.

thank you for proving my sentiments to the tee in my last post.

TO: The_SnowMan710

I will give you credit for seeing both sides of the argument. Now, how can we compromise?

Frankly, smokers should be delighted that this didn't happen sooner and they were able to hold on as long as they did. This is 2009. Why in the world should people out to have a cocktail have to deal with smoke in their faces because you don't want to go outside or stay home?

I say this as a former smoker. I loved smoking while out at the bars and never intended to quit, really. I then dated a man that I cared about who so badly detested it that I stopped. Just overnight. That relationship didn't work out, but I thank God every single day that I don't smoke anymore.

I will not lump smokers into some cast-off group of low-class citizens, like some on this thread, because I was one. But please, I know it is difficult but you can quit. You will feel a WORLD of difference in your well being. Do it!

Hey Snowman-the patches may be costly, but they do work. I'm not going to sit here and tell you to quit, that's your decision. But when you say go to a smoke free establishment for your entertainment, I don't think you understand that normal people don't want their children around the smoke. Westbrook and Boulevard are great places (like we have a ton of choices) for family entertainment in Columbus. Now I won't have to feel guilty about taking my kids out for a night of fun. In fact, you'll see us bowling at Westbrook this weekend!!

I know how hard it is I smoked for 10+ years myself, but never around my family. They didn't choose my bad habits. I have since given it up and have no desire to light up again. Two thumbs up on the ban!

To Chicago Mike::::::::Why don't you just BUTT OUT and try to fix Chicago. We'll take care of Columbus...

"It's such gross injustice that it makes me puke."

If you're serious you better hurry because there is a bill being introduced that would make it illegal to puke in public.

i'm taking a little comfort in the fact that a few of you can understand that this is awfully one sided.

as Two Sided suggested, i think a compromise would have been a better solution to this problem than just to boot the smokers out of everywhere.

to Ridiculous: i agree with you that places such as westbrooks or boulevard or anywhere else for that matter where a person might wanna take their children out for a day or night of fun, should be smoke free. i don't think kids should be getting the second hand smoke as if its their decision to be in place where smoking is permitted. perhaps that should have been the compromise?

perhaps they should have given establishments that need to ID a person before going in (such as a bar) a choice as to weather or not they wanted to permit smoking in the building. and then for places such as the bowling alleys at least create a half way sheltered spot for us to go if we feel the need to do our bad habit. all i need is a roof to hide under in the case of rain and/or a windbreak in the winter. i know other people would want more than that, but that is all i need.

but still, the biggest thing that torques me is that the local government is telling us we can't do what was acceptable for years and years. like i said before, i've got no problem respecting the rules when the business owner wants it that way...

healthy drunk... are you for or against the smoking ban? it might just be me, but i can't really tell for sure...

Snowman, instead of addressing the issue I raised about butt littering, you go off on your " I'm the victim" tirade. You seem genuinely confused about why your noxious fumes bother (or should I say "used to" bother) people in bars and restaurants. I assume from your response that you are indeed one of the butt-out-the-car-window smokers, which sadly seems to be most of you. Do you really think it's ok to do that, or do you just not care, or are you just too lazy to clean out your cars ashtray? And don't worry if you don't fit my description, because you will, trust me, someday sooner than you think, you will.
Cig, thank you for your clever invitation to "butt out", but I enjoy debating intellectual giants such as yourself far too much for that. Besides, I've already fixed Chicago, you didn't hear about Gov. Blago being impeached?

Albiet Snowman, I kinda went over the edge, but my statement: "I also believe in the freedom of a business owner to make that decision for him/herself" should sum it up for you.

If I do not have a vested interest in the business, then I have no business telling them how to run it. Its just majority whine. That would be the comment I made "It’s no more than entitlement without equity". I know they will never ban liquor, at least until the majority whine about wine.

My point in my post was that the excuses people use to justify this law are lame. They just need to admit they are selfish whiiners that took a freedom from someone that they did not have a right because they have no vested interest. They did it because they could, not because they had a right. Once they stay away from fireworks, campfires, atv exhaust, barbeques, fireplaces, welding, car races, etc… then I will believe their holier than thou attitude toward second hand smoke and the harm it causes. Otherwise, they’re just blowing smoke.

Now that they have done away with smoking in public places, let's outlaw all the obeast people that take up two or three chairs. Go to a buffet and see two lard a$$$$ that cannot fit in a booth. Smoking and obeastity cost the taxpayers equal amount on health care. Fat people are catching up with smokers at a alarming rate.But who cares? Go out and supersize and your diet pop then watch you go thru the drivethru for your ice cream!! Fat people will be next when there are weight limits on entrance doors. I myself cannot wait.

The_SnowMan710--You say how can the government take away smoking in some places since you've been allowed to for years and years. Well, did you know that years ago they would bleed people to cure certain ailments, but they finally realized that was not a good thing. They also used to make Coca Cola with cocaine in it. They stopped that too. Sorry.

Slim One--Obese people (at least on one airline) are charged for an extra seat. I believe some amusement parks will not allow obese people on certain rides. There's discrimination everywhere. But most of these laws do make sense.

My Goodness people, listen to yourselves......this issue has gotten way out of hand. The most important issue here is our rights in America. One person is talking of drinking, the other of obese people and well the rest are of course about smokers. The one great thing about being people in America is being able to express ourselves. Comlete b.s.when your start profiling people because of habits or other lifestyles they choose......Come on....before long it will be other rights that are taken away by the government that will affect EVERYONE, not only a few. The smoking ban should have never happened...the owners of the establishment should have had the right to be a smoking establishment or non smoking establishment. THEIR CHOICE!!! Not the government. We pay taxes just like the guy next door, and by doing so should have the right to decide. Plain and simple....

I was born in to a smoking family, and later lived with a smoker and worked with smokers. By age 30 I no longer could inhale any smoke or be near any one who smelled of smoke, smoke would cause my air way to close off. I no longer had the freedom to go any where that people smoked. The would be stock car races, out door horse shows, rodeos, bars places to eat,
well on it goes. Why should I have to stay home from such events cause some smoker thinks they have the freedom and the right to smoke. Now that we know it is going to cause one and all health problems smokers should not have that freedom. All so when people get lung cancer and other smoke related health issues. We all end up chipping in to pay for their care. People are not allowed to speed, run stop signs because it will endanger the life of others or themselves. So you never have had the freedom to speed and run stop signs. You accept that and you need to accept the fact smoking hurts others and you do not have the freedom to cause harm to others. If you want to smoke your self in to the grave you have the right to do that but you do not have the freedom or right to take the rest of us with you. If you look at what it is costing you to have the right and freedom to smoke in money and in health, and still wish to do it you you have that freedom but you are not making a good choice.

Kitty: nice thought, but those things both happened over a hundred years ago and don't really pertain to this arguement, sorry.

non smoker freedom: just b/c you need to live in a bubble, doesn't give you the right to deprive me of mine. i think you re read what you wrote and see that there are a few holes in your argument. first being that speeding, running stop signs, etc are illegal, smoking is not. you argued that nobody has the right to smoke at the beginning for your write up, and at the end you said we do...which is it? take a look at the U.S. Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights, and tell me if you ideas are in line with the foundation this country was built on.

I don't think Obama will ban alcohol. The more people that are bombed out of their mind, the easier it will be for Obama to rule.