Smokers vs. Legislation

Smoking in California

2006-12-05T13:26:00.000-05:00

I don't know how many people know this, but do you realize that in some parts of California that if a person on the street asks you to stop smoking you either HAVE TO or you can get ticketed.

Can you believe that?

K.P.

Turkey and Cigars

2006-11-27T14:04:00.000-05:00

We had a house full of people on Thanksgiving and it was time to break out some cigars for the men! A little bourbon and some great cigars, made for a great end to the meal! A great bourbon to go with any cigar is "Pappy Van Winkle's" Family Reserve.

Good Stuff!!!

K.P.

Couple Forbidden to Smoke in Own Home

2006-11-17T10:26:00.000-05:00

I found this article on Newsvine this morning. Unbelievable.

K.P.

First US City to Ban ALL Smoking

2006-11-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

My honey sent me this article this morning. Belmont, CA..... (California, what a shocker...) is going to become the first US city to BAN ALL SMOKING.

K.P.

You Didn't Vote

2006-11-08T11:50:00.000-05:00

I am taking it that since the Democrats have "won" that not everyone took my advice and voted yesterday.

K.P.

Go Vote!!!

2006-11-07T12:34:00.000-05:00

There are so many issues on the ballots this year regarding smokers and smoking issues.

Please GO VOTE!!!

K.P.

Ohio's Issues 4 and 5

2006-11-02T08:44:00.000-05:00

I found this ARTICLE yesterday regarding issues 4 and 5 that are going to be voted on this year. Very interesting.

K.P.

It's Been Awhile

2006-11-01T09:29:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the post delays. We have been traveling off and on for the past couple of months and are just getting back to "normal" around here.

Nothing really exciting has happened. We haven't had any experiences good or bad regarding smoking. Which is I guess a good thing. As usual, we have had the same old airport experiences with smoking and for reasons other than smoking have made a "pact" to never fly through the Atlanta airport again. EVER.

K.P.

List of Smoking Bans

2006-10-24T12:18:00.000-04:00

HERE is a list of smoking bans around the world.

K.P.

National League Champs!!!

2006-10-20T08:35:00.000-04:00

Well, the St. Louis Cardinals won last night becoming the National League Champions. World Series here we come. What an intense game last night! Whew.

My honey, like I have mentioned before, has just recently over the past couple of years gotten into baseball. This year however he is a baseball nut. Between watching baseball last night, watching him react to the game and tolerating the worse sinus headache that I have ever had - I was exhausted!!! Too cute though. The yelling at the t.v., the pitching analysis... all hilarious.

Congrats to the Cardinals!

World Series, Game 1, Saturday!!!

K.P.

Please Pray for the St. Louis Cardinals

2006-10-19T11:43:00.000-04:00

There is nothing else to say other than "PLEASE pray for the St. Louis Cardinals tonight!"

Thanks.

K.P.

Oh yeah, and they should take Scott Rolen out.

The Bummers and Borrowers

2006-10-17T06:58:00.000-04:00

Don't you just love that one perk of being a smoker? Being able to bum, loan, and borrow out cigarettes? I love how people come up and say "Can I bum a cigarette?" "Can I borrow a cigarette?", "Can you loan me a cigarette?" Seriously. I watched 4 different people "bum" cigarettes from 6 different people last night. If they have the money to have a beer in their hand, why don't they just walk the 1/2 block to the Circle K store and BUY A PACK. Why don't they just say this: "I am too lazy to go and buy a pack of cigarettes, can you give me one?" Or " I can't smoke at home, so can you give me a cigarette?" I love the whole, "I only smoke when I drink so I don't have any cigarettes with me. PLEASE. You mean to tell me that they had no idea that they were going to walk up to the bartender and order a beer? The thought of maybe walking the 1/2 block never entered their mind prior to buying the beer? Or in between beers?

When we get asked "the bum, borrow, loan question" my honey is classic, he says "yes you can, that will be 50 cents."

No kidding.

K.P.

Westin Is A Non Smoking Hotel

2006-10-11T06:36:00.000-04:00

Hmmm, I never knew that the Westin was a non smoking hotel. They announced that they were going totally non smoking in December 2005.

Just another one to add to the "I will never stay there" list. It is getting longer.

K.P.

Delays and Updates

2006-10-09T12:11:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the delays on the posts. As you know we have had a busy month of travel. We have also had a house guest staying with us since. Been a little crazy.

Nothing new to report! I have done some more research on the Hampton Inns going non smoking and I have found no evidence of this. This makes me a little more curious as to why the particular Hampton Inn that we stayed at is going non smoking. I know that it is not a state issue. I am going to keep a close eye on this one to make sure that we don't get stuck in this situation again. (details on last posts) Since Hampton Inns are part of Hilton - I will REALLY be watching!!

K.P.

Finally Back

2006-10-03T11:26:00.000-04:00

We are finally back from our travels....until the end of October that is. We had some interesting experiences.

1. The Tampa International airport has out door smoking areas on each concourse.
2. The St. Louis International airport has indoor smoking lounges on each concourse.
3. There is NO smoking allowed or no smoking areas offered at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis (Rams) (great place to watch a football game)
4. Smoking is allowed on casino boats along the Mississippi river, even right next to the slot machines!
5. The Hampton Inn, at least some of them, are going totally NON SMOKING. We had to extend our stay at one this last week. When we asked to stay another night, they said that they could not accommodate us because they only had 1 smoking room and someone else was coming in that night. 1 smoking room. They are planning on going totally non smoking, so the are dwindling down I guess. Our point was then what was the difference, just throw an ashtray in another room. They are going to have to repaint anyway. It all ended up working out though, benefits of being a Hilton Honors member I guess. (Hampton Inns are part of the Hilton chain)

So are the Hilton hotels going to go non smoking too??? That is the question.

K.P.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport

2006-09-25T07:59:00.000-04:00

I can't even explain to you how great the Charlotte Douglas International airport is. You can smoke in the bars there. Absolutely wonderful. Especially when you have and hour and ten minute flight there, then a lay over, before getting on your 7 hour flight to San Francisco. I don't understand why all airports do not offer this. The bars are obviously equipped with smoke eaters. You can see no smoke outside of the bar in the main walkways. What is the problem? I was discussing with my honey the other day that I am going to try to book all 1 stop flights through Charlotte. It is easy, convenient and smoker friendly!

Way to go!!!

K.P.

Smoking Cigars

2006-09-22T09:24:00.000-04:00

Here you go, the Top 10 Occasions for Smoking Cigars.

K.P.

Why Your Dog Really Goes Outside

2006-09-19T10:26:00.000-04:00

A found this great video clip yesterday.

K.P.

Here We Go Again with a Marriott

2006-09-19T09:58:00.000-04:00

As I posted the other day, we have found out that our next conference is being held at a Marriott. This is a run down of the comedic sketch that happened when I emailed and called the hotel to straighten out the issue.

1. Received an email from the company that books our rooms with our CONFIRMATION number for a smoking/king room
2. I emailed what I thought was the hotel directly to confirm the above.
3. I then received this:

"Thank you for contacting Marriott. We appreciate the opportunity to provide you with information.

We regret to inform you that a king sized room with smoking is no longer an available option at this hotel. While there will be no smoking areas within Marriott properties, smoking will be allowed outside in special designated areas.

To make any changes or additions to this reservation, you will need to contact the booking source it was made through. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If we can be of further assistance, we invite you to reply to this email.

Thank you for choosing Marriott".

4. I called the hotel directly. I spoke to:
a. girl at the front desk who told me that the hotel was going non smoking.
b. another person at the hotel who told me that smoking rooms could only be requested, not guaranteed.
c. a guy who told me that the whole hotel had gone non smoking.
d. I then asked to speak to a housing manager. Who then FINALLY guaranteed the reservation, after being put on hold twice. A wonderful woman who was the first intelligent person that I had spoken to in the past weeks of dealing with the Marriott. She was also surprised at the issue that happened at the Santa Clara Marriott (previous posts), but that just may have been some a** kissing.

Just adding that my honey is not just a guest, a "staffer", he is a chairperson for certain events. He is one of the ones to even decide which hotel to have the event at and when. Which makes this whole thing even more ridiculous.

K.P.

Top Cities & States for Non Smoking Hotels

2006-09-18T10:29:00.000-04:00

For your information, I found this article the other day. HERE are the top 5 States and Top 10 cities for Non Smoking hotels in the U.S. Just in case you wanted to know which ones to avoid during travel.

;-)

K.P.

I Just Found Out

2006-09-18T07:02:00.000-04:00

I just found out on Friday that the next event that we are attending in San Francisco is at another MARRIOTT hotel. I could have screamed when I found out. I am looking forward to another disaster of trying to get a room with a balcony due to the fact that the nonsmoking change was never told when the event was booked. What is their issue? They only had 10 % of their rooms offered as smoking before as it is. According to an ARTICLE in the New York Post, 31 % of Americans smoke, so wasn't offering only 10 % smoking rooms in their hotel enough hassle? If you research state by state statistics the percentage of smokers are even higher in some states. This is a nationwide decision by Marriott.

Just a thought.

K.P.

Whew Post Below - TOTAL B.S.

2006-09-15T14:45:00.000-04:00

So as I stated my last post, I have a lot to say this post.

The "Whew" post - is total b.s. As you have heard, the Marriott hotel chains have gone completely nonsmoking. This was very upsetting to us during this last conference due to the fact that this was booked over 10 months ago as was NEVER told to anyone that the hotel would be nonsmoking during this conference. The received a VERY large deposit, and still, never disclosed the act that they would be going nonsmoking. We had no choice of course but to have the conference there. Marriott announced in July that as of September 1 they were going nonsmoking.

One of the management members that books our hotel rooms for us contacted the hotel with the dilemma. They told them that one of the owners was a smoker and needed a smoking room or a balcony. The management personnel that they spoke with said this " There will be NO PROBLEM, the hotel is not going nonsmoking until the 15th of September." We thought "great, there will be no issues." I then called the hotel the next day to confirm. I called the hotel directly, not the 800 general number. I spoke to a girl who first told me that no rooms were assigned until check in. I then explained the situation. She then told me that the entire hotel was nonsmoking as of September 1 and that they WERE NO SMOKING ROOMS. I said thank you and then we preceded to contact the management on our side to find out who they talked to. They sent us the information and then contacted THE HEAD OF THE HOUSING DEPT at the hotel. He then AGAIN said that there would be no issues, that the hotel wasn't going to be nonsmoking until the 15th. Another call, and another call, and another call to finally find out - (this is now 1 day before we have to go there) that IT IS NON SMOKING. We ended up with a room with a balcony. This balcony was 2' x 10". We could smoke on it anytime. What doesn't make sense? ALL OF THE SMOKE BLOWS BACK INTO THE ROOM ANYWAY.

Bottom line.....the Marriott has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT THEY ARE DOING. It seems that the company can't send out any information or memos to it's staff. They are extremely unprofessional due to the fact that this nonsmoking information was
not given to anyone at the time of booking. As we all know, these are not decisions that big companies make overnight.

K.P.

Last Post - TOTAL B.S.

2006-09-13T13:39:00.000-04:00

I have a ton to tell, but we are traveling and at a conference right now. All I can say is that my last post is TOTAL B.S.

K.P.

Whew!

2006-09-06T14:39:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, ALL of the Marriott Hotel chains have gone non-smoking. At least that is what has been seen, heard and read. Confirmed yes, but not so much. They were supposed to go non-smoking as of September 1, 2006. We are attending an event in Santa Clara next week and they have NOT YET gone non-smoking. Which is good, because I was throwing a fit. This event has been booked for over 10 months. The fact that this decision is something a big company does not make overnight, brought me to the fit throwing result. When booking this, someone should have been informed that the establishment was going non-smoking, this was not the case. It took phone calls from execs to MAKE sure that smoking would still be allowed. All and all it will be a much more relaxing week next week.

Whew!

K.P.

Airline Dedicated to Smokers

2006-09-05T12:36:00.000-04:00

Smoking on planes! Wow. Who can believe it? With all of the security changes, smoking bans, etc., this is a SHOCK to me. I like it, but it is a shock. I however do not see this happening in the U.S. anytime soon, although, I would book with them for sure.

My honey forwarded me an article this morning about an airline in Paris dedicated to smokers. Flights will run between Dusseldorf and Tokyo.

It is about time that somebody did this.

K.P.

Smoke + Hangover = Question

2006-09-01T10:19:00.000-04:00

Off of the normal topics here, I am curious. . . .

Does smoke (another person smoking around you) affect you differently if you are hungover?

It does my honey. It has nothing to do with the fact of smoking a bit more the night before while having some cocktails. Something about the smoke makes him feel nauseous. I have never really heard of this before I was with him. Not a big deal, I was just wondering if it affects other people too. So the question is .......

If you are a smoker and you have a hangover, does it bother you when other people smoke around you?

K.P.

Pausing for Draft Day

2006-08-31T07:05:00.000-04:00

Today is fantasy football draft day! I will be pausing from the normal blogging to put all of my attention into my draft sheet. 13 hours to go and counting, tick....tock.....tick....tock. It can't go fast enough!

What a GREAT day!!!

Good Luck to all of you fantasy drafters out there.

K.P.

Women Up, Men Down

2006-08-30T11:49:00.000-04:00

I was reading an article entitled "More Women Worldwide Smoking" off Newsvine last week and it brought up some thoughts and questions.

According to this article 48 % of men smoke and 12 % of women smoke. Now 48%+12%=60%. So if 60% of the people in the world smoke, how is it that all of these laws are being passed? I don't know of any smokers that would have checked YES on a ballot to ban smoking in any certain places. So what does that tell you?

Another question is why the incline of women and the decline of men? I do know of several men who are dating women that want them to quit smoking. Maybe that is the reason. The other could be the fact that the men can't smoke in their bars anymore, their sports team's venue, etc. Who knows.

Any Thoughts???

K.P.

Celebrity Smokers

2006-08-29T09:25:00.000-04:00

I was reading an article yesterday regarding celebrities that were smoking at the Emmy's on Sunday night.

I have two thoughts on this. . .

1) Celebrity smokers do not seem to get chastised as us mortals do. They instead get more "time" spent on them by mentioning their names in a heavily publicized magazine site.

2) Why is it even a topic? What does it matter and why even mention if it is not for the reason of chastising them?

Do you think that they care if people know that they smoke? Obviously not. I am glad to see that they are still sticking up for what they choose to do. I am pretty sure though (as most indoor venues) that backstage at the Emmy's is non-smoking. Hmmm. Speaking of indoor venues, this article was originally about Keith Richards being in trouble for smoking in an indoor venue during a concert, all of a sudden this morning, things have changed.

I have two thoughts on this as well. . .

1) IT IS KEITH RICHARDS from the ROLLING STONES

2) Do they have any idea what the people in the audience are smoking? It is more than cigarettes, I can tell you that.

Oops... and
3) YOU KNOW that if it was any one of us "mortals" that we would be fined.

Geez

K.P.

24 and Jack Bauer

2006-08-28T10:17:00.000-04:00

Today I am taking a break from the usual topics to congratulate Kiefer Sutherland on his Emmy for playing Jack Bauer. I personally would just like to believe that he has always been Jack Bauer and has just been under this assumed name and life of Kiefer Sutherland for all of these years. 24 also won for "Best Drama Series."Click Here to see the big winners of the Emmy's this year!

I can't wait for this season to arrive! We have already watched and REWATCHED 1-4. We haven't watched 5 on television, as we like to watch them in the dvd, no commercials format!!
K.P.

Great Product For Smokers

2006-08-25T08:28:00.000-04:00

I found and also ordered this product.

It is great for areas where we are told that we can't smoke, but still want to. Also for areas where people don't particularly like smoke but we still want to. You can use it anywhere.

K.P.

"Totally Absurd" Is Right!

2006-08-24T11:24:00.000-04:00

British T.V. is cutting smoking scenes from popular cartoons such as Tom & Jerry, The Flintstones and others. An article that I read this morning states that they are cutting smoking scenes that deem smoking as "glamorous". Please. These are cartoons where they drop 2 ton weights on each other. Where they blow each other up with bombs. Where they fall or jump off of cliffs. Are they going to cut these scenes out because they are violent? Are they going to cut them out because they are suggestive of immortality since they never die?

I agree, I think that this is absolutely absurd. What's next?

K.P.

Not As Bad As I Thought

2006-08-23T12:36:00.000-04:00

Well, surprisingly, the airport situations were very smooth over our vacation. I did however discover that the Minneapolis Airport now has the same standards as San Francisco with the no smoking within 50 feet of the doorways. There of course were still the people that somehow got a lighter through security, so I did not have to wait until I got my checked baggage to have that ever so wanted cigarette. (Although 1 book of matches is supposedly still allowed to go through security.) The no smoking within 50 feet of doorways seemed to be the case all over Minneapolis. The Mall of America was the same way. We had to stay over a night in Minneapolis and the hotel that we stayed in DID have smoking rooms available, so that was good. Nice to see that local hotel chains aren't following the Marriot's ways!

Glad to be back, although it was hard to leave our vacation destination!

K.P.

Mini Vacation

2006-08-15T13:04:00.000-04:00

We are going on a mini vacation where there will be no computer access. I will be gone from Thursday until Tuesday of next week.

A little fishing, a little relaxing and beautiful surroundings.

I look forward to blogging when I get back!!!!

Smokers, Pipe Smokers, Cigar Smokers

2006-08-15T12:28:00.001-04:00

I had a comment on my blog the other day from the guy who writes Darwinism of the College Aged Being. He made a comment that had a good point. (I am talking about the Paraphernalia post.)

Pipe smokers, cigar smokers and cigarette smokers are ALL affected by the smoking laws. Yet, anyone who has complaints about smoking, usually refer to the people who smoke cigarettes only. Cigars smell worse than cigarettes do. Not that I think that they smell bad, but they do have a more lingering smell. I can't remember the last time that I saw someone in a bar smoking a pipe though, but anyway . . . Trying to ask people these days in stores where they can get their "paraphernalia" for the item that they smoke is sometimes not a pleasant experience. I have seen people walk into a store asking where the KY Jelly is and get less of a reaction from the clerk or surrounding customers. When people say the word "pipe" today, other people DO think it's about smoking marijuana. At least you can still say "stogie" and people know that you are talking about a cigar. Speaking of cigars, why is it that they have CIGAR bars? When are they going to create CIGARETTE bars? Then all of the public would know exactly what was allowed, exactly what to expect and have the OPTION of not going into that place. OH WAIT - it has ALWAYS been that way anyway, but they STILL had to stop allowing smoking in places.

Rambling Today . . .

K.P.

Airport Anxiety

2006-08-15T10:20:00.000-04:00

Well, I am starting to think that my earlier post regarding smokers and travel wasn't so bad. Now with having to get to the airport earlier, this just stretched the time another couple of hours. I have been sitting here throughout the week trying to find flights that get us to our destination directly - non stop, to shorten the "wait." There are some, although more costly of course. I am not one of those "I am having a nicotine fit" kind of people. I don't sit at the gate dying for a cigarette. The hardest part is when you get off of the plane. Unlike before when you carried on your luggage, you now have to deal with EVERYONE waiting for their bags at baggage claim. Are lighters allowed in your checked luggage anyway? If not, I am straight out the door looking for the closest person with anything capable of making fire. Hopefully it won't be too bad as we have some LONG trips in September.

K.P.

The Future For Smokers?

2006-08-14T11:20:00.000-04:00

I read an article online this morning from Europe's edition of Time magazine. This is the craziest thing that I have ever heard. I have heard of states considering not allowing smoking in homes if you have children and things of that nature, but come on. This is absolutely ridiculous. With all of the changes that have happened here in the United States over the past few years regarding smoking, I truly hope that we don't follow this leader.

K.P.

Ashtrays

2006-08-11T10:20:00.000-04:00

Remember when, 5 or so years ago, you would go out to a bar or restaurant and they would empty your ashtrays on a consistent basis? The correct restaurant rule was 3 "butt" maximum allowed in ashtray, then the server/bartender needed to empty it. These days, it is more like 18. Hell, we empty our ashtrays more than the server does. It this due to the change in the smoking laws? Is this due to the fact that since smoking isn't allowed in most bars/restaurants anymore, the staff isn't getting trained to do that? The funny thing is that people that smoke, when they find a place that allows smoking, usually stay longer because they are comfortable, they can relax and have a good time. This would mean that their tab would be larger which in turn means that the tip would be larger for the server. Makes sense to me. Why doesn't it make sense to them? Overflowing ashtrays are disgusting. Especially when they are near your plate while you are eating. That is a no-brainer. It is bad enough that our choice of smoking allowed establishments has dwindled by about 90%. Now when we do find one, they cant even keep your ashtrays empty. It is not as if the entire bar/restaurant is smoking and they are "backed up" on the emptying.

K.P.

Ads On This Blog

2006-08-10T11:14:00.000-04:00

I absolutely love the Google ads that are appearing on this site. I am writing a blog that discusses our frustrations as smokers and most of the ads are along the lines of "how to quit smoking." Hilarious. Apparantly we are not ready to quit, or we wouldn't be reading this blog in the first place. I just find this extremely ammusing. I don't think that the ads will get many will get many clicks off of this blog.

K.P.

Thoughts?????

2006-08-09T11:33:00.000-04:00

I read an interesting article this morning. The article was talking about how a beach is considering going non-smoking by getting people to start campaigns. I do understand what they are saying about the cigarette butts, how they aren't biodegradable, etc., but the people that I know, usually put them out in a can, portable ashtray, something. Most people that visit beaches, I believe, are visiting them for their beauty, not to dirty them up with cigarette butts. Obviously the few that are doing the "littering" of the cigarette butts, should be fined or something to that affect. Is this leading to beaches becoming non smoking too? I know that in certain states it has been heavily weighed and continues to be a pressing issue. Look at California. Nearly 2,400 municipalities across the nation have barred smoking in a variety of public places. It seems that every form of recreation is turning non smoking. You can't go to an outdoor baseball stadium, outdoor concert, outdoor football stadium, etc. and smoke in the stands anymore. These are all outdoor venues. The argument there was the people sitting in such close proximity. They can't say that about the beaches. It is TOTALLY open air and people aren't in close proximity so now they have to come up with some other reason to make something non smoking?

Thoughts??????

K.P.

Paraphernalia???

2006-08-08T15:28:00.000-04:00

The strangest thing happened to me in a store the other day. Not a small store. A general store/pharmacy type of place - like a Walgreens. We were getting ready to check out and I remembered that we needed flints for a Zippo lighter that my honey has. I asked the clerk if they carried flints. She looked at me as if I was crazy. She obviously didn't know what they were. I explained to her what they were and this is EXACTLY what she replied. "OH NO, we don't carry ANY type of smoking paraphernalia here in THIS store." Not to mention that she was 20 feet away from me, so everyone in the general area could hear her disgusted response. I felt like I just said a bad word in Catholic school class. (Not that I went to a Catholic school, but I imagine that is how it would feel) Anyway, "smoking paraphernalia." What in the hell is "smoking paraphernalia?" It is not as if I asked for something for my crack pipe. It isn't as if I asked where the rolling papers were - which by the way, pretty much any convenience store still carries. Since when did stores not carry lighters, flints, fluids, etc? Since when did lighters and lighter "products" mean that you were a smoker only? They are used for other things. I could be an avid camper. I could be a collector. I could be a pyro, anyway - it is a product. It isn't a representation of their store. When I went to pay I should have told her that I didn't have any type of bank paraphernalia.

K.P.

Who should make the decision?

2006-08-07T13:31:00.000-04:00

Why is it not the individual business owner's choice whether to allow smoking in their restaurant, bar or establishment? I think THEY should have the right to decide what THEY want for THEIR customers at THEIR place of business. I don't think that legislation should be able to tell THEM what THEY have to do for THEIR establishment. Why weren't people given a choice, an option, a different way to go other than NO SMOKING and that's it? Why didn't they give business owners the opportunity to install smoke eaters in their businesses in order for them to continue to have a smoking area? I GUARANTEE you that if you were a frequent customer/regular at an establishment and you were approached with the options of A. This place going totally non smoking or B. Contributing money to help that establishment install a smoke eater/s - that you and every other frequent customer/regular would definitely choose B. Was this ever even an option given? No. Why not???

K.P.

Hey, you CHOSE to sit there

2006-08-07T09:04:00.000-04:00

One night last week my honey and I went out for cocktails. We always go to the same place. We go to this place because it is non smoking inside but they have a huge patio, with 2 levels, that allows smoking outside. One side is non smoking and the other side with 2 levels is smoking. This set up gives non smoking customers an area to be outside that doesn't allow smoking. Over the past couple of years, one of the things that has bothered me the most about people is this.... They walk out to the top level on the smoking side. CHOOSING to go to the smoking side where the smokers sit. They know that the other side is non smoking, but they sit down at a table knowing, because they can see everyone, that smoking is allowed. They do not ask to be moved or move themselves. They insist on sitting there giving you looks, doing the "fake" coughing thing, and commenting between themselves constantly. WHY ARE PEOPLE LIKE THIS? My point - these aren't people concerned with their health. These are people that have nothing better to do than complain. These people are part of the problem with society, government and smokers. They just need something to bitch about. Like I said before, if they were truly concerned with their health, they wouldn't have sat there for 2 hours around a bunch of people smoking, or should I say "secondhand smoke?"

K.P.

Trips Across Country for Smokers . . . . .

2006-08-04T09:20:00.000-04:00

So here is a typical trip for smokers who travel across country for business.

6 a.m. - Wake
7 a.m - Leave for airport - car service or rental car - can't smoke in car
7:45 a.m. - Get to airport - smoke cigarette before entering airport
8 a.m. - Get into airport - can't smoke in airport
10 a.m. - Get on flight - can't smoke on flight
2 p.m. - 1st stop - can't smoke in airport
2:30 p.m. - Get on 2nd flight - can't smoke on flight
5:30 p.m. - Land - can't smoke in airport
6:00 p.m. - Get out of airport, walk 50 ft from a door - now you can have a cigarette (whoops, you don't have a lighter)
6:15 p.m. - Car service or rental car - can't smoke in car
7:00 p.m. - Arrive at hotel - smoke a cigarette outside of hotel, 50 ft away from the door of course
7:15 p.m. - Check into room - hopefully you are booked in a hotel that allows smoking.

From 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., a 12 hour period of time, due to the laws or company policies, you are basically ALLOWED to smoke (if you don't want to take the chance of missing flights) 2-3 cigarettes. Ridiculous. Most airports don't even have a smoking lounge. After all of the security changes and earlier times that you need to be at airports, they still didn't even add lounges. Let's say that you have a flight delay of 2 hours and you have plenty of time to go back out of the airport to smoke a cigarette. You are basically screwed because you couldn't take a lighter with you through security. You threw it away before you went through security when you first got into the airport. Do you think they sell lighters or matches in the airport? Of course not, that would defeat the purpose of not allowing them through security in the first place. This is when you start praying to the gods that someone outside in front, 50 feet away from the doors, still has one for you to use.

Comments?????

K.P.

Let me begin . . .

2006-08-03T11:03:00.000-04:00

This is the first post for this blog. After several years of increasing frustration, I decided to start this blog. I know several people, both smokers and non smokers, that are equally as frustrated. This is for all of them as well as myself.

When did being a smoker give everyone else the right to make decisions for us and that affect us? I understand, to an extent, the whole "second hand smoke" theory, but come on. First it was the state wide decisions and now over the years it has spilled over to companies, both local and nationwide. They have decided not to let people smoke in their buildings, bars, restaurants, etc. In some hotels, for those of you who do not know, they have eliminated smoking rooms all together. So now, you will spend $100 - $500 a night at this specific chain, and guess what - you can't smoke in your room. Not only can you not smoke in your room, but you can't even go down to the hotel bar and smoke. They don't even have a "smoking lounge" - at least the airports have that. In some cities, you can't even smoke outside of the front door - you have to go a certain number of feet away from the doors. Yes, sometimes you have the choice of which hotel to go to, but when it is a major chain that affects all of their brands, it is much more difficult to do. If there is a business convention or conference, this hotel is already booked for you. Either by your employer or a room block was made by the event host. So now, not only does that hotel chain have say over what you do, your employer has say as well. I think that this has gotten TOTALLY out of control.

Keeping this first post simple, I will just say that I am happy to be blogging about this and look forward to all comments and conversations.

K.P.