 Re: Smoking ban in PA at last
[quote=M Richardson;100327]First of all, having, a long time ago, been in the restaurant business, a restaurantuer is NOT allowed to "send as many drunks out into the streets as they please". Send an impaired driver out, assume the liability. Does that mean that bars cut everybody off? No. But if the driver is impaired, and you serve them, and they get into an accident, be ready to get sued for everything you ever thought you would own. Happens all of the time in California.
Secondly, yes, the customers have the option of entering or not. However, the employees don't. Sidestream and second-hand smoke are major health threats for everyone exposed. When you work as a waiter or bartender in a smoking establishment, you are smoking all night long, even if you don't light up.
The smoking ban in bars and restaurants has been in place in California for about 15 years. Everyone has adjusted. The smokers will go outside to get a fix during the evening, which is an inconvenience, but less of an inconvenience for them than their smoke is for everyone else. The ban is being expanded to other areas, including some outdoor venues. You can't smoke at a sports stadium, except in certain locations. Some cities have banned smoking in open-air food markets (farmer's markets). There is no smoking allowed anywhere on a school campus. (Anybody remember the days of opening the door to the teacher's lounge to what looked like a room on fire?) I really expect, within the next 10 to 15 years, for smoking anywhere outside the home or automobile to be banned. There are currently lawsuits in progress between condo owners because a smoker's smoke enters, through windows, or the smell through the walls and floors, a non-smoker's home. The non-smokers are saying that it makes their home unlivable. Smoking is a dying habit - literally and figuratively.[/quote |