Dallas Smoking Ban

[interestedobserver]

Houston's ban recently expanded to include bars and clubs.

It's only a matter of time until Dallas and/or the State of Texas ban smoking outright in public places. That's obviously the global trend. If France, Spain and Ireland can survive bans, then so can the US.



I think that in the next Texas lege they will do a ban and all of the local laws will be rendered moot.Out of curiosity, is that just a feeling you have? Because the most recent press I can find on the issue describes how this year's attempt at a statewide ban was watered down to basically no ban at all.

[trolleygirl]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/093007dnnatsmoking.5186d34.html

Smoking bans in more hotels, airports making it harder for travelers to light up

07:40 PM CDT on Saturday, September 29, 2007

From Wire Reports

If you think the biggest pariah in the travel industry is an overzealous airport security screener, an unsympathetic gate agent or a pilot on a delayed plane, clearly you do not travel with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter in your carry-on bag.

With more states and municipalities banning smoking in public places, including airports, and more hotels adopting no-smoking policies that include bars, restaurants and guest rooms, it is getting tougher for travelers with a nicotine habit to find a place to light up.

Westin Hotels, a Starwood brand, banned smoking in its properties in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean in January 2006, a move followed by Marriott's 10 brands last September. Dozens of independent hotels and members of other chains have also gone smoke-free.

Meanwhile, more than 120 airports in the U.S. do not allow smoking anywhere indoors, according to data collected by the advocacy group Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, and most car rental companies generally prohibit smoking in their vehicles.

Not everyone is jumping on the smoke-free bandwagon, however. Some hotels and airports accommodate their customers who cannot kick the habit, still a substantial proportion of the population.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says about 21 percent of American adults smoke, a number that has remained consistent in recent years.

Keeping that statistic in mind, representatives from InterContinental Hotels Group, Hilton and Hyatt said they have no plans to eliminate smoking rooms throughout their chains, though those rooms may represent as little as 1 percent of inventory.

Airports face an arguably tougher choice. For instance, Detroit Metropolitan Airport allows smoking in two bars that have been outfitted with special ventilation systems. It also allows smoking in a room inside a Northwest Airlines WorldClub, a lounge accessible only to paying members.

Michael Conway, an airport spokesman, said giving passengers designated places to smoke inside the terminal was a tough call but one that has had clear benefits. Since the smoking areas were set up, for instance, far fewer door alarms are set off by nicotine-deprived travelers looking for the quickest route outdoors.

It has also reduced reports of smoking in restrooms, and the need to re-screen connecting passengers who dash out to the curb to smoke between flights.

"People who need to have a cigarette are going to find a place to smoke, and they're going to be smoking in places you don't want them," Mr. Conway said. "This way, we've got the smokers controlled."

Susan Stellin,

The New York Times

[LH_Newbie]

My wife and I just got back from a cruise... and one side of the ship's public spaces were smoke-free. We only wished our side of the ship had smoke-free staterooms and balconies... as we had a couple one level down that were chain smokers - we left our balcony sometimes that we didn't want to, but couldn't deal with the smoke. It really is nasty. They'd get more of our money if the casino was smoke-free also. We only went during the one smoke-free night.

[interestedobserver]

The following entry on FrontBurner is interesting... suggests that something's cooking at City Hall regarding a stricter ban:


On January 1, a new smoking ordinance goes into effect in Fort Worth. The augmented ban now restricts smoking pretty much everywhere. New additions to the list include:


… within 20 feet of a regulated structure’s primary entrance or exit, in bowling alleys and in business offices. The rules also ban smoking in bars, if the business does not generate more than 70 percent of its total sales from alcoholic beverages.Dallas smokers can expect something similar, and possibly harsher, in the next 12 months. It’s coming, people. Deal with it. For more on that, check out the February issue of D.
http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2007/12/19/fort-worth-to-smokers-butt-out/

[carousel]

once again, these "bans" should be limited to the individual discretion of the bar/restaurant owner. No need for governmental interference - oh yeah, i forgot that we are the land of the free.

[interestedobserver]

Stronger regional smoking ordinance pushed by Dallas mayor (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011608dnmetsmokingban.2aefdc8.html)
04:49 AM CST on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News
dlevinthal@dallasnews.com



A majority of Dallas City Council members say they're inclined to support strengthening the city's anti-smoking ordinance, and several others are willing to consider such a move, a survey of council members indicates.

Such sentiment comes at a time when large cities, such as Houston, and entire nations, such as cigarette-loving France, have just passed comprehensive public smoking bans.

What's unclear, however, is whether Dallas council members possess the political will to unilaterally ban smoking in bars, outdoor restaurant decks, pool halls and tobacco shops – the city's few hazy refuges remaining for people looking to light up in public. To date, Dallas hasn't formally drafted an amended smoking ordinance, say nothing of reviewing one at the council level.

Instead, several council members, including Mayor Tom Leppert, say they'd rather first prompt a regional discussion on smoking bans in hope of bringing some uniformity to municipalities' notoriously incongruent ordinances – especially since the Texas Legislature appears in no hurry to enact a statewide smoking ban similar to those in other large states, such as California and New York.
In full: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011608dnmetsmokingban.2aefdc8.html

[trolleygirl]

Yeah- blah, blah, blah....whatever

[xdavidwattsx]

Stronger regional smoking ordinance pushed by Dallas mayor (http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011608dnmetsmokingban.2aefdc8.html)
04:49 AM CST on Wednesday, January 16, 2008
By DAVE LEVINTHAL / The Dallas Morning News


While I have a hard time seeing all of the cities actually working together on this productively, a regional solution is the way to go. Got my vote.

[F4shionablecHa0s]

Does anyone else not understand the logic of banning smoking in tobacco shops?

[Mballar]

Damn. . .pretty soon, we won't be able to smoke on Earth, at all.

[ksig121]

dallasnews.com has an awesome live blog of the marathon council deliberation on this ordinance.

http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/12/live-coverage-of-dallas-city-c.html

Update: Epanded Smoking ordinance passes 10-5.

[downtownguy25]

Does anyone else not understand the logic of banning smoking in tobacco shops?
One could then argue the same about drinking in a liquor store.

There used to be a tobacco shop on the first floor of the condo building at the corner of elm and record. The smoke was so bad it would go into the lobby and even down into the parking garage. The condos above the shop constantly smelled of smoke, I remember one owner who were only home on weekends had to air out their unit for hours and still had issues with the smoke.