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I was posting on another thread and just had a new idea regarding non-smoking section in restaurants. Yes, I know, we've beat this subject to death, but bear with me.

I have always felt it somewhat unfair on my part to insist on a completely separate dining area for smokers, by that I mean separated by walkway and brick walls (NOT a glass wall with a fan...please). I felt it would make smokers feel like second class citizens, which is of course not my intent.

SO, how about they put non-smokers (me) in a completely separate area? I have no problem with that. Non-smokers get a completely smoke free environment in which to eat & the smokers still have the bar area & surrounding tables. Furthermore, you would then give restaurant owners a real test to see if a TRULY non-smoking environment would boost business.

It's at least worth recommending to area restaurants, right? If I understand correctly, areas that have banned smoking have seen an increase in business. This would be incentive to try it. This would probably mean an addition or remodel to the restaurant, however, so may not be an option unless the restaurant is doing really well.

What do you think?
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Come on Florence, I now live in Austin, Texas (Keep Austin Weird) and not only have they banned smoking in resturants but also in the bars. You think that's strange well now they have passed a law that people can take their dam dogs to the resturants. I would rather have the smoke than the smell of dogs.
A non-smoker and dog hater!

Smoky
A NON SMOKING SECTION IN THE CONFINES OF A BUILDING IS JUST POINTLESS. ITS LIKE A NON PEEING SECTION IN A SWIMMING POOL. I DONT SMOKE AND WOULD LOVE IT IF NO BODY ELSE DID. BUT IT IS THEIR RIGHT TO SMOKE,AND I HAVE MY RIGHTS ...NOT TO BE AROUND THE SMOKERS IF I CHOOSE.I DO BELIVE THAT WHEN A BUISNESS STARTS A NON SMOKING NIGHT IT WILL EVENTUALLY PAY OFF.I HAVE A SINUS HEADAKE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I WENT TO HEAR A BAND IN A SMOKEY OLD BAR LAST NIGHT. REALLY COULDNT ENJOY MYSELF LIKE I WOULD IF THE PEOPLE AROUND WOULD GO OUTSIDE FOR THEIR FIX.BUT BY THE SAME TOKEN THEY COULDNT ENJOY THEMSELVES WITHOUT A SMOKE IN THEIR HAND.
MY BROTHER LIVED IN DALLAS,AND WHEN HE MOVED BACK TO ALABAMA HE SAID THAT THE WHOLE CITY OF DALLAS WAS NON SMOKING.I ALSO KNOW THAT CLUBS RESTURAUNTS IN THE ATLANTA AREA HAVE NON SMOKING NIGHTS AND THEY THRIVE.MOST PEOPLE I KNOW THESE DAYS THAT SMOKE ARE I ALWAYS SET IN A NON SMOKING SECTION IN MY FAVORITE RESTURANTS AROUND TOWN,AND I PATRONISE CLUBS AND VENUES THAT ALLOW SMOKING ALL THE TIME. I HAVE NO CHOICE RIGHT NOW ,BUT WHEN I DO YOU BETTER BELIVE I'LL GO WHERE ITS NOT SMOKEY.
quote:
Originally posted by jbclemons:
how much will it hurt smokers to wait a few minutes while they are eating to smoke. they can go outside if they want to smoke. no one wants to smell smoke while they are eating.


My guess on this comment would be that Smokers pay just as much for a meal in a rest. than anyone else does, and if they choose to light up, it is none of MY business... if there is a non-smoking section. This issue is just a power struggle, of sorts, and I am curious to see how it comes out.
quote:
Originally posted by maddmax333:
A NON SMOKING SECTION IN THE CONFINES OF A BUILDING IS JUST POINTLESS. ITS LIKE A NON PEEING SECTION IN A SWIMMING POOL. I DONT SMOKE AND WOULD LOVE IT IF NO BODY ELSE DID. BUT IT IS THEIR RIGHT TO SMOKE,AND I HAVE MY RIGHTS ...NOT TO BE AROUND THE SMOKERS IF I CHOOSE.I DO BELIVE THAT WHEN A BUISNESS STARTS A NON SMOKING NIGHT IT WILL EVENTUALLY PAY OFF.I HAVE A SINUS HEADAKE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I WENT TO HEAR A BAND IN A SMOKEY OLD BAR LAST NIGHT. REALLY COULDNT ENJOY MYSELF LIKE I WOULD IF THE PEOPLE AROUND WOULD GO OUTSIDE FOR THEIR FIX.BUT BY THE SAME TOKEN THEY COULDNT ENJOY THEMSELVES WITHOUT A SMOKE IN THEIR HAND.
MY BROTHER LIVED IN DALLAS,AND WHEN HE MOVED BACK TO ALABAMA HE SAID THAT THE WHOLE CITY OF DALLAS WAS NON SMOKING.I ALSO KNOW THAT CLUBS RESTURAUNTS IN THE ATLANTA AREA HAVE NON SMOKING NIGHTS AND THEY THRIVE.MOST PEOPLE I KNOW THESE DAYS THAT SMOKE ARE I ALWAYS SET IN A NON SMOKING SECTION IN MY FAVORITE RESTURANTS AROUND TOWN,AND I PATRONISE CLUBS AND VENUES THAT ALLOW SMOKING ALL THE TIME. I HAVE NO CHOICE RIGHT NOW ,BUT WHEN I DO YOU BETTER BELIVE I'LL GO WHERE ITS NOT SMOKEY.


I have been to Karoke places, which serves alcohol, and allows smoking. A couple I have been in was so smokey it made me sick, but most have great ventilation, and I could hardly smell it.. Thank God.

I am a non-drinker, non-smoker, but I do enjoy being around my friends.

I think the best Rest. I have been to that has the smokers separated from the non-smokers in an extremely well fashion is Chili's... there is brick and you cannot smell ANY smoke on the non-smoking side.

The Bar area at Chili's is smoking, and I have sat there with friends who smoke/drink before. And it really didnt bother me too much there either, because their ventilation system is pretty dang good.

Some of our local Karaoke Bars are set up in such a manner that people smoking around me doesn't bother me as much, because of the ventilation, I guess.

Now when you talk about drinking and bars, being a non-drinker, I am VERY popular with my drinking friends... because they can depend on me to drive. Alcohol is legal, but if one drives while drinking they can actually KILL others... Cigarettes are legal, and if one smokes, no one has said for sure whether the second-hand is as bad as they want people to believe.

The studies on second-hand is just that, studies... the ones conducting them even admit that non-smokers who have been in a smoking environment that contracted Cancer, cannot ABSOLUTELY be linked to cigarettes... People get Cancer, and believe it or not, it dont have to be from being around your smoking friends.

I think a lot of this is just Junk Science.

The smell of cigarettes is awful, at best... but so is the smell of someone passing gas out of thier body... is there anything wrong with those fumes?

What about Welders? What about people who work in steam plants who breath in fly-ash and gases all the time and never pick up a cigarette in thier lives... BOOM, die of lung cancer.

I just bet, 20 years from now, and any per-capita study of the cities that has bans in place versus the cities who just has sections for each will show the same results for Cancer.

You are talking about Dallas, .... a HUGE non-smoking-in-public-places... well, they have certain (A WHOLE LOT) of people in career fields there just as dangerous to thier lungs and immunity systems and other precious organs than a cigarette ever could.

I know this makes me sound like a smoker, but believe me, I am HAPPY as heck to be smoke-free for over 20 years, and would never go back, but I also know and read things that make me question the danger, and the "rush to judgement"...

Like I said before... spend an afternoon on the Internet, researching, and you can see, all it is basically, is a power struggle on a 2-sided faction that one just HAS to beat the other.
quote:
Originally posted by NashBama:
I've seen a few restaurants that have set ups like that. The smoking section is usually around the bar and behind it, the non smoking section is on the other side of a partition with some distance between it. It's all up to the restaurant owners to decide what kind of clientele they want.


I can agree with this, and I can see where it would work marvelously anywhere, and then everyone is happy!!!

Friday Night, I went to Karaoke with some friends, and over 80 people in the whole place, I counted 6 people who were not smoking... with those odds, ya think any bar owner is going to even THINK about going none-smoking? I dont.

I was one of the six, and I could have gotten up and left my cup of coffee anytime I wanted to so as to get OUT of the atmosphere, but I CHOSE to stay, and today.... no sinus headache, all is well... clothes just has to be washed, LOL!!! Roll Eyes
quote:
Originally posted by _Joy_:
I was posting on another thread and just had a new idea regarding non-smoking section in restaurants. Yes, I know, we've beat this subject to death, but bear with me.

I have always felt it somewhat unfair on my part to insist on a completely separate dining area for smokers, by that I mean separated by walkway and brick walls (NOT a glass wall with a fan...please). I felt it would make smokers feel like second class citizens, which is of course not my intent.

SO, how about they put non-smokers (me) in a completely separate area? I have no problem with that. Non-smokers get a completely smoke free environment in which to eat & the smokers still have the bar area & surrounding tables. Furthermore, you would then give restaurant owners a real test to see if a TRULY non-smoking environment would boost business.

It's at least worth recommending to area restaurants, right? If I understand correctly, areas that have banned smoking have seen an increase in business. This would be incentive to try it. This would probably mean an addition or remodel to the restaurant, however, so may not be an option unless the restaurant is doing really well.

What do you think?


Joy, you sure come up with some great ideas!!! I know this would work, because I have already been in several places that have the smokers away from the rest of the world, and if one were to go into that section and ask them if they cared about being 'isolated', my guess would be that they don't mind it. My guess is that they would say as long as they can light up after their meal, it is okay for them.

What you are saying here, is more or less switching places, and that could work, because I have seen people standing in line waiting for smoking sections, and the non-smoking section is empty... then on the other hand, on 'certain' days, the non-smoking place is full, while the smoking section is basically empty.... so really, if one wants to do their own local studies, there isn't a whole lot that anyone can do about the problem.

As long as smokers can legally buy cigarettes, legally enter a resturant, or bar, and legally eat or drink, who the heck am "I" to try to be mean and take THEIR rights away...

Yes, THEIR rights, I am in agreement with you Joy, I am just taking it a step further... it IS the right of a smoker to indulge in a product he/she just went and paid nearly five bucks Roll Eyes a pack for.... so like I said, who the heck am "I" to preach to them NOT to do it? I just don't think I have that right.

I think I have the right to get up and leave ANY environment that I dont like, ... whether it be drinking, smoking, nasty-smelling perfumes, people passing bodily gases, or whatever... It is MY choice on whether to stay or go. It is NOT my right to tell a business owner, or I think a better word here, to DICTATE to a business owner how to run his/her business, when they know their clientele much better than I do.

I already KNOW places I can go to get away from cigarettes, I already KNOW places to go to get away from foul smells... and it is my rights to stay away, or to change my mind and go there.

Oh, One more FOOD FOR THOUGHT items about smells, LOL... what about the "PLANTS" that take care of our sewage??? They put off a horrible nasty odor, as well as gases in the air that can "innocently" damage people who live close to that, or are around it very much... I know that because I am really good friends with a guy who works at one of them... he has told us about it,.... YUCK!!!... DOUBLE YUCK!!! And there are no sections to get us away from that .. Eeker


Also ... I would like the rest of the Forum members to just SEE how very sweet and caring Joy is .... for everyone. Always trying to find ways to keep peace, Joy is a great member of this forum and deserves KUDO's for her idea, and not JUST the ones on this post... THANK YOU JOY for your wonderful ways of thinking 'outstide the box' on almost every issue!!!!!! Smiler
Last edited by Kindred
quote:
Originally posted by holl_deh:
Come on Florence, I now live in Austin, Texas (Keep Austin Weird) and not only have they banned smoking in resturants but also in the bars. You think that's strange well now they have passed a law that people can take their dam dogs to the resturants. I would rather have the smoke than the smell of dogs.
A non-smoker and dog hater!

Smoky


Oh My My MY!!! Believe me, I would much rather be with a smoker, than sit and (almost) watch fleas, mites, and other critters, fall off of a dog, much less the dog hair blowing all over the place... And male dogs have a way of ..... errrr... 'keeping clean'... NO WAY in the world would I or COULD I eat in a Rest. where a strange dog is there. NO WAY.

I have a small, minature Dachshaund, and when we eat, after cleaning the floor and table, pup goes into the bedroom during dinner.

Don't even allow my own pup to be around during eating times!!!
quote:
Originally posted by NashBama:
I've seen a few restaurants that have set ups like that. The smoking section is usually around the bar and behind it, the non smoking section is on the other side of a partition with some distance between it. It's all up to the restaurant owners to decide what kind of clientele they want.


I am sitting here and I have counted 8 different Rest. that we go to that is set up like this... 3 of them don't even have Bars in them and they are set up well for smokers AND non-smokers.

LIFE and COHABITATION CAN WORK IF WE LET IT, ya know?
quote:
Originally posted by BradshawBruin02:
Y'all non-smokers sit at the back of the bus...

Joking aside, I don't think it would fly. You point out the reason, too, by speculating that it would be costly to implement.


Bradshaw, the cost would be well worth it to any business owner, to keep ALL their customers, smokers, and non smokers. No Business owner wants to be in the position of having to choose to lose his/her smokers, or their non/smokers, and in the long run, what Joy is suggesting would be an attribute to them in a HUGE way.

Or maybe we can just allow all the smokers in the place with a CHAW of Bakky and a spitoon, hahahaha... YUCK!!!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by interventor:
In Germany, they take their dogs to restaurants, but not their kids. Results are dogs that know how to act in public and children that don't.

Don't smoke myself, but think banning smoking in bars is just silly.


Interventor, I agree with you... but why in the world would Germans not want their children in a Rest? AND ALLOW DOGS!!!! Just Nasty.

I have seen a coupld of Blind people in Rest. with their seeing-eye dog, and as much as I admire and respect their right to be their with their "other eyes", you just cannot completely remover the odor of a Dog... nor can you make one not BE a dog, even in public.

Give me a smoker any day of the week.
quote:
Originally posted by maddmax333:
I DO BELIVE THAT WHEN A BUISNESS STARTS A NON SMOKING NIGHT IT WILL EVENTUALLY PAY OFF.


Oh, that's a great idea! And it won't cost the restaurant owners a dime to do it. I'm definately recommending this to every owner I can get to sit still and listen to me. Thanks, maddmax!

Kindred, thank you for your kind words. You guys help me stay informed about issues in our area, much more so than I used to be, and I appreciate it. You also don't bat an eye at constructive criticism (yes, sometimes not so much, but for the most part - contructive), which if I take it in the right spirit, is most helpful.
Once I used to think that smoking could be cured by just quitting, the public should know it's really hard to kick the habit. Once kicked you can have heart for the next person, who's struggling also to quit. When people have certain food issues they ask for certain serving right. For non smoker and smoker why not have certain rooms situated so as not to make someone else feel bad, there are some people who would love to quit smoking, but with people constainly telling them to quit, makes it even harder to stop. Have a heart we all have our little problems that we have not overcome right.
Hello, moms3babes2000. Is that an accent I'm hearing? Smiler

I won't get too deep in this issue because we've discussed this in great length at least two, maybe three?, times already. I know it is hard to quit and although it's a health risk, it's none of my business what someone does to their own health. It only becomes an issue when my own health is affected. I'm just trying to come up with a solution where everyone can be served, not just the smokers in our area. I've been in restaurants that claim to be well ventilated yet I can still smell the smoke. If I can smell it, it is reaching my lungs. A couple of suggestions made here may help solve that problem without alienating smokers. I plan on at least giving those ideas to area restaurants. It's worth a try.
I had a friend whose wife was stationed in Germany several years ago. He told me about a nice older German couple they had meet at a restaurant. After dinner, and conversation the German couple got up to leave and suddenly the 2 white german shepards that had been hidden, I guess by the table, stood up and followed the couple out. He said his jaw could have hit his chest. He couldn't believe they had been there for an hour and a half and no idea that there had been 2 dogs only a few feet away. Must have been some very well trained companions.
I'm tempted to add a remark how we need those trainers here but I'll leave that up to my fellow posters to mull over. Ha

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