Statewide Smoking Ban

[Southron]

Bills filed in both houses of the state legislature would ban smoking in Alabama public places, including bars, restaurants, workplaces, shopping centers, convention centers, theaters, sports arenas, and common-use areas. The Alabama Restaurant Association supports a comprehensive ban.

Smoking represents $1.49 billion in health care costs and $2.05 billion in lost productivity across Alabama.

Thoughts about the proposed ban?

Mobile Press-Register article

[rnc]

Bills filed in both houses of the state legislature would ban smoking in Alabama public places, including bars, restaurants, workplaces, shopping centers, convention centers, theaters, sports arenas, and common-use areas. The Alabama Restaurant Association supports a comprehensive ban.

Smoking represents $1.49 billion in health care costs and $2.05 billion in lost productivity across Alabama.

Thoughts about the proposed ban?

Mobile Press-Register article

[convulso]

bars? economic suicide, at least until smoking bans are so widespread that no bars anywhere are able to provide smokers an alternative.

allow grown human beings at least one bastion of self-destructive behavior, and let the market demonstrate whether there is sufficient demand for non-smoking bars. if there is, such bars would flourish (and already would have been flourishing, for that matter). i'm libertarian about what people should be allowed to do to harm themselves (especially in establishments which nonsmokers can simply eschew if public health is of concern).

except for bars, yeah, go ahead and ban it - the other venues present more legitimate public health concerns, since one's presence in these locations is not always voluntary.

[atwalker]

I would wholeheartedly support a complete ban. Right now we have a partial ban right now in Huntsville. If a place allows smoking, you must be 19 or older to enter. It is pretty annoying, because you can't go to those places with your children, even at lunch. I'm suprised the Alabama Restaurant Association supports it.

[kayman]

Proposal would limit smoking

The State Senate Education Committee has passed the legislation to ban smoking from all public facilities including bars. It is a similar bill to the smoking ban that has been enforced in 17 other states. This is most definitely a step in the right direction of eliminating second-hand smoke from all public facilities. At the East Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission almost 90% of the workers smoked and I had to avoid second-hand smoke by holding my breathe when going out of just about all the entrances there.

[Alabadrock]

How bout this. You get rid of the smoking, people are healthier. You say, that'll kill business! Haha, switch the tobacco farms to switch grass or something for ethanol.

[DruidCity]

I'd enjoy a statewide smoking ban.

I've enjoyed going out to restaurants more often since a partial ban was put in locally last year.

[Alabadrock]

I'd enjoy a statewide smoking ban.

I've enjoyed going out to restaurants more often since a partial ban was put in locally last year.