Man charged in Ontario for smokers club

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by puckluck

In regards to that link:

Then they should consider shutting down everyone of those sheesha bars because I smoke sheesha regularly at about 3 different hookah bars in Calgary and they use the same tobacco packages that I use at home.

Personally I think that shutting them down is wrong since I know what I'm going to be smoking and enter knowing it's primarly a smoking establishment. I'm all for the ban in restaraunts and bars, but when a bar is specifically open for smoking then the responsibility should fall on the people who chooses to enter.

The ban was enacted primarly as a means to protect employees, not customers, so whether you know what you're getting into or not is not relevant.

Now I'd like to save some time by addressing the fact that you're going to say "Well the employees know what they're getting into, so they can go work somewhere else"

If the government took that position with every OH&S issue, where do you think we'd be right now?

Secondly if it weren't for the smoking ban the VAST majority of bars/restaraunts would still be smoking establishments, leaving little to no choice for those people who are inclined, or best qualified to be working in that industry, so no, they couldn't go work somewhere else.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by anyonebutedmonton

I think the sheesha bars can get around it because they don't serve alcohol.

It has nothing to do with alcohol.
The smoking ban was encacted to enclude all places of employment.

[burn_this_city]

The sheesha bars in Calgary dont use real tobbacco. You can buy the real stuff to take home from them that contains tobbacco and its a hell of a lot stronger than the stuff you smoke in the hookah bar.

[mykalberta]

Its a very slipperly slope.

The only way this crap flies in Canada is because they say "well its public health care costs".

I personally dont like this because it sets a dangerous standard for "public good". Smoking is just the kid on the block that everyone is dog piling on right now. If Ontario wanted to take the morale high road they would ban the sale of all Tobacco in their province, they dont and instead take the suckers way out with all these nickel and dime measures.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

Its a very slipperly slope.

The only way this crap flies in Canada is because they say "well its public health care costs".

I personally dont like this because it sets a dangerous standard for "public good". Smoking is just the kid on the block that everyone is dog piling on right now. If Ontario wanted to take the morale high road they would ban the sale of all Tobacco in their province, they dont and instead take the suckers way out with all these nickel and dime measures.

I'd say they've found a decent balance.
If you want to smoke you're still allowed to, that's fine, however, those who don't want to smoke are now allowed to work whereever they want without the dangers of second hand smoke.
What they've done is reduce tobacco use (as much as possible) to a state where the individual consuming it is only harming themselves.

If you think about it, it isn't that far off from alcohol.
Alcohol clearly has adverse health effects, but we're all welcome to use it.
The stipulations are that we may only use it in a manner that doesn't adversely affect the health of others (ie, we can't drive while drunk).

That's really a bit of an over simplification, but the premise is the same.