Croats Come Up With A Good Compromise On Smoking Ban

That is good news.

I think this is a great idea...up until about 3 years ago, every place in Australia (except shopping centres), you could smoke - now you can't - well pubs, clubs & restaurants. But the pubs have a special outdoor area where smokers can so & smoke but the only rule is that you can't have food or drink there. The other rule we have here now is that you can't smoke within 4 metres from any doorway.

I think it is a great idea. In fact I was hoping it would come to this.I don't smoke in fact I am allergic but both my parents smoked and I am for smoker's rights.I always thought there could be away to give the smokers their own lounge where they could smoke and not interfere with non smokers.But I fear here in the statesthis could never happen. Here,they are thinking of banning smoking outside! My other fear feels like it is just about to happen.If you smoke and you are a parent, they will take away your children. Then they will round up all the remaining smokers and send them to camps.I hope I am wrong.

I don't think it works. I know Bingo halls tried to have separate ROOMS for the smokers and non-smokers. The smoke can definitely be smelled from one room to another. I cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke. If exposed to it for too long it will make me nauseous. So what about the rights of the non-smokers? Don't we have the right to NOT be infected by these toxins.

There are bans on perfumes in various places now for the same reasons. People are very sensitive to different things and are actually allergic. There are a lot of people with asthma and such which smoking and perfumes exacerbate. Me, with fibromyalgia, have heightened sensitivities (as do most fibromites). There are a lot of smells that drive me crazy and give me a headache. I wouldn't mind losing my sense of smell altogether.

But it's not just smells, it is a matter of inhaling what others are putting into the air. If you had a cafe that is all smoking, then people can choose not to go in there but you can be darn sure that establishments attached on either side of that cafe will be able to smell the fumes. I don't care how high-tech their ventilation systems are. Those are just using more energy which cause a whole other problem.

I used to smoke and I can't believe what we used to be allowed to do as far as smoking. I see myself smoking in my office, smoking in my home where my children live, and shake my head. Smoking kills, and second hand smoke kills. If you want to kill yourself, don't bring everyone else along with you.

I have been in restaurants where there are separate smoking sections, in some restaurants in works and in some it doesn't.

One place we went to, the smoking section was by the door, while we waited for a table we got to smell the smoke. I came home smelling like an ashtray.

In other places, the smoking area is in the back or in a separate wing or section. These usually work out but sometimes you get the people who take that last puff before they leave then walk through the non-smoking section and you can smell the cigarette smoke.

I would go with a separate entrance for smokers and separate restrooms.

BTW I have asthma and attacks have been triggered by people walking by.

we did that for a while in Austin, but they had to tighten it because the smokers were not considerate of the non-smokers - now they have to either have totally separate (and enclosed) smoking section with totally separate air conditioning system

but Austin is one of the most restrictive cities regarding smoking

Hi danishcanadian, I hate to start off with a niggle but I think you might find that our Croatian friends might prefer that term to the one you've come up with.
A similair system worked fine in the UK for many years, a smoking and no smoking section available in restaurants. When I was last in the UK, just before the smoking ban was introduced, the smoking area had been reduced to a couple of chairs outside the toilets which was no more than a joke. Of course they could choose to stand outside the restaurant with their cigarette in the cold and wet. Of course they are going to stay at home rather than suffer such indignity whilst some non smoker is being offensive on the next table inside by other means.

Well that's good news. I mean smokers are everywhere and I'm one of them. It's simply a matter of common courtesy for smokers to be very considerate of other people specially the non-smokers. In the factory where I worked before, the smoking area was roughly a hundred meters out from the workplace and somewhat 600 meters away from the canteen. Imagine how far I'd have to walk after meals. It's no big deal. I eventually got used to it and I must say, there are quite a lot of us that the smoking area gets very crowded specially during the day shift.

I do believe that's a fair enough for everyone. Here in our city, the mayor has also implemented a sort of anti-smoking act, but it's not well-executed. I guess it just serves as a warning to practice common courtesy. I don't smoke around people I know who don't anyway. And if I don't know if they smoke or not, I wait for someone to ask or if I just can't take it, I excuse myself and go out where I could smoke.

hi, I do not like smoking and those who smokes. If they smoke close to me, I would have a thought to kill them at once. Smoking is such a menace that non-smokers could not even tolerate. Prohibiting smoking in the public is a really good move if taken by any government. That ban must be cooperated by the public so that it would be helpful to eradicate such an inhuman activity. I strongly advise that smoking should be banned totally or at least in the public.

Each state does have there own rules and in each state each city and county also has there own rules on smoking in public place. Now where I live if smokers want to smoke at a restaurant they can but have to go outside and need to be 100 feet from the entry into the restaurant. I like this because restaurant is smoke free and it also is better for the children. They do not have to breathe in the smoke. I think people should be able to smoke but also I should not have to breathe in that smoke. So far I think this smoking arrangement works but I do know some smoker do not like it.