Minnesota Senate bans public smoking

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Yay! And my Senator was the primary sponsor!

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1082499.html

Should probably pass the House too considering the margin. Soon all of Minnesota will be smoke free

[CultureKing]

Yay! And my Senator was the primary sponsor!

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1082499.html

Should probably pass the House too considering the margin. Soon all of Minnesota will be smoke free

Congrats! Welcome to the smoking ban states club, you'll definately be happy with the results

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I already know I am, since smoking bans have already been passed in Mankato and Minneapolis.

[memphis]

I'm so jealous of you guys. Even ignoring the health stuff, there is nothing worse than going out and then ending up smelling like crap from cigarette smoke.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Smoking was banned in my county two years ago and I must say, I definitely appreciate it... going to the bar is much more enjoyable for me, as a non-smoker, and a few of my smoker friends have said they like it as well, though it can get on their nerves because you can't bring your drink with you outside (which is just stupid), but you can't smoke inside.

I'm actually torn on the issue, though.  While I do believe it should be the right of the business owner to decide what goes on in his/her business, I also believe it is the right of the individual to not have to breath smoke in public places.

So, I support the ban (for my own selfish reasons), yet I can understand why people are against it.

[MasterJedi]

Good, another state looks like it will become smoke free soon enough. Too bad more states aren't getting to this faster.

[WalterMitty]

brtd, what is this i hear about some minnesota state senator introducing legislatation to give people who receive public health insurance a $20 gift card to target?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I have never heard of that.

[MaC]

Yay! And my Senator was the primary sponsor!

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1082499.html

Should probably pass the House too considering the margin. Soon all of Minnesota will be smoke free

And the black market rises...

[Gabu]

Yay! And my Senator was the primary sponsor!

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1082499.html

Should probably pass the House too considering the margin. Soon all of Minnesota will be smoke free

And the black market rises...

Selling what, businesses in which you can smoke?  Cigarettes are still legal.

[MaC]

Yay! And my Senator was the primary sponsor!

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1082499.html

Should probably pass the House too considering the margin. Soon all of Minnesota will be smoke free

And the black market rises...

Selling what, businesses in which you can smoke?  Cigarettes are still legal.

read again, son.

[Gabu]

Yay! And my Senator was the primary sponsor!

http://www.startribune.com/587/story/1082499.html

Should probably pass the House too considering the margin. Soon all of Minnesota will be smoke free

And the black market rises...

Selling what, businesses in which you can smoke?  Cigarettes are still legal.

read again, son.

Read the bill, son.  It's not banning cigarettes.

[bullmoose88]

Good, another state looks like it will become smoke free soon enough. Too bad more states aren't getting to this faster.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What I meant by all of Minnesota is the entire state now has the bans many cities and counties have passed. Hennepin County banned it, but backlash resulted in it being rescinded. Now it's only banned in Minneapolis, Golden Valley and Bloomington (the cities that have their own bans).

Mankato has a ban, but various business have been granted a waiver (only until July though, before this bill would go into effect.) Most of the neighboring areas have not banned smoking though. One of my professors who is also the mayor of North Mankato (who is strongly opposed to any smoking ban in his city) said that there has been no increase in business in North Mankato bars since the ban though that they were expecting. The ban was also SUPPORTED by the owners of some of Mankato's largest bars I found out.

The only factor remaining is a lawsuit against the City of Minneapolis by a strip club owner. He argues strip clubs that don't serve alcohol are not covered under the ban. This is one rare case where I hope the strip clubs lose. The state ban is much broader though, so that argument might not work there.

[MODU]

I'm not a fan of cities or states being "smoke free," however I do agree with the movement to make restaurants (not stand-alone bars) smoke free.  Unless there is a completely separate smoking section that is walled off and has a negative pressure ventilation system to suck out all of the smoke, there shouldn’t be any smoking permitted on the premises.

[WalterMitty]

I have never heard of that.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070329/ap_on_he_me/health_care_gift_cards_2

[HardRCafé]

I'm not a fan of cities or states being "smoke free," however I do agree with the movement to make restaurants (not stand-alone bars) smoke free.

There is no movement to make restaurants and not bars smoke-free.  They move on to bars as soon as they get their way with restaurants.  The same thing just happened with bowling alleys in Idaho.  Anyone who backed a ban on just restaurants was snookered.

[Ban my account ffs!]

That's what happened here.  Smoking was banned in Restaurants and Bars except in "bars" from 8pm-3am (which was when everyone goes to the bars), but on Jan. 1st, the full ordinance came into law and now all bars and restaurants are smoke free.

The 2 year "half and half" deal was to allow a period of "study" in which officials could see the impact it had on restaurants before they banned smoking in bars.  Apparently there wasn't enough impact in their eyes to seek modification.

[muon2]

The Illinois Senate passed a similar bill this week. A similar bill is still being debated and amended on the floor of the House. The final version has yet to be established.

[MODU]

I'm not a fan of cities or states being "smoke free," however I do agree with the movement to make restaurants (not stand-alone bars) smoke free.

There is no movement to make restaurants and not bars smoke-free.  They move on to bars as soon as they get their way with restaurants.  The same thing just happened with bowling alleys in Idaho.  Anyone who backed a ban on just restaurants was snookered.

I believe that bars should be allowed to be an environment where smokers may light-up inside.  If people are already killing themselves with alcohol, while not add smoke as well?  As far as restaraunts go, there are plenty of towns and cities going smoke-free in restaurants.  In Virginia alone:

"Alexandria Restaurants May Go Smoke-Free"

VA House Bill (by Kaine) to make VA smoke free

"Rudee Inlet restaurants going smoke-free April 1"