Should the State Fair prohibit smoking on the fairgrounds?
Posted at 5:00 AM on September 1, 2011
by Eric Ringham
(67 Comments)
Filed under: Culture, Health
Although the Minnesota State Fair prohibits smoking in public buildings and in the seating areas of entertainment venues, fairgoers encounter lots of cigarette smoke. Today's Question: Should the State Fair prohibit smoking on the fairgrounds?
Comments (67)
I am a smoker. I hate it but I am. I'm addicted to nicotine and it's a crutch for me.
I feel like a pariah. If I "need" to smoke in public I either find a nice little private area where no one will walk by and judge me or start coughing and hacking and running from me like I am cancer itself - or I just wait until I get home.
I don't feel sorry for myself or feel entitled because non-smokers don't want to join in on the fun.....or stand behind me while getting a fantastic layer of nasty smell and carcinogens painted onto them.
People, like me, can say they are addicted, can't help it, what ever the reason may be for smoking - it's FINE. You are a smoker. Forget the people judging you - I'm certain they've never been addicted to coffee or food or drugs or their cell phones or ANYTHING in their lives - but even if they have, if it's not cigarettes they aren't going to "empathize" with you - they will not understand - that's OK too.
We have chosen to continue our addiction and we should be big enough to not flick cigarettes out of the car, blow smoke around kids and be polite if smoking next to someone who is not - like, "hey is this bothering you?"
Here's the thing - even if a smoking ban is put forth at the State Fair - smokers will find a way to smoke, butts will find there way onto the streets and in the grass - be smart - designate a couple areas and put a bunch of cigarette "putter-outers" in those designated areas and make sure there are plenty O-signs pointing smokers in the right direction.
We like to find other pariahs like ourselves to smoke with anyway. Less judgment - more coughing. Wheeeeeee!
You can find a podcast of my interview on this subject on the WCCO-AM website. It's the HINDsight program from 9-10 p.m.
@Creed
In all actuality, I don't need to smoke in a restaurant and I have no problem with no smoking indoors. However I do draw the line on smoking in bars. Considering the fact that in a bar you are there exclusively to consume alcoholic beverages and that's entirely by choice of the patrons. And to ban smoking outdoors is backdoor prohibition. You don't like the smell? TFL!! I don't like barking dogs or loud trucks either. To think even just a smell of smoke is the kiss of death is laughable. Lets make the combustion of everything illegal.
As for health care costs, I've said it before and I will say it again. Even if there were no such thing as tobacco, health care would still be prohibitively expensive for the working class. Also note that smokers tend to die younger and quicker than elderly non-smokers. Secondly, if smoking is the leading cause of health care costs, then why has the cost of health care become so outrageous and yet we have the lowest number of smokers there has ever been?
BTW: I did not go to a private school. I had to suffer the worst years of my young life of non-stop harassment in a public schrool.
We seem to have some folks here who think they can read minds. "CF" presumes to know that "Geoff Mason" hates various sorts of people, based only on one comment posted here. And "Creed" claims to know what was lacking in CF's education, based on similarly thin evidence.
To CF: legal is not a synonym for okay or acceptable. Think of the CEO who accepts an obscenely large "compensation" package, drives his company into the ground, escapes in his golden parachute, and then cries, "I did nothing wrong," when what he really means is "...nothing illegal." For more than two centuries, it was socially unacceptable in America to complain about someone else's smoking. In fact, given the role of tobacco in the evolution of American commerce, it was regarded as borderline unpatriotic to disapprove of smoking. So non-smokers were forced to suffer in silence. If now smokers are feeling put upon by current standards of social acceptability, it's only a case of over-compensation for a past mistake.
@CF
Are you seriously comparing smokers to a protected class of citizens. Race, gender and ethnicity are Constitutionally-protected classes -- there is a history of gross discrimination, smoke-free laws protect the 85% of us that do not want to be bombarded with deadly chemicals. People like you think it's all about you, but it's not; it's about protecting the rest of us.
If you honestly believe that making restaurants smoke-free because most of us cannot handle secondhand smoke is "discrimination" akin to shipping an entire race of people from Africa and selling them for human labor than no one can possibly get a basic point through to you.
If you believe that an employer does have the right to employ who they want outside of protected classes, then you must not be the libertarian you profess to be. There is no basis in fact for the health care costs? Have you ever used Google? Try this: "health care costs smokers vs nonsmokers" and you will literally get dozens of academic research proven this fact.
You are clearly outvoted on this thread. I wish your private school education would've taught you logic, critical thinking, and problem solving skills. Unfortunately, your parochial education simply told you what you think rather teach you the skills to research facts and develop an argument on your own.
@Geoff Mason
You mentioned "places set aside for smoking". Only problem is that those places too are being eliminated, even outside. Hennepin County bans smoking in parking ramps of all places. As if there was more cigarette smoke in the air than car exhaust?
Do realize that smokers ARE being marginalized and even discriminated against, especially in employment. Why is it that employers can force an candidate to take a "drug" test for tobacco, A LEGAL PRODUCT and be denied a job. Is that any different from a sign on the door of a company saying, "Help Wanted - (Colored persons need not apply)? Employers use the health care costs excuse but there is no basis in fact for that.
Can somebody tell me why in our overly "tolerant" culture we bend over backwards to accommodate even the tiniest of minorities? And yet only one minority, that is those who smoke, is blamed for out of control healthcare costs, litter and pollution, (cigarette butts are not the ONLY thing thrown out of a car window). Why not blame us for global warming while you're at it.
@CF
Thanks for the spelling correction, though I have no idea why you felt the need to slam public education. I'm often surprised by the lack of breadth knowledge of some my private school friends (my soon to be ex wife went to the best private schools in Minnesota and a top tier private eastern University. You do not want her to be your trivial pursuit partner. She is a very good speller though, based on your comment that must be what they teach).
Your rather loose association of smoking with racism however is quite bizzare. As an African American I find it quite insulting. To insinuate that a smoker is somehow an oppressed minority is ridiculous. When a smoker is not smoking they are not treated any differently than anyone else with a body odor problem.
No CF, you totally missed the point. I do not hate smokers. I hate the behavior that many smokers choose to exhibit. All I ask is, if you are going to smoke, that you not be rude, do what you do in the places set aside for you to do so. In public schools we call this common courtesy. Do they teach manors in private schools?
Actually, I think they should have a designated area that covers every offensive behavior. That way people who want to burp loudly, break wind, wear thick cologne or perfume, chew with their mouths open, curse, etc. would have to go to these areas. Then they could let it all out among themselves to enjoy.
@ Geoff Mason
So Geoff tell me again how much you HATE smokers? Do you HATE smokers as much as Afro-Americans, gays & lesbians? Do you HATE smokers as much as you HATE Jews or Catholics? Huh? Huh? You see Geoff your hatred is as much as racist, homophobic or anti-Semitic. You are the new culture. You have to have SOMETHING to hate, someone to blame. You need a scapegoat. As in the past with Negroes, homosexuals or Jews, now you want to target smokers. Who by the way consume a LEGAL!!!! product. Defecating or urinating in public as far as I can tell is considered illegal.
By the way genius, it's spelled "manner" not "manor". Must be a public schrool graduate.
Yes, because no matter how hard they may try (though many don't try at all) that smoke always finds a way to waft on someone's clothes or into their nose. Even in the open air there is always someone around, especially at the fair, who will encounter that smoke.
But I also agree with "zach". The cigarette butts discarded by one smoker in a couple days could probably equal a burger wrapper. No one is allowed to throw a wrapper on the ground; why are smokers allowed to flick their butts wherever they please?
Designated areas with proper waste containers seems like the fairest compromise.
It seems the smokers are missing the point. It's not that you smoke or use tobacco that's the problem. Its you, "the smoker" that is the problem. If you chose to behave in a responsible manor we would not have to make laws to control that behavior.
Tell me something Mr. or Ms. Smoker, it you were walking down the street behind me and I suddenly decide that I need to take a crap, yank my pants down and unloaded three feet in front of you, would you be okay with that? I mean its a free country right? A public sidewalk, isn't it? Don't I have a right to do something so natural when a where I please? Besides, its not bothering you, you can easily step over or around it, hardly an inconveniece at all.
Or maybe I decide I need to pee and so I decide to turn around and spray into the air. So what if it gets on your shoes, your clothes, or the wind catches it and some goes into your nose and mouth? Would you be angry then?
Of course you would. You'd be furious. You'd probably call a cop. Want me arrested for assult or whatever the cop thinks might stick.
Well that Mr. or Ms. Smoker is what you do when you light up in a public space. You're pissing on the rest of us. High time our laws caught up with you and addressed this.
We don't care anymore, Mr. or Ms. Smoker, about your health. By now you have heard plenty of warnings about how bad it is for you. I you're so stupid you want to keep lighting up, go for it. Just make sure you do it in places where you are not going to assult the rest of us.
It never ceases to amaze me how hypocritical people are. In this case, conservatives and libertarians stick up for supposedly oppressed minorities like smokers, but not for racial or religious or ethnic minorities, or folks who are actually poor. They complain when liberals want to "confiscate" their wealth through taxation, but stick up for smokers (not to mention industrial poluters) who confiscate the public's clean air for their own enjoyment (or profit). They complain about government using "other people's money" but turn a blind eye to industries that despoil other everyone's air and water without compensating society for the loss. Meanwhile, liberals love to stick up for victims of all sorts, but make an exception for smokers, who are victims of Big Tobacco's manipulation of nicotine to addict them to their "legal product."
I support restrictions on the use of tobacco products, mainly as a tool to give people more incentive to quit, but I also like the idea of social support (that is to say, government programs) for smokers who are trying to quit.
Yes. Also, please ban unhealthy fried foods: We wouldn't want someone to die of a massive heart attack. In that "vein"-- butter sculptures just promote unhealthy lifestyles. And food on sticks! We wouldn't want someone tripping and poking their windpipe with one of those nasty things.
Just to be extra safe please avoid the following places: the barns, the rides, the games, the dnr building, the 4-H building, the grandstand, the commercial exibits, and the horticulture building. There are just too many people and too many communicable diseases to avoid.
*wink*
Yes, I'm in favor of a ban in such a crowded place. If you have asthma or allergies, smoke is more than a nuisance; it can trigger an asthma attack or cause severe discomfort.
OK Linda, let's outlaw riding bicycles in public too because your daughter could have fallen off of one. My point is the world is a dangerous place, always has been. If you want to feel "safe", then stay home!
Sue is right. It's a safety issue! There was a windy day. We were walking behind a smoking couple. The hot, glowing end of her cigarette blew off one of their cancer sticks. Fortunately, my young daughter was blinking at the time that it landed on my daughter's eyelid. It wasn't obvious where she was injured when she started screaming in pain. Once we realized that her eyelid was being burned we grabbled the water bottle and washed the burning paper and tobacco away from her eye. The hospital bill was not inexpensive. Nor was the followup care. So smokers, tell me again about how your RIGHTS are being taken away. I vote no smoking in public, even if it is outdoors.
Minnesota State Fair is....The GREAT MINNESOTA SMOKE-OUT
@KT
You can't walk down the street, or enjoy a dinner on the patio downtown without resigning yourself to choking on someone else's smoke.
Really KT, "choking"? You mean literally unable to even gasp for air as if your neck was held in a noose? So when you, as you say, walk down the street and smell a cigarette, you are actually deprived of oxygen and are about to pass out on the sidewalk? Come on, don't you think that's a little extreme? Be real. Speaking of dinner at a downtown patio, you mean diesel exhaust from trucks and buses is perfectly fine and doesn't affect you in the least? Bigot!!
So cigarette smoke is annoying, well so are train whistles, barking dogs and loud motorcycles. Too bad, that's life.
Sure smoking is unhealthy, but since when is it a sin.
Yep as usual - minnesota should ban smoking across the state and in your own homes , then next we can ban drinking publicly and privately - that worked so well before... Then we can ban living in a free society and have everything created equally for everyone so we all lose our personalities and become robots that work to feed the great machine that gives us life.... no thanks move to another country if you want to ban everything we stand for just because you are offended. We are getting way to politically correct in this state and country - next you will all want to ban animals from consumption and eat processed food - not me.
Yes, Most definitely. I saw someone light up a cigarette while standing on hay that they had put down, to keep it from getting muddy.
It would be a good step in keeping the fair a little cleaner and healthier. Every step counts.
I know that there are multiple fairs across the country that are Smoke- free, so it wouldn't be the first
Dear Allen - check this out ........... nutirtionist loses 27 pound in 10 weeks on twinkie diet.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html ............ "diet" is not a simplistic as you might want to think. However, smoking - smoking is a known cause of cancer. When you smoke - you have no control over who else is impacted ( folks with COPD, allergies, asthma, kids, etc.) . As for your fatty-foods ban... too draconian for something like food. Better to adopt a food tax ( like we do for cigarettes) for that we want to discourage use of.
I was just commenting at the Fair on Sunday how obnoxious life in the Twin Cities has become that the smokers have been driven outside. You can't wallk down the street, or enjoy a dinner on the patio downtown without resigning yourself to choking on someone else's smoke. And for me the Fair was the same way; I had to take refuge inside the buildings - when I really just wanted to breath some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. Twice in a row, I was sitting on a bench and someone came right next to me and lit up. I'd prefer designated outdoor smoking areas and non-smoking areas in all public places so all Minnesotans can enjoy the fresh air.
Smoking is a problem not just because of the smoke. It is crowded at the fair! My child has almost been hit with a cigarette two times at the fair. Once a few years ago and this year too. It doesn't work to be carrying around a lit cigarette in the crowds.
Eart to Allen "Response to GregX - I am a non-smoker who doesn't care if people smoke outdoors even if I have to smell smoke occasionally. But you say that people eating fatty foods does not affect anyone else? What planet do you live on? " Earth - Allen , Llive on Earth. When anyone smokes - everyone smokes. Not so with food. In your analogy - whena smoker smokes - not only do I have to pay higher fees to cover general societal medical costs - but - because smoker joe infected me - I'm also one of those consumers of excessively expensive services while also suffering a decline in personal quality of life. Since both smooking and fatty foods impose a general societal burden for health care costs - I contend smoking is worse because, in terms of direct and immediate physical impact (1) it automatically affects everyone around a smoker to some degree (2) the smoker has no control over who it affects (asmatics, the smoke-allergic, COPD sufferers, etc.)
While I don't care for the smell, I am more concerned with the safety aspect.
I have been burned by folks carrying lit cigarettes through the crowded areas at the Fair, and have seen people dumping ashes into passing baby strollers without realizing it. Most smokers are not conscious of what's going on at the "business end" of their butt. It's a safety issue for the rest of the people in the crowd.
A designated smoking area might be a good compromise.
No. It is a minor issue to a normal person. Most of your commenters seems to moralize their wants. I am a lifetime non-smoker.
Response to GregX - I am a non-smoker who doesn't care if people smoke outdoors even if I have to smell smoke occasionally. But you say that people eating fatty foods does not affect anyone else? What planet do you live on? You obviously don't follow health predictions and trends where obesity is projected to add 100's of dollars a year for each of us because of higher health insurance costs associated to poorer health bedause of obesity, it affects all of us. If we ban smoking we need to ban all fatty foods also because it DOES affect me. I have a better idea, leave the smokers alone and get some of these obese people on diets...
Yes, please do ban smoking or confine it to designated smoking areas. Besides the smoke and the butts, it sets a very bad example for young children.
As long as we can't smoke pot (which is far safer than tobacco) a cigarette smoke free fair would be a delight.
Fortunately we can eat pot (and possibly be cured of cancer). Unfortunately, tobacco can be chewed (and can contribute to getting cancer).
Just because something has an unpleasant smell doesn't mean we should ban it...should we ban the livestock from the state fair too? I would like to see data showing that *outdoor* second hand smoke is harmful, yes on some days you will get a whiff of smoke and is unpleasant but those 5 seconds of unpleasantness does not create a harm to your health. I'm not a smoker but I'm just looking out for minority rights, until you can prove it hurts your health you are just imposing your likes/dislikes upon everyone else. Another solution to the problem would be to just move away from the smoker; today there are far too many busy bodies who want to make all sorts of little laws to impose their viewpoint on other people.
It's time for a smoke-free fair! At the very least there should be designated smoking areas if not a complete ban.
YES! The Fair could encourage healthy living by being a non-smoking venue. They could also reduce the portions of the fatty, greasy foods and offer more healthy food options. I don't see why going to the Fair has to be a tale of over-indulgence.
Yes, I support having a commercial tobacco free Minnesota State Fair. It is about time.
The tobacco industry likes to talk a lot about "freedom" and "personal choice". Many smokers realize that their "personal choice" is not limited to their personal air space and make an effort not to smoke when others are near by.
At a crowded venue like the State Fair, even very considerate smokers are hard pressed to find a place to smoke where their smoke won't drift into someone else's lungs.
We live in a state where smokers are a small minority. Most smokers are reluctant smokers who wish they could quit. It no longer makes any sense to permit smoking in such a crowded public place.
Smoking outside is much different then smoking indoors.
Really, how much second hand smoke are you really getting by someone walking down Dan Patch? So much different then having someone smoke in Merchandise Mart(which is already illegal because it's indoors).
Hey folks, we need the money! If people happy to pay for a better Minnesota, all the better.
I guess it's only a matter of time. Now that the Health Nazi's of Hennepin County have already made it possible for you to be harassed by the Health Gestapo for smoking on a train platform, in a parking ramp or at a bus stop. I suspect the Fairgrounds are considered Ramsey County property so now they only have to follow Hennepin's lead and the State Fair will be free of the mustard gas, ricin and Strontium 90 found in the occasional wisp of cigarette smoke. Yes, non-smokers are dropping dead in their tracks because they caught the scent of burning tobacco. Sniff one molecule of it and you're dead!!
I was at the Fair a few years ago and I had to look hard to find anyone smoking. Perhaps there were more of "them" out there but they refrained from smoking out of fear similar to that of a Negro drinking from a water fountain marked "White Only". Maybe the only place they could smoke was behind the swine barn where the exhibitors dump the manure.
Even though I am a very conscientious smoker, being respectful of others. I don't litter, I save my butts for a trash can and I obey reasonable restrictions on where I can smoke. But you know, I've had enough of this anti-smoking bee-ess, I should fight back and start blowing smoke in the faces of those holier-than-thou self-righteous non-smokers and emptying cans of butts all over the place. Take that ass-holies, I smoke, deal with it.
To Gary F .... ( Kinda funny.) ... Dear Gary - you fail to understand that when one- person smokes ... everyone around them smokes too. When I eat deep-fried butter, It only affects me in that moment - wretched though it may be. So... the smokers "choice" trumps the non-smokers. Now if you have a bubble-head contraption for msokers to wear that keeps every particle of smoke right in the smokers face but in no one elses - then we'd have a way for the smokers choice to be just like food - affecting them only.
Yes, please limit smoking at the fair to a designated area. I am a former smoker and very much noticed smoke from cigarettes everywhere at the fair last Tuesday. It doesn't seem appropriate around children at the outdoor fish exhibit or is it pleasant when you are trying to eat outdoors or entering the art exhibit or creative activities doorways or just walking along enjoying the experience. It was everywhere.
Ban smoking and provide smoking areas.
@barracude - Seriously. The facts are easy to find. And it's not just trash, it's toxic trash.
Over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year. They are the most littered item in the world (http://www.cigarettelitter.org).
According to the Ocean Conservancy, cigarette butt litter accounts for one in every five items collected during cleanups, making it the most prevalent form of litter on earth.
There are over 176,000,000 pounds of discarded cigarette butts in the United States each year.
Full disclosure: I am the communications director for the American Lung Association in Minnesota.
I think a smokefree Fairgrounds is a good idea. Sveral county fairs in Minnesota have gone smokefree in recent years.
From a public safety perspective, this is long overdue. Lot of hay, old wooden buildings and propane tanks out in the Fairgrounds. On careless smoker, and we have a fire in a very crowded place.
Time for the State Fair to go smokefree.
No. This discrimination is getting a little out of hand. So a few people are annoyed by the smell of a cigarette? It dissipates in a matter of seconds. This is an outdoor event. Let these paying patrons smoke!
Kudos to GaryF for pointing out a glaring fault in the argument against the health risks of being around smokers at the fair.
I would like to add: you may not like the smell of cigarette smoke, but I don't like the smell of your flatulence after you down 2 deep-fried Twinkies, 8 pounds of cookies, and 3 gallons of Coke. Put a cork in it or stay home.
@justacoolcat: "Smokers are the biggest polluting pigs on the face of the planet."
Seriously??????????????????????????????
I think babies should be banned from the fair, i am way more annoyed by them than smokers. Parents that let their kids run wild all over is more dangerous than a couple of people smoking.
I wish that there was not smoking allowed at the Fair.
I don't smoke and simply do not like the smell of it. So, obviously, I would prefer not to be around it.
Yes. I'm not bothered too much by second hand smoke or smokers in general, but a moment of honesty would be nice. Smokers are the biggest polluting pigs on the face of the planet.
Banning smoking on the fair ground is the only way to keep them from tossing their poisonous cigarette butts -- toxic trash -- all over the place.
Who else is pollutes as much as smokers? Let alone pretending to be some sort of victim being picked on by society at the same time.
I agree wholeheartedly with commenter #1, Gary. Think of all of the fat- and sugar-laden foods at the fair. The second-hand smoke is just another poison. Creating designated areas for smoking sounds like a good alternative. Eating fattening foods is a choice. We should also be able to choose NOT to breathe in smoke.
Yes. Or make an area for them to smoke. Then they are free to smoke when they want to without forcing their smelly, carcinogenic, annoying smoke on me.
Hmmm...Here's an idea that I just thought of...Sell a "smoking pass". If you want to smoke at the Fair outside of the designated smoking area you can either pay some incredibly high fee ($100?) (which could be used to cover the cost of cleaning up cigarette butts) or do some sort of "Fair-service project" like pick up cigarette butts; for every butt you pick up off the ground you get $1 off the fee for the smoking pass. So few people would do either that the second-hand-smoke exposure and smoking-related litter would be greatly reduced and the Fair would benefit.
Kinda funny isn't it?
We are all bugged out about how a little second hand cigarette smoke might affect our health while we are feeding our faces with foods laden with fat and empty calories.
I think it should be banned on the Fairgrounds. Both for the secondhand smoke issue and because of the litter from cigarette butts. It should especially be banned at Grandstand concerts, since it's kind of hard to move away from smokers when you have assigned seating.
If you can't get through a day at the Fair without your nicotine fix, there's gum or patches for that.
NO! I realize that most people don't like cigarette smoke nowadays, but the war on smoking has a strong class element attached to it. Many working class people smoke, and many working class people go to the Fair. To deny them and other smokers the pleasure of the Fair has little to do with public health and all to do with public moralism. The risks of second-hand smoke in an open air environment are minimal and transitory. The newest effort to ban smoking in public outdoor spaces does not represent public health principles, but a mean-spirited, punitive moralism with a strong hysterical element "(if you can see it, it's hurting you"). Tobacco taxes contribute immensely to public coffers and tobacco use remains legal. Smokers are paying their way, and should be able, within reason, to enjoy and use public facilities. They also are the public.
I AM a smoker and I don't believe smoking at the fair should be allowed. Perhaps some designated areas would be okay but overall I don't condone it. It is such a crowded area. I can choose to cause myself health problems but I don't want to put others at risk because of my behavior. The fried food I consume only hurts me directly, though one could argue the cause and effect of that indirectly is another thing all together. As far as sick children being compared to smoking...please...give me a break. Most of those germs are not airborne. Wash your hands and take responsibility for your own actions. That's not to say a parent shouldn't use common sense and refrain from attending while there is a sickness. Bottom line...carefully designated areas or not at all. I did not smoke at the fair.
Our family went to the fair last Saturday night. I won't go again on a Sat. night. There were smokers everywhere and I felt horrible that my kids were breathing it in. After the long walk to our car, my hair still smelled like smoke. I took a shower when I got home b/c I couldn't stand the smell. The fair is all about kids and animals. Yes, put smokers in a designated area. It's too packed in there for all the smokers to smoke wheverever they want to.
I think there should be designated smoking areas and no smoking in or near Kiddieland, or whatever they are calling it now.
addendum:
I see that several people are conflating smoking with rudeness. I've seen a lot of rude behavior, and very little of it has involved smoking, so I'm sure it's reasonable for me to conclude that everyone who drives a Prius is rude, and all Asians are rude, and college students are rude, and the wait-staff at Dennys are rude. Christians in minivans are rude, white convenience store customers are rude, and community gardeners are rude. All of the behaviors that these people do that offend me need to be prohibited or restricted, because dammit, it's rude, gross, and it upsets me.
I am especially disgusted by children running around screaming and breaking stuff and spilling food. I would like to see a ban on children in public places, or at least restrictions on where they can be used. They are infringing on my right to enjoy the fair while avoiding something I find distasteful and which poses a risk to others. (Children are known vectors for all manner of infectious diseases. Witness, for example, the fact that all of your friends who have children are no longer able to attend social functions because Dumont is "squirtin' from both ends" or Asch-Leyghe is running hot.
/rant
In all the times I've been to the fair, I have never once noticed any significant presence of smokers or the smell of smoke.
I am skeptical of just how great of a threat 2nd hand smoke would pose in an open-air environment - would it be greater than the threat posed by walking through a parking garage filled with vehicle exhaust, or sitting around a camp fire for an hour? Seriously - let's get some air quality tests on this.
I fully support the bans on smoking in public buildings and seating areas, but without some reliable evidence, I can't get behind the "Oh my god, that man is smoking outdoors! Won't someone please THINK OF THE CHILDREN?!!"
full disclosure: i am a former smoker.
Yes. Because the vast majority of smokers can't seem to find a waste receptacle. The fact that smokers feel entitled to toss their 'butts' where ever they please is one of the biggest unspoken consequences of this so-called product. For this reason alone I would support a five dollar a pack tax.
No smoking anywhere people gather, period. The hazard to health and costs are too well documented to tolerate this bad habit and behavior in public.
Smokers are rude and inconsiderate. Out of “respect” for their friends, smokers will turn and blow their carcinogenic wind away from their group directly onto a nearby group.
Really great idea Steve the Cynic, imperil the health of helpless livestock who are penned up and cannot get away from the carcinogenic pollution rude, inconsiderate smokers blow their way.
Absolutely.
We have politicians with spending addictions.
We need the revenue.
Smokem' if you got'em!
I can't afford to smoke.
But, Charlie, it's my air too, and there are ways folks can get their nic fix without stinking up the air I'm trying to breathe.
Let's remember that these are people - they may be addicted to nicotine, but that doesn't mean that they should be discriminated against everywhere they go in the state. Yes, it's detrimental to their health, yes, people find it disgusting; but these are also excuses people use to discriminate against a lot of other things - like homosexuality among other things. Besides, I don't think getting a little bit of lingering second hand smoke while standing in line is going to hurt you any more in the long run than the mega dose of calories, carbohydrates, and fat you get from all the fried foods. You are in the open air, and while it's one thing to ban smoking in buildings, and even in seating areas, while it's legal, let's not be hypocritical to fellow citizens. As a non-smoker, I don't really like cigarette smoke, but I support the idea that until tobacco is banned overall, people have the right to smoke - particularly in open areas with fresh air - even if it does bother some people.
Yes! Or at least restrict it to a designated area.
no.
No, but they should restrict it to the area around the livestock, to keep all the unpleasant smells in one place.
Yes. The fact that people can smoke is one of my reasons for not really caring for the fair. The crush of humanity means there is no where to go to get a breath of fresh air (literally and metaphorically) in the best of times; adding 20% of that crush smoking makes it even worse. I'm mildly asthmatic and I can do okay around 2 or 3 smokers, outside where I can put distance between myself and them, but at the fair there is almost nowhere you can go without getting smoke in your face and lungs.
Yes. Nothing is more disgusting then standing in line for food and someone in front of me is smoking. I find it rude and gross.
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- Have changes to the airline passenger experience affected your willingness to fly?
- Should marijuana be available for medical use in Minnesota?
- Do the struggles of Minnesota's business icons signal trouble for the state's economy?
- Do you know whether insurance would cover your losses in a major storm?
- What kind of recycling program would you be likely to use the most?
- Would you support paying people for organ or tissue donations?
- Have personal relationships in the workplace ever presented a problem for you?
- Do you think Facebook is a passing fad?
- Will you be less likely to visit the Minnesota Zoo without its dolphins?
- Should authorities in the Twin Cities change the way they warn people about tornadoes?
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