Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the House on January 30, 2007, to prohibit a business owner, including the owner of a bar or restaurant, from choosing to allow smoking in his or her establishment. The bill would apply to all "public places," including government facilities. However, tobacco specialty shops, "cigar bars," vehicles, the gaming floor of casinos, the non-food areas of race tracks and licensed bingo events would be exempt

The vote was 56 in favor, 46 opposed and 8 not voting

(House Roll Call 557 at House Journal 129)

Click here to view bill details.

I realize that prohibiting smoking in public places is probably a good idea, but this seems to go a little far.

After banning smoking-- what next? Maybe you could ban peanuts being served or added to any recipe in a restaurant or tavern due to some having allergies? How about banning people from wearing after shave and perfume due to some people who are allergic? Better yet -- take away all freedom of choice from the taxpayers, and have the legislators decide what to grant or deny in that way WE THE PEOPLE won't have to make any of our own decisions, choices or literally think for ourselves at all. Just think -- we could have our legislators decide when we eat, where we eat, how much and what we eat. Our legislators can decide when we can get up and go to bed. How about deciding where we can work and where we live, what we can drive or buy, or whether or not we can have children -- and how many? Oh, excuse me -- its beginning to sound like the Communist Manifesto!

"its beginning to sound like the Communist Manifesto!" We are already there and the sheeple love it. They are so quick to give up my rights, lets see what happens when they come for something that they like. I want to ban fat stinky people from sitting next to me on airplanes. I want to ban soccer moms from driving SUV'S I want to ban Lib/Dem/Socialist ideas. Yee Ha I never knew this could be so much fun.

I thought being free was an American right. Free to chose where you will eat, sleep, live etc. But I guess it's up to our government to decide that. Why not ban smoking in our personal residences? I agree with the person who commented before me. Where does it stop? If your going to ban smoking, why not make it illegal? But that would take away too much of the states taxes.

Finally! I may be able to walk out of a bar/restaurant not smelling like an ashtray. With Michigan being a fairly regressive state, this would be a needed boost in the progressive direction joining California, Massachusetts, Vermont, etc., etc. There is a mountain of literature supporting the positive effects of such legislation on bar and restaurant workers, and these folks should not be punished for the ignorance of smoking bottom feeders.

Lets call it what it is. You are a control freak. "may be able to walk out of a bar/restaurant not smelling like an ashtray" You must be going to different bars and restaurants than we do. Most restaurants have very large no smoking sections and very small well ventilated smoking sections. It's time for you to admit that the smoke doesn't bother you, it's the fact that some folks are enjoying themselves and living life and you spend most of your time under your bed hiding from some government generated bogeyman. Grow some kahunas and learn how to have fun. if you can't/won't do this then leave the rest of us alone. "There is a mountain of literature supporting the positive effects of such legislation on bar and restaurant workers, and these folks should not be punished for the ignorance of smoking bottom feeders." This statement show your true colors. There is also a mountain of evidence that shows business going down the tubes and all these people you feel sorry for losing their jobs. Windsor casino bans smoking-lays off 400. MGM hiring 1000 I don't want to burst your little communist bubble nut lots of us don't want you to be our nanny. Most smokers don't die of smoking. The 2nd hand smok numbers are pure fabrications. I know you control freaks love europe so here's a study they did..you won't see this on the lib/dem/socialist news media. PASSIVE smokers inhale the equivalent of just six cigarettes a year from other people's smoke, according to the largest ever study of actual exposure levels of non-smokers. The figure, which undermines previous warnings about the dangers of passive smoking, is a thousand times lower than that faced by direct smokers, and so tiny that it could not be measured statistically. Results from personal air monitors carried by more that 1,000 people in cities across Europe reveal that even the most highly-exposed passive smoker inhales the equivalent of 0.02 of a cigarette a day - 10 times lower than Government-backed estimates.

i agree that we should ban smoking in public places! i hate comming out of a resturaunt smelling like stail cigarettes! it absolutly ruiens my time! sometimes i dont even go out to eat because of this nasty stuff! ok smokers its called PROVIDING FOR THE COMMON WELFARE! you can smoke outside but in michigan we normally cant eat out there...so get a life and grow up and think of other people besides yourself! Have a great day! Jessica G. 14 years old!

THE SMOKE STILL DRIFTS OVER TO YOUR SECTION!!!! GROW UP STUPID!

SERIOUSLY......read the flipin constitution...it says PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE!!!!!!!

giving in to YOUR wishes promoting everyone else's welfare? READ ALL OF THE CONSTITUTION. there is going to be a TEST.

Would anyone who commented on this be willing to talk to me about their opinions on the issue? I am writing an article (as a freelancer, not tied to any publication) on the smoking bills that have been presented and I'd like to hear from the general public. If you're interested please e-mail me at BRADL169 at msu.edu Thank you for your time.

The thing with smoking is that it is hazardous to anyone and everyone, regardless of whether or not you have allergies. Why should non-smokers have to breathe in smoke because smokers have an addiction and feel like having a cigarette? Not only that, but being exposed to cigarette smoke at an early age is often the cause of all of the respiratory problems(such as asthma)that children and adults are faced with, including allergies. Why should smokers get to decide when we (nonsmokers)can breathe fresh air. People would have less health problems and there would be fewer people in the hospitals, thus reducing the amount of money spent on treatment.

Wow. Your definition of having fun must be to die a slow painful death. I have seen smoker's future and it is not pretty. And yeah! No matter how big the non-smoking section is...SMOKE DRIFTS! You can still smell it. Have you ever heard of Radon in the soil that is in houses and causing lung cancer. Well they say it is like having a smoker living in your basement. So I would say that even though you are not in the same room with the smoker it still affects you. I hope everyone that smokes thinks about how it will affect their children and everyone around them. We will see how fun smoking really is when you find yourself in a hospital bed after having open-heart surgery and can't breath without oxygen because you have emphysema. I'm telling you people it is not a pretty sight. Also, it should be illegal to smoke around children. They can't speak up for themselves so someone has to. Their lungs are still developing and will have problems for the rest of their lives. Think about it in a way to save money. You guys want to reduce the amount of taxes you pay, reduce the cost to treat all of the effects of cigarette smoking and the need for higher taxes will decrease also.

always expected to bail out smokers? is it our job to subsidize the stupid? we already tax them heavily so they will quit, but they don't. maybe if we REFUSE to pay their bills, they won't go about MAKING THEM. think of all the tax savings we would have if the government would simply GROW A BACKBONE and say NO to covering unpaid medical expenses.

as soon as we ban fat people (cost more in medical bills and are generally unpleasant to be near). I can show you alot more fat people in hospitals than smokers. My guess is that you are a control freak and probably carry around a few hundred lbs. Get a life. If you don't like to smell smoke, go to places that don't allow it. This is more about little people like you trying to tell everyone what to do. It's all about you princess. You are a classic narcissist

Why should there be a law, in the first place? If I didn't smoke I would go to non-smoking restraunts. Telling a person, that saved up their money to buy a bar, how to run it seems unfair. If you like a restraunt, but the smoke really bothers you , write a letter to the owner. Let the owner decide. Telling a bar owner to not have smoking, is like telling a candy store owner not to let fat people in.

that if i own a machine shop, and every machinist that works for me smokes, that i have to fire them and hire non-smoking machinists??? i hire twelve machinists now, eleven of them smoke. why on earth is the government meddling in what i do in my PRIVATE business? if i choose to allow smoking on my shop floor, that is MY choice, not the governments. when smoking starts affecting my profits, i will decide about it then. until then, smoking is a decision for the smokers, not the government. by the way, i'm the one who doesn't smoke.

PLEASE

We should have the right to vote on this! Let the majority rule. We should be very concerned when the government starts deciding which legal activies to ban.

I really don't care if people drink their liver away (as long as they don't drave), I don't care what people do as long as they don't force it on those around them. If someone is drinking and I don't want to, I don't have to drink. But if someone is smoking, everyone around them is affected. Just go to one of the Detroit casinos - not only do you walk out smelling like an ashtray but every single person I've talked to ends up with either a headache or their chest hurting. When the person next to you smokes, you don't have a choice, you will be affected. Believe me, I did my doctoral dissertation on what size particles land where in the lungs and what locations are associated with the most disease. Second hand smoking is right up there with actually smoking. This can't come soon enough for me!!!

More legislation that has nothing to do with what are inept legislature should be doing. I this why we need 28 more legislators than California so we can prove we are more inept than they are?

State government has specific tasks that they are elected to take care of. They are doing a lousy job. They are doing a good job of trying to stick their collective noses in OUR business where it does not belong!

Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens. I believe that is where Michigan is now.

You want to tell ME precisely WHAT MY OFFICE POLICIES ARE TO BE??? Kiss my ass. If I let my employees smoke what are you going to do? Go balance the budget and get involved in stopping the fascism in this country. Stop an illegal war. Vote down the Real ID Act, due to be implemented here next year. How are you gonna pay for THAT? And if you want smoking stopped so badly OUTLAW them and see how far your budget stretches then. MY HABIT more than pays my fair share here. I'm fairly sick hearing about what I cost everybody. I get NOTHING in the way of help. NEVER HAVE. This isn't the land of the free, it's the land of the FEE.

I support freedom for individuals. And I should be able to enjoy a night out at the bar without being polluted by other people's harmful habits. Cigarette smoke should be considered like assault and battery, it is so harmful! Let's be free of smoke is public places!

Just what we need, another momma. I have put up with your stench when you use a public rest room so piss off. But I know about your type. If YOU don't like something, u want to pass a law. Well, if thats the play, I don't like junk food of any type so lets pass a law. Idiot. YOu dont like second hand smoke, dont go to places that allow it. But no, you want to cry home to momma. Damn glad I moved from that stinking state.

Oh goodie goodie, another soon to be communist party voter.

You're a fat slob, aren't you?

And then we can ban drinking in public places. and then fat peoole in public places, then ugly people. Then all junk food. Dangerous? Ya, the risk of you dying from 2nd hand smoke is about 22,000 times less that dying in a car wreck. You speed and tailgate, don't Ya? I don't.

however... what is michiganistan going to do for the TAX they are going to lose ???? that is the only reason alcohol prohabition was lifted in the 1930"s. THE GOVERMENT WAS LOSING $$$$$$$. jenny wants everyone to quite smoking, but when that happens everyone will have to anny up to replace what taxes the state lost in cigarette sales. to bad non-smokers, you are going to pay no matter what.

Judy Collins had a great rendition of "Send in the clowns". It had a line something like "... don't bother there here". Yes they are certainly in Lansing.

Here's an idea. Tax the hell out of non-smoking health freaks. They will be around alot longer than us smokers and the State Government can extort one hell of a lot more money for a lot longer from them. Let's start with health club memberships and bicycles. Make sure thoses little busy bodies have their damn helmets on too!! Triple the tax on vitamin and muscle freak supplements, should be a hoot. Lot's of dough from the unsuspecting innocent general public. Since they live so long they are a public burden on Social Security. Out living what they pay in, so it should be only fair to triple their taxes. Let's try restoring the ideal of private property. Exercise your freedom just like at the heath club and walk your butt elsewhere. Leave the law abiding business owner the hell alone. Or, feel free to pony up your own cash and start your own resturant. Michigan needs more businesses to hire people NOW, to help the economy. Not more fines and fees to impede any future growth. Step off, Comrades.

have a few businesses that need to be driven out of the state. This should help, I know I'll be closing at the end of the year.

Passive smokers inhale six cigarettes a year By Robert Matthews and Victoria Macdonald PASSIVE smokers inhale the equivalent of just six cigarettes a year from other people's smoke, according to the largest ever study of actual exposure levels of non-smokers. The figure, which undermines previous warnings about the dangers of passive smoking, is a thousand times lower than that faced by direct smokers, and so tiny that it could not be measured statistically. Results from personal air monitors carried by more that 1,000 people in cities across Europe reveal that even the most highly-exposed passive smoker inhales the equivalent of 0.02 of a cigarette a day - 10 times lower than Government-backed estimates. The findings, published by an internationally respected UK-based team of air monitoring experts, are the biggest blow yet to the credibility of the Government's insistence that passive smoking causes fatal diseases.

Some supporters of higher cigarette taxes argue that smokers should bear a disproportionate fiscal burden because they account for a disproportionate share of taxpayer-funded medical expenses. But researchers such as Harvard economist W. Kip Viscusi estimate that, if anything, smoking saves taxpayers money. Because smokers tend to die earlier than nonsmokers, they do not consume as much health care in old age or draw on Social Security as much as nonsmokers do. Leaving aside Social Security savings, a 1997 study in The New England Journal of Medicine concluded that total health care spending would go up, not down, if everyone stopped smoking.

are you referring to? smoking? drinking? stepping out on a spouse? driving home drunk? motorcycle riding? you seem to be hanging out in places where LOTS of harmful habits meet and intermingle. why pick just one?

they tax tobacco. they don't want to LOSE THE REVENUE from tobacco sales. it would cripple the government and force CONSERVATIVE MEASURES to be implemented to save it. that simply will not do for the TAX AND SPEND DEMOCRATS.

I used to play music in bars. It was my passion. I studied for years and practiced up to 8 hours a day for years before performing each night.I did not smoke and worked hard for air purifiers in the places I played. Still the smoke was bad. One day I woke up with horrible chest pains. I was running 5 miles a day trying to stay in shape so I was a little surprised that they said I had lung cancer or TB and that would have to be determined with more tests. They said it was from smoking second hand smoke. After they bled the liquid from around my lungs and insisited that I never breathe second hand smoke again they let me go home to heal. I had to quit my passion and find a new line of work after 25 years of performing. I watched my other non-smoking co-workers cough like they were smokers for years. I told them one day the world would wake up and realize we were poisoning innocents. As far as I'm concerned if people are smoking in an exclosed building they might as well bring their car in with them. They both put out large amounts of Benezine which is a none carcinogenic.

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