Who'd have thought "not smelling like smoke" was a big selling point?

Tr0mBoNe: Who'd have thought "not smelling like smoke" was a big selling point?

And if you're not smoking you're probably drinking more. Oral fixation ftw

Portland started this on New Year's Day. I've noticed the following:

Instead of casually sipping your drink and smoking inside the bar, whenever someone gets the urge to smoke, they have to go outside. So they slam down the rest of their drink, go outside for a smoke, and then come back in and order a fresh drink.

That's funny, my friend lost his job because business has tanked at the bar he works at, since the state-wide smoking ban.

Ironically, it seems that business has INCREASED at the local (more expensive) bar that had ALREADY banned smoking in-doors.

/wait, that's not ironic, that's just coincidental

puffy999: That's funny, my friend lost his job because business has tanked at the bar he works at, since the state-wide smoking ban.

Ironically, it seems that business has INCREASED at the local (more expensive) bar that had ALREADY banned smoking in-doors.

Actually I'd say that probably makes a lot of sense. If every bar in town had gone no-smoking, and one bar stayed smoking, then the smokers would go to the smoking one over the others no matter if it were really nice or a total dump.

But as soon as all of them are no smoking, the patrons will choose to go to whichever they like the best. Looks like the only reason your buddy's bar was not the first choice for most folks, it was just the choice left to them by virtue of their actual first choice being no-smoking.

When the smoking ban came to my favorite biker bar it stopped reeking of cigs. Now it reeks like a barn with sweaty festering man smell. In a twisted way it's kind of hot, but it is completely overpowering.

Oh no, AntiNorm is going to cream his jeans when he reads this.

Sgt Otter: Portland started this on New Year's Day. I've noticed the following:

Instead of casually sipping your drink and smoking inside the bar, whenever someone gets the urge to smoke, they have to go outside. So they slam down the rest of their drink, go outside for a smoke, and then come back in and order a fresh drink.

THIS. As a smoker with the majority of friends who also smoke, this is the tactic we've resorted to. We've noticed our bar tabs increasing.

Thats funny, cause Illinois casinos blame the smoking ban for revenue decline.

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Anecdotal evidence is anecdotal

I really cut back on going to the bar when the ban first went in. Now I'm used to it. I've also found that the smoking area is a pretty good place to meet women.

hmmm...being able to breath and not smell like shiat when you get home...brilliant!

Frank N Stein: Thats funny, cause Illinois casinos blame the smoking ban for revenue decline.

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Well that makes sense... unless they can gamble at the outside smoking area.

So not having to breathe in that nasty smoke and smell like an ashtray causes more people to hang out? Who would have guessed? But then again smokers aren't known for their logic...

So bars that do well are doing so because of the cigarette ban and the ones going bankrupt are doing so because of the overall economy. I geddit. More anti-smoking bullshiat wstats.

Weird that people will go to a place more if they don't have to reek of cigarette smoke when they leave.

Government does not have the right to dictate whether someone smokes in their private property. Period.

/Non smoker

THIS. As a smoker with the majority of friends who also smoke, this is the tactic we've resorted to. We've noticed our bar tabs increasing.

What...are you people afraid your friends are going to spit in or rufie your drink?

Soon bars won't allow drinking cuz of the smell of vomit and the mess alcohol makes...Not to mention its unhealthy...

Cheer all you want mutants... America is one day closer to Facism

Re: State-Mandated Smoking Bans

If a bar can weather 3-6 months of crappy business, it will usually level out and do okay at that point. Trouble is, most businesses can't afford that kind of drain on their economy for that length of time.

Conversely, you could always open a bar in Arizona, Florida or California, where people can smoke outside without violating the ordinance, but people in the midwest? Farked.

Listen. I'm going to tell you one more time: If they serve food, it's a restaurant, not a bar.
If they let kids in, it's not a bar.
This is a bar.
This is a restaurant.

/non smoking restaurants are OK
//keep your biatchy mitts off my bars.

ParliamentFunkadelic: Soon bars won't allow drinking cuz of the smell of vomit and the mess alcohol makes...Not to mention its unhealthy...

Cheer all you want mutants... America is one day closer to Facism

B-b-but, they're doing it FOR OUR OWN GOOD! Just like trans-fat bans.

Wow, is there anyone more sanctimonious than smokers and non-smokers?

I live in a city that just adopted a smoke-free law at the beginning of the year. It's a college town, so of course business has not dropped off at all. And personally I have spent probably 3x as much time and money at local bars and restaurants since then, due in part to the fact that I can take my kids with me in the afternoon or evening. And I love being able to come home and go to bed without having to immediately throw all my clothes in the washer and then take a shower.

I don't go to bars because I hate smelling like an ashtray. But, I would go if it didn't make me smell so bad.

"Yes, no smoking in bars now, and soon there'll be no drinking and no talking! Be careful, California, you're supposed to be the crazy state - out there, the wild ones. Soon everybody will be saying, 'Come down to the library, we'll have a wild time!'"

ParliamentFunkadelic: Soon bars won't allow drinking cuz of the smell of vomit and the mess alcohol makes...Not to mention its unhealthy...

Cheer all you want mutants... America is one day closer to Facism

I bet soon they aren't even going to let me drink in my own car.

Since 75% of the population doesn't smoke, and most of us prefer not to come home smelling like an ashtray, this is not a surprise.

Fark it, let the business owners decide if they want to allow smoking or not. Let the customers decide if they want to spend their money at a place that allows smoking or not. The government has more important things to do than to tell me or anyone where I can or can not smoke.

I heard that anecdotal evidence is anecdotal, but I won't believe that without hard evidence.

God forbid we let people choose what kind of establishment they frequent. How long til we ban indoor grilling? Sorry Burger King, your flame-broiler is a health hazard and even though there are other places people can go to avoid the smoke, we're ust going to pass a blanket law instead.

Hooray for the death of capitalism.

ParliamentFunkadelic: Soon bars won't allow drinking cuz of the smell of vomit and the mess alcohol makes...Not to mention its unhealthy...

Cheer all you want mutants... America is one day closer to Facism

Meh... I seriously doubt they'll want to a take a vacation back to the days of Prohibition. It didn't work out to well.

/we like our booze

I live out in Illinois where they started a smoking ban last year. There's still bars all over the place that allow smoking, although the closer you get to the city the fewer you find.

WFern: Government does not have the right to dictate whether someone smokes in their private property. Period.

Ah, but government has the right to regulate business. For example, if you're a barber, you need to have Barbicide to dip your combs and scissors in. If you're a restaurant, you must follow food safety laws and fire codes vis-a-vis maximum occupancy. If you're a liquor store, you can't sell booze to minors. If you're a strip club, you can't let kids in. And so on and so forth.

So, yes, if government can do those things, they can ban smoking in bars and restaurants if they feel like it. Don't like it? Vote your representative government out.

So the logic here is that bar owners, since the beginning of time, were too stupid to know how to make money and were catering to the wrong customers all along?

Whatever the arguments for or against the bans, that is an idiotic line of analysis. If the majority would have made more money due to a ban, they would have self-imposed one decades ago.

Bar business up?
Where I live two thirds of them have closed , so guess it would go up for the surviving bars.

I didn't care for the smoke, but it was MY choice to enter the place.Your choice now is no choice, the precident of Governnment by Nanny State has been set.
I don't like getting wet.All pools must now be water free.Water is the main cause of drowning don't you know....

How about the bars with smoking areas outside attached, where you can bring your drink with you.
Win/win situation.

just four simple words............I TOLD YOU SO!

God forbid people actually wash their clothes.

lerry: I live out in Illinois where they started a smoking ban last year. There's still bars all over the place that allow smoking, although the closer you get to the city the fewer you find.

I live in Chicago Heights. I know a few bars that still allow smoking in my area.

That's were I usually go

M0nkeyp0x: God forbid people actually wash their clothes.

I know plenty of smokers who was their clothes regularly and they still smell.

Oh ok, so a 51% vote decides everything.

That's called a mob.

ctobio: WFern: Government does not have the right to dictate whether someone smokes in their private property. Period.

Ah, but government has the right to regulate business. For example, if you're a barber, you need to have Barbicide to dip your combs and scissors in. If you're a restaurant, you must follow food safety laws and fire codes vis-a-vis maximum occupancy. If you're a liquor store, you can't sell booze to minors. If you're a strip club, you can't let kids in. And so on and so forth.

So, yes, if government can do those things, they can ban smoking in bars and restaurants if they feel like it. Don't like it? Vote your representative government out.

I'm pretty strongly against smoking bans.

That said, I absolutely refused to go to the local bar before the ban went into effect last year. Now I go all the time, I know others that feel the same way. I hate smelling like an ashtray after a night out. Plus, having lived in Maine for most of my drinking life I was very unused to big concentrations of smoke and it hurt my eyes.

Dispector: I know plenty of smokers who was their clothes regularly and they still smell.

How many non-smokers who have been out at a bar the night before that have washed their clothes still smell like smoke?

/showering should also be a pretty regular thing

Thank God for smoking bans - because it's impossible to just open a bar and choose to ban smoking in it, amirite?

Great Janitor: Fark it, let the business owners decide if they want to allow smoking or not. Let the customers decide if they want to spend their money at a place that allows smoking or not. The government has more important things to do than to tell me or anyone where I can or can not smoke.

I'm a non-smoker and I came here to say THIS.

It still sickens me that this ever made it past bill status, let alone actual law.

This has nothing to do with the merits/concerns of smoking.

It has everything to do with "this is my farking bar and if I want to smoke here, then goddammit I will."

Glad to see the states have solved all their other problems, so they can get to dictating every minute of our lives.

The reason business went up is because due to lack of business there are less bars now then there were.

Link (new window)

oh shiat here we go again...

You are all whiny biatches and I hope whatever level of hell you land in consists sitting in a Sauna with Fidel Castro, George Burns and Rosie O'Donnell fed a diet of beans and cabbage.

ctobio: WFern: Government does not have the right to dictate whether someone smokes in their private property. Period.

Ah, but government has the right to regulate business. For example, if you're a barber, you need to have Barbicide to dip your combs and scissors in. If you're a restaurant, you must follow food safety laws and fire codes vis-a-vis maximum occupancy. If you're a liquor store, you can't sell booze to minors. If you're a strip club, you can't let kids in. And so on and so forth.

So, yes, if government can do those things, they can ban smoking in bars and restaurants if they feel like it. Don't like it? Vote your representative government out.

I'm not sure "selling hooch to minors" is at all comparable to an establishment that is open about the presence of cigarette smoke. Regulate such businesses to exclude minors if you wish, but it's a grotesque overreach to try and ban smoking indoors entirely., just as it would be an overreach to mandate the size of food portions in a restaurant.

The only reason people support this kind of action is because they prefer convenience to basic liberties.