So nobody noticed that Denton kinda sorta went non-smoking?

[oldguystudent]

Denton Smoking Ordinance

[Censored by Laurie]

About damn time.

[Censored by Laurie]

The comments so far on this article are fantastic...

[greenminer]

The comments so far on this article are fantastic...

Their names make me want to appreciate every word.

[CMJ]

South Beach Smoke -- somehow I bet he's never set foot in a bowling alley.

[LongJim]

It should be up to the business owner to decide if they want to allow smoking or not.

[North Texas Shep]

Yep... The bar I run went non smoking. I am a little scared of how this might hurt business, since we do not have a patio. However, I do not smoke so it is a welcome change.

[North Texas Shep]

The comments so far on this article are fantastic...

"Not a handful of city" is my favorite quote so far. I hope these ding dongs keep them coming.

[JesseMartin]

Aside from possibly the bowling alleys or bars in restaurants it's all pretty sensible. What if a restaurant or bowling alley has a bar that's closed off from the rest? Either way the drinking and smoking issue could hurt business if they took it a step further with the bars. Not every drinker smokes, but lots of people (myself included) smoke when drinking, or only when drinking.

If bars (and their patios, for those with them) banned smoking, I think you would have a steep dip in business and smokers would have more parties at their residences rather than going out. I've been to a few bars since moving to AZ, and wow, whether it's the smoking ban (enacted a few years before I got here, I think) or the recession or something else...man, business is BAD. The ones with patios tend to attract a couple of smokers, but they are mostly empty inside. I'm not talking about the high-end places though, just regular bars/sports bars. Even the fairly large ones rarely seem to have more than 30 customers at a time.

On the other hand, in California, all of them (normal bars, at least the ones I've been to) seem to be doing just fine. I think it's a cultural/geographic issue. In the south/southwest, smoking hasn't become as outdated as it seems in Cali, NY, etc. True, everywhere you go there are people who say, "eew, you smoke?" but it's not as prevalent in Texas or AZ yet. Once that shift occurs, I think bars without smoking will do fine but for now, in certain areas, it looks like it's a business-killer. Unless, like I said, it's the recession...but when things are bad, don't people smoke, drink, gamble, and go to the movies more often than when things are going well?

[UNTflyer]

Adults can make their own choices, such as going to a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, or eschewing them. Why let the government do it for you?

Next they'll be banning large sodas, trans-fats, salty food, and traffic.

[MeanGreenTexan]

Adults can make their own choices, such as going to a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, or eschewing them. Why let the government do it for you?

Next they'll be banning large sodas, trans-fats, salty food, and traffic.

The problem with all of that: someone else eating fatty/salty foods or drinking large sodas does not pollute the air I breathe in.

**Edit: unless we're talking bean burritos, which I guess can eventually pollute the air I'm breathing.

Edited June 8, 2013 by MeanGreenTexan

[UNTLifer]

Adults can make their own choices, such as going to a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, or eschewing them. Why let the government do it for you?

Next they'll be banning large sodas, trans-fats, salty food, and traffic.

The difference is the byproduct of smoking, secondhand smoke, adversely effects others. Drinking cups of sugar, eating fatty foods, etc... doesn't.

[UNTFan23]

Adults can make their own choices, such as going to a restaurant or bar that allows smoking, or eschewing them. Why let the government do it for you?

Next they'll be banning large sodas, trans-fats, salty food, and traffic.

I prefer my air carcinogenic free.

Relying on adults to make adult decisions is asking a lot. I saw three different instances today where people broke various laws (both minor and major traffic violations), so my trust in the general public is very low today.

1. Parenting Fail: Soccer Mom in a maroon suburban letting little Timmy (approximate age: 5 to 6 y/old?) hang his head out the window (like you see someone's dog) while driving through the neighborhood! — at Moore Farms Pool. Little Timmy was standing up, meaning he was not wearing a seat belt, in Soccer Mom's suburban, by the way.

2. Saw someone blatantly run a red light and almost cause an accident. Thank goodness the people who had the green light saw the tool running the light and stopped otherwise there would have been a car accident, possibly serious.

And my favorite:

3. Saw a police officer make an illegal u-turn at a traffic light this morning. He/She did not have the lights on so they weren't handling an emergency.

Edited June 9, 2013 by UNTFan23

[UNTflyer]

The problem with all of that: someone else eating fatty/salty foods or drinking large sodas does not pollute the air I breathe in.

You can still choose to go to a smoking restaurant or not.

Edited June 9, 2013 by UNTflyer

[UNTflyer]

The difference is the byproduct of smoking, secondhand smoke, adversely effects others. Drinking cups of sugar, eating fatty foods, etc... doesn't.

You can still choose to go to a smoking restaurant or not.

[UNTflyer]

I prefer my air carcinogenic free.

You can still choose to go to a smoking restaurant or not.

[UNTFan23]

You can still choose to go to a smoking restaurant or not.

More and more people don't want to go to a nice place to eat and smell smoke, especially with their families. Not catering to this growing segment is showing to be a bad business decision. It's why finding a bowling ally that allows smoking is very difficult. The ally basically has to be a real dive.

[Green P1]

Americans these days done went and gone sissy.

Edited June 9, 2013 by Green P1

[UNTLifer]

You can still choose to go to a smoking restaurant or not.

Maybe smokers could be considerate of others and not ruin a good meal with a bunch of smoke? Is it too much to ask to wait until they are outside or in their own car to light up?

Edited June 9, 2013 by UNTLifer

[UNTflyer]

Most of the restaurants in Denton were smoke-free without a law in place. Those business owners made a choice to do it. I'm saying those choices should be respected under the concept of private property and government can butt out. If a business wants to cater to smokers, then they suffer the loss of business (or the additional business).

We're adults, you can make a choice to go to a smoking restaurant or not.

As for me, I've switched to e-cigarettes so now I can vape at the airport, bars, restaurants and not bother anybody.