Michigan Smoking Ban Passed

Wow, nice of those generous bastards to include "motor vehicles" huh? :0 The whole article is scary but the motor vehicle exclusion gave me a brief but jarring look into the not-so-distant future where a cop has pulled me over and is arresting me for driving under the influence of cigar smoke. I sure hope we're all card-carrying members of CRA!!
 
here's what happens when vehicles aren't exempted -

Trucker gets $305 ticket for smoking in his rig
Ontario law considers interior of truck to be an `enclosed workplace'

The burning question about precisely where a person can smoke these days is flaring up again in Ontario, where a 48-year-old trucker faces a $305 fine for lighting up on the job: while driving his big rig along Canada's busiest highway.

The man, who hails from London, Ont., was headed for Windsor when he was pulled over Wednesday along Highway 401 and given a ticket under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act.

The law, considered a Canadian standard-setter when it was passed in 2006, forbids smoking in all workplaces and enclosed public spaces, including buildings, structures or vehicles worked in or frequented by employees, according to the government's website.

"Examples of an enclosed workplace include the inside of a trailer office on a construction site, the inside of a loading dock, or the inside of a delivery truck," the site says.

Ontario Provincial Police Const. Shawna Coulter said the law is very explicit about what constitutes a workplace.

"It says the inside of any place, building, structure or vehicle that is part of the employee's workplace, which if you're driving a truck for long periods of time – that becomes your workplace."

The driver, whose name was not released, could have good reason to fight the ticket in court, said Doug Switzer, vice-president of the Ontario Trucking Association.

The provincial law ought not to apply in the case of federally regulated trucking companies that operate in other provinces or the United States, Switzer said – nor should it be brought to bear on truckers who own and operate their own rigs and work alone.

"It is a little complicated on the enforcement end because you've got thousands of people from OPP, municipal police forces and health unit enforcement staff, not all of whom are versed in the subtle nuances of the trucking industry or the smoking legislation," he said.

Julie Rosenberg, a spokeswoman for Ontario's Ministry of Health Promotion, refused to comment Thursday on whether or not the law would apply in the case of a truck belonging to a federally regulated company.
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welcome to "Smoke Free Ontario" :angry:
 
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

Do you know how many bars and restaurants will be put out of business because of this? :angry:
 
Fu@$ the pleasure police. They are trying to pass similar legislation here in Amarillo but it has been rejected by the voters 6 times!! Why are they trying to shut down businesses while we have the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression (I think).

I think I'll be joining the CRA before my city decides to join y'all.

-Montagieu
 
w00ts!te said:
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

Do you know how many bars and restaurants will be put out of business because of this? :angry:
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I fully agree on the damnits. But I can't think of a single bar or restaurant that closed for this reason after my state banned indoor public smoking oh so many years ago. I suppose it might have mattered if my area was like some states back east where one could be within walking distance of several other states with their own respective smoking laws - or lack thereof (the whole competition thing). As it is, there's no other choice nearby and people aren't likely to give up drinking hooch or eating anytime soon.

I still agree with the damnits. Very much so. I just think the outcry of bars and restaurants will go out of business never really turns out so when it comes down to it and then any of our other outcries thereafter fall on deaf legislative ears as more unfounded predictions.
 
Hurry, can we kick granholm out of office before she can sign it?

Glad to see cigar bars exempt, however it will mean less frequent visits to the neighborhood places for me, and i was just getting to know the bartender down the street. :(

I wonder, if the bar has an outdoor patio, is the patio exempt because its outside? Or is this one of those you must be 15 feet away from the building to smoke type of deals?

I understand the exemption for vehicles, so i guess the same logic applys to home offices? I mean if its an office in my HOME, and I can smoke in my HOME, do they really need to clarify it for my HOME office? Seems redundant.
 
Here in Corpus Christi, they passed the bar ban just recently (restaurant ban's been in place longer) and even banned smoking in pool halls . . . dammit. I love smoking a cigar over a game of 8 or 9 ball, too. :(

But then they delayed implementation for six months so everyone could build outdoor smoking patios! :laugh:

It never gets all that cold here, so for us it works. But I sure am glad my B&M's lounge is specifically excluded from the new law.

~Boar
 
{tpc} said:
Hurry, can we kick granholm out of office before she can sign it?
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I was thinking the same thing. It would take alot of grassroots help to get the kick off going. I mean, if we were able to post signs in all the bars in Michigan about this issue, 9 times out of 10, the bar-goers will vote her out just because. :thumbs:
 
I think ANY state that decides to outlaw smoking in public should be prohibited from raising any tax revenue from tobacco products.

...yeah, I know - it'll never happen.
 
{tpc} said:
I understand the exemption for vehicles, so i guess the same logic applys to home offices? I mean if its an office in my HOME, and I can smoke in my HOME, do they really need to clarify it for my HOME office? Seems redundant.
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Yes, it is necessary. If you work from a home office in MN and any person comes to your home (including the attached garage) in the course of your business you may not smoke in your home as the dwelling is considered your workplace. Be thankful they thought to clarify it.
 
About the only place to smoke indoors while enjoying an adult beverage in Iowa is in the casinos, which the state gov't derives a good deal of revenue from. I'm sure that's just a coincidence. Illinois doesn't allow smoking in their casinos and has been losing revenue from their casinos to neighboring states that do. I will give Illinois credit, however. At least by sticking to their guns they can keep the appearance of the ban being for health reasons. All other states, such as mine, who ban smoking based on health reasons but allow it to attract people to revenue sources that benefit the state are the peak of hypocrisy. Tom, that is an intriguing idea of yours about the taxes. But I'm pretty sure Lucifer will buy a snow shovel before we see that kind of integrity in elected officials.
 
Anybody remember this thing called um, wait, I forgot ...

Prohibition?

Yeah, the government loved how that went down, I'm sure the same will occur here at some point.

"The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous."
 
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