State Senate Will Vote on Smoking Ban Today

June 26th, 2007, posted by Stanley

The state Senate is set to vote today on a ban on public smoking so riddled with exceptions that one critic denounced it as a ‘‘tragedy.’‘

The chamber voted 29-21 on Monday to amend the plan sponsored by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf, R-Montgomery, which would have imposed a comprehensive ban on public smoking.

Instead, lawmakers signed off on a host of exceptions, including carve-outs for private residences, long-term care facilities, cigar bars, tobacco shops and 25 percent of all hotel rooms and gaming floors in casinos. Smokers could also still light up in private clubs and drinking establishments where food sales account for less than 20 percent of revenue.

The amendment sponsored by Sen. Charles T. McIlhinney, R-Bucks, ran into stubborn opposition from Senate Democrats.

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Gutless lawmakers

On June 26th, 2007 faudi said:

Unfortunately,I expected that our gutless lawmakers would not stand up to special interests. As expected, our shameful Senators caved in and riddled the smoking ban with numerous exemptions. I guess not all citizens are equal in PA. Some workers appear to be expendable, and their health will be sacrificed in order to please special interests.I wonder if future elections spurred some selfish Senators to betray some workers in order to assure future campaign money from special interests?

Last time I looked tobacco

On June 29th, 2007 Anonymous said:

Last time I looked tobacco was a legal, heavily taxed product that the growers receive subsidies for by the US government. The government has no business telling shop owners that they have to ban smoking completely. There are many restaurants, Red Robin comes to mind, that have instituted their own smoking ban successfully.
If a bar or restaurant owner wants to cater to smokers they should have that right. Banning smoking in a cigar store is insane. What would a non smoker be doing in there in the first place? If an employee takes a job and they know for a fact they will be exposed to second hand smoke then don’t take the job. It’s that simple. It’s called personal responsibility. We don’t need the government to enforce all of this social crap. How many millions of dollars will be spent creating yet another government bureaucracy to enforce this nonsense. Then people wonder why our taxes are so high.

Iowa Smoking Ban

On February 22nd, 2008 Anonymous said:

I agree with you. Our dear, dear lawmakers in Iowa sit there and say, “oh, we are so concerned about the health of people who are around second hand smoke and that 444 people die every year from second hand smoke. So…......they passed the statewide ban, except, of course, in casinos. Now, I am just wondering…..does secondhand smoke get cleaner in casinos than in private businesses? Gosh, sure seems strange to me. It’s okay for the schools to hand out birth control pills and condoms to our children without the consent of the parents, but, ohmygod, don’t smoke a cigarette in front of them! I have written to the reps., everyone, all I do is email, email, email. I spend the majority of my day trying to save MY INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS GIVEN TO ME BY GOD, not government. It’s discrimination that casinos won’t have to ban smoking but private establishments do. I think and wish and pray the people in this country would band together and start fighting these nazi’s. Did you know that the first nation in modern history to ban smoking and guns was…..under the regime of….ADOLPH HITLER??!!! He said it’s ‘for the children’. Does that not sound familliar?? If citizens don’t wake up, every single right and freedom given us FROM GOD and the Constitution of the United States will be gone and then what’s next…...ethnic cleansing?? I wouldn’t be too fast to dismiss this idea. All the studies of second hand smoke are lies. The drug companies are making millions with this nonsense. They make us drugs to help stop smoking. These drugs have nicotine. That’s why when someone is using this drug, it’s dangerous for them to smoke because the drug is loaded with nicotine. I think people should boycott the damn casinos. Just one day of boycotting would cost the government so much money they would HAVE to overturn this stupid law. LAWS, LAWS, LAWS. There is no time to relax any longer. You have to wear seatbelts, you have pay taxes to buy gas to get to work, you have to pay taxes on the money you make at work, you have to pay taxes on the property you own, you have to pay taxes to drive your car, you have to pay taxes to have heat and elec. in your home and now they are going to get rid of lightbulbs that people have used for hundreds of years. So GE and AL Gorey can get rich. These special light bulbs that will help global warming (biggest scam in history) are full of mercury so when you break one or have to change one, you will have to hire HAZMATT to dispose of it for you and pay them an arm and a leg to do that. When does it end???? Well, when this overbloated government finally has all of us sucking the government tit to hell. Everyone who does not like smoke has the right to not go into a place that allows it and they have the right to find another place to work. God knows, there’s a helluva lot more places that ban smokers than not. I’m so sick of these whiny ass people that think the government cares about them and will take care of them forever. It makes me wretch. Thanks for listening. God bless. CMD

As I read the previous

On February 22nd, 2008 Anonymous said:

As I read the previous comments I was sure it would eventually blame the Democrats for all the LAWS, LAWS, LAWS and all the government interference in our otherwise dazzling lives, but I was disappointed. I guess that’s because this is Republican sponsored and ammended bill. OOPS!