I was directed by a friend's blog to an article in the Star Tribune about the new smoking room at the Saloon. http://www.startribune.com/462/story/517491.html
Its a great room. Completely closed off from the rest of the bar, it is heated, with a fireplace, sound system, covered... all that stuff. Apparently the Saloon owners got approval of their design from the city, spent almost a half million constructing it... Now the city is giving them crap. They have had to take out the windows and close up the service bar that was available there.
This really gets to me. As I have long debated with many people over the smoking ban (including Gary Schiff himself, the author of the ban), I feel I dont particularly need to get into my beliefs that it is BS for the government to be in the business of going into private businesses and telling people what legal products can or cannot be used by private individuals. please... Shut down McDonald's first.
Anyway, this is only further infuriating. I truly do understand (even though I will still fight) the concept that non-smokers need to be saved from the evils of those of us that light up. But here the Saloon has gone through the proper channels to create a "smoking lounge" and through "poor communication between departments and a lack of clear guidelines" by the City are still being penalized. Thats some bullshit.
I guess, even here, I just dont get it. Would one of you please explain the continued need to regulate this? In this scenario, it is no longer about second-hand smoke. The patio is for smoking: that is what it was designed for. The rest of the bar is available for non-smokers. The patio is even well ventilated to make sure that smoke doesnt waft into the rest of the bar. So what possible rationale now exists for requiring further changes? I just dont get it... Tobacco is legal. Are we simply trying to exile all those who would choose to use it to the frigid tundra of the Minnesota winters?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I'll explain it to you, Christian.
First, it's does not seem to be a "patio," but rather an enclosed indoor space, clearly in violation of the city's clean indoor air ordinance.
The Saloon tried to get a little too cute in pushing the edges of the law, and they got called on the carpet for it.
I know the GLBT community has a higher smoking rate than many other Minnesotans. That does not mean we should look the other way when an establishment tries to cheat.
Go to our website and try to understand. Read the Surgeon General's report, which states clearly that "smoking sections" and ventilation offer no protection against secondhand smoke.
Most of all, learn the difference between "Prohibition" and limited, common sense regulation. Yes, tobacco is leag. So are guns. Just as you can shoot anywhere you want (a sensible action), you can't smoke anywhere you want (just as sensible).
Bob Moffitt
American Lung Association of MN
www.alamn.org
Post a Comment