[Mpls] St. Paul considers smoking ban - should Mpls?

[Jason C Stone]

This problem can be easily resolved through a re-engineering of the 'Cone of Silence' (a la Get
Smart, late 1960s) into the 'Cone of Death'.

Jason Stone
Diamond Lake

--- Jeremy Wieland <jeremy at utne.com> wrote:
> "You screw him with this solution."
> 
> Yes.  If you follow my preferred suggestion and allow a finite number of
> places to be all smoking, then the owner must pick which devil to dance
> with.  Increasingly the no smoking movement is heading towards bans instead
> of regulation.  I don't see the current circumstances, the smoking and
> second-hand smoking sections under one roof, continuing indefinitely.  So
> why not start talking about a solution that is an alternative to banning
> smoking in bars and restaurants outright.
> 
> I'm glad to see Wizardmarks and Mr. Bradley jumping in to start talking
> about this.  We don't know what the results in Minnesota will be if a
> significant smoking ban takes hold.  Duluth has such a ban, but survives
> because Duluth isn't a big place and folks cross the city line to smoke in
> bars after enjoying smoke free restaurants in town.  I suspect that if the
> smoking ban passes in St. Paul there will be a huge migration of people in
> both directions.  Non-smokers heading to Saint Paul and smokers coming to
> Minneapolis may be in our future.  Or no one will care much until winter.  
> 
> In response to Wizardmarks concerns, I make to claims be able to part the
> Red Sea.  I only want flesh out alternatives to an outright ban before
> Minneapolis goes the way of Duluth and Saint Paul.
> 
> 
> 
> Jeremy Wieland
> Circulation Director
> Utne magazine
> 1624 Harmon Place
> Minneapolis, MN  55403
> 612.338.5040 x326
> www.utne.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: WizardMarks [mailto:wizardmarks at earthlink.net] 
> Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 3:13 PM
> To: mpls at mnforum.org
> Cc: jeremy at utne.com
> Subject: Re: [Mpls] St. Paul considers smoking ban - should Mpls?
> 
> 
> 
> Jeremy Wieland wrote:
> 
> >Given that there are smokers, and that smokers seek out smoking
> >environments, why not either pass an "all or nothing" ordinance, or provide
> >for a finite number of "smoking establishments."  The former would ban the
> >"kissing your sister" solution that we have now.  Either your entire place
> >is for smoking, and that includes pipe and cigar, or you're no smoking.
> Let
> >the market decide what they prefer.  The later would allow a finite number
> >of places where smoking is part of the ambiance (tip, are they selling
> >tobacco at the bar?) to continue.  This solution would provide a smoke free
> >environment for service workers looking to live a little longer, and would
> >not alienate surly cantankerous smokers.
> >
> WM: What about established restaurants whose business, built up over a 
> couple of generations from virtually nothing to a restaurant that 
> supports a family and provides 50+ jobs to the community. Which set of 
> regular customers does he kick out? He follows all the rules, he keeps a 
> genuinely nice establishment, etc., etc.
> Either way he goes, he loses half is regular business--every day regular 
> business. You screw him with  this solution.
> 
> WizardMarks, Central
> 
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