Boy, it sure would be nice if there were a few more places that smokers could go to relax . . .

AUA, you've already got plenty of places - anywhere with a patio. I for one am very happy I no longer have to breathe your second-hand smoke every time I go out.

Pre-ban, you had plenty of places - - Halo springs to mind. Saying that you had to breathe my second-hand smoke every time you went out is pure hyperbole. Let's not get caught up in that.

Wanting a place within twenty blocks of my apartment that caters to the 25% of the city that shares my vice isn't a talking point or an exhaggeration.

Patios are fine during the spring and summer (if it's not raining.) During the winter it's pointless.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

AUA: Get over it. You lost. No more killing other people with your secondhand smoke!

You want to smoke? Step outside and smoke. It's still smoking, and that way, those of us who are smart enough to not smoke aren't constantly breathing in your cancer causing breath! It's bad enough I have to get it blown in my face everytime I walk by a door b/c people aren't smart enough to not do something that will kill them. Seriously, smokers get a clue, cities are finally realizing that us non smokers have a right to cleaner air.

I guarantee you, business are not hurting b/c of the bad, people are not going to stop going to restaurants b/c of it, and there are those of us nonsmokers who are increasing our visits to restaurants now that we can actually breathe while we are there.

I think it is absolutely ludicrous that any smoker truly believes that their smoking has no impact on other people or that we non-smokers should have to suck it up and breathe their second hand smoke in a public restaurant or bar. Smokers of the world, smoke in the outside air and pollute it all you want, we non-smokers can do our best to avoid you when we see you, but when we go out for dinner or want to unwind and have a drink, you are unfringing on our right to breathe second-hand smoke free air. You want to smoke, God bless you. Enjoy! Smoke all you want! but do it away from the non-smokers. Go outside! Or better yet, stay home and smoke inside at YOUR house.

A "decline in revenues" at this time of year may be typical - it's more appropriate to compare earnings trends to what the restaurants were pulling in last year during the same months

"Too Bad Smokers", get over what, exactly? My thoughts, expectations, and preferences? My comments are reasonable and rational. The "you lost" mentality makes you sound like a nut.

For "Get over it," who may as well be the same person, I'd sooner trust the restaurant association's data than your personal and likely baseless 'guarantee'.

Having a few more places for smokers to go will enable you to avoid walking through clouds of smoke to go to a smoke-free restaurant, bar, or other destination. It will keep smokers from standing on sidewalks while mothers push strollers down the street - - I hate seeing that.

Apply some critical thinking to the situation instead of just spouting the first knee-jerk reaction that comes into your head.

I am not the same person, so you know. And it isn'a first knee-jerk reaction that came into my head. I apply plenty of critical thinking, and the fact of the matter is that the restaurant's association is in the back pocket of the major cigarette companies when they make this claim about reduced revenues. Have you seen restaurants suffering and having less customers? I haven't, and I go to them all the time. Montgomery County has a smoking ban and they are thriving.

But beyond all that, the simple logic is this: Cigarette smoke is a not a natural occuring item. The world was created with clean air. Those that choose to smoke are ingringing on the rights of those that would like to breathe air that isn't going to give them cancer. And before you even try to say it, AUA, yes, I know driving pollutes the air and it isn't "natural" either. I agree, I am all for companies working fast and furious to create clean burning chemicals for fueling vehicles. I try to avoid driving whenever possible.

You are clearly the one with the "knee jerk reaction" b/c you happen to be lacking the will power to stop something research and common knowledge shows is bad for everyone.

I'm betting when the actual numbers come in (and not just a poll of what the restaurants 'think') comes in, that revenues will be just fine. People, including smokers, still have to eat.

I'm all for companies working quickly to create clean-burning chemicals for fueling vehicles as well. I'm not for banning automobiles.

And if PMMJ's prediction turns out to be true, then I will change my stance - - if this works (economically,) then I won't gripe about personal preferences.

I wish you non-smokers would stop being such cowards.
If you're going to keep whining about the "cancer" you're going to get from m second-hand smoke, I should have the right to be guarded from whatever stupid political conversation you're having with your fat girlfriend when I'm out just trying to enjoy my Maker's and ginger ale while scratching my arms and chest where I'm covered in nicotine patches because of this ludicrous smoking ban.
Seriously, though, it kills me to smell every subtlety of my co-rockers' body odors that the lovely aroma of burning tobacco used to cover.

Yes, people still have to eat, but they don't have to eat out, thus restaurants will have their business hurt. I've already stopped going to bars in DC. Sure, smoking is unhealthy, and it makes everyone smell terrible, myself included, BUT the health aspects of second hand smoke are absolute fabrications. It's harmful for the primary smoker, and I suppose if you blew the smoke in the bartender's face at every exhale, then probably that's harmful, but just being in the same room is less dangerous than breathing automobile exhaust out on the street. I don't see any problem with their being nonsmoking bars. In Arlington, there are two right next door to each other, the Clarendon Ballroom and the Liberty Tavern. Let smokers have their places where they can smoke. What, are you going to protect a smoking bartender from themselves despite them going outside to smoke on their break? Quit imposing your values. Let businesses (and employees) decide for themselves if a place should be smoke-free. Don't be my freaking mother.

It's simply amazing the attitude of non-smokers, believing what they believe. The Surgeon General has nothing conclusive on secondhand smoke, despite their propaganda. Additionally, the comment that someone would do something even though they know it will kill them. Enough of anything will kill you-- read meats, ice cream, whole milk. What about the 60 percent of Americans who are obese? I do not see any food bans being passed by states.

While auto pollution is a problem, all air pollution is controlled by federal laws - you can't just dump anything into the air. Additionally, the pollution caused by smoking indoors is extremely concentrated because its a closed environment. Sorry, smokers, but that is an inappropriate comparison.

I, for one, am relishing in the fact that I don't have to walk out of a happy hour with my clothes requiring a dry cleaning, my hair smelling like smoke, my eyes bright red from the irritants and my lungs burning from the chemicals. I don't really care what drug addicts have to say about being forced to hit their cancer sticks outdoors...it's just the nicotine talking.

Liz, air pollution is controlled by federal AND state laws. This is why California has stricter controls than the federal ones. And the point isn't about health, smoking gets banned because left wingers just want to ban something they don't like. Restaurants/bars proposed completely separate smoking areas, with separate ventilation, and yet they were still refused. They simply want to ban smoking from where they can see it, even if they don't have to be around it, or smell like it. You even admit, that your primary concern is smelling like smoke. The health aspects are BS. I'm sure you have more to worry about lead pain, asbestos, and what other chemicals there are in the indoor air than cigarette smoke. And when you're in a busy city, I assure you, when you have a diesel bus drive by you, that air you're breathing is vastly more toxic, despite not being enclosed, and given so many cars around here, it's pretty concentrated. Ever read the studies on asthma rates in big cities? They believe they are higher because of all of the diesel, from OUTDOOR pollution, yet why don't you want to ban diesel? It smells bad too! Funny you call smokers "drug addicts", like those cosmopolitans you drink aren't drugs... whatever.

Somebody in my building makes indian food. It makes my apartment and clothes smell like indian food! LETS BAN INDIAN FOOD!

See the idiocy of my logic? It's like how smoking ban people think. It doesn't cause cancer unless you directly smoke the cigarette, and you do it for many years. Sorry, because something smells bad doesn't mean it should be banned. Can't tell you how many times I've almost puked from perfume in elevators.

One problem with the Restaurant Association's report: picking out just the data that suits them (and it's well known that the Restaurant Association of just about every big city is pretty much owned by Big Tobacco). What I mean is, if 35% of restaurants report a decline in business, could the other 65% be reporting an increase? Maybe those 35% are just the ones that had nothing but the fact that they allow smoking going for them, which is why people abandoned them, but on the whole the restaurant industry is doing better. Until someone actually shows that the mean restaurant revenue declined compared to the same time last year, and that this decline is statistically significant, I say all their numbers do not mean anything.

I have been in the restaurant for 15 years and have always been amazed that smokers don't feel they are given the same rights as non-smokers in a non-smoking restaurant. You are, indeed. You have, just as non-smokers, the right to inhale good, clean non cigarette- smoke polluted air. Smokers are producing cancer-causing pollution. Taking up smoking is a personal choice and should not have public ramifications. Smoking is an unnatural, unhealthy substance addiction and should in no way affect me or any other non-smoker. My restaurant has been open 10 years and has always been smoke-free. We are located in rural middle TN and draw a "high-end" crowd from many larger cities and have done so with great success due partly to the fact that we don't allow foul cigarette stench in our restaurant. People put cigarettes out in drinks, mashed potatoes, a slice of pizza, salad dressing; I've seen them all. Those of you who do that- you're disgusting. Why don't you just chew some tobacco and spit it in your wine glass? All in all, if you want to smoke that is indeed your choice. However, if you insist on doing it in public, either stay outside or stay at home.