Smoking Ban

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
Maryland

I've worked for the Rite Aid Co. part-time for the past two years. The Managment team along with most of the store Associates smoke within the building structure in or near the stockroom were my self and three other non-smoking Associates work for most of our scheduled shifts, thus exposing us. We feel that this is unfair and would like to know if we have a case? Thank you!

What is the law in your state? Have you looked that up, yet?

alex23 said:

what is the law in your state? Have you looked that up, yet?

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it is the intent of the general assembly that the state
protect the public and employees from involuntary exposure to
environmental tobacco smoke in indoor areas open to the public,
indoor places of employment, and certain designated private areas.

Call 410-767-2189 to request a complaint form or write to MOSH at 1100 N. Eutaw Street, Room 611, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.

I hate smoking bans! A private business should be able to decide if smoking is allowed on their property!

JustAPal00 said:

I hate smoking bans! A private business should be able to decide if smoking is allowed on their property!

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They still pretty much do. I've worked in places where employees smoked inside and management wouldn't do anything about it.

I hate smoking bans! A private business should be able to decide if smoking is allowed on their property!

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Did someone bump this post to displace spam? I was about to reply when I realized the last post is from days ago, yet here the thread is in New Posts. Well, I'll answer anyway!

It was a pretty big adjustment when the gubmint started banning smoking here in Texas (first when I lived in Houston and now in Austin) and I agree that there are Constitutional issues involved. BUT, now being accustomed to no smoking in restaurants, malls, airports and other public or semi-public places, I have to say that it is really nice. It is, in fact, unpleasant to go to places in other cities where there are not smoking bans and many places just stink. I feel especially strongly about smoking in restaurants.

The kicker is, I am a smoker! Only 2 or 3 cigs a day, but I enjoy them. And when I do go to Las Vegas, I am happy that you can smoke in the casinos. And I think banning smoking in bars and nightclubs, even when banning it elsewhere, is idiotic.

Some of us like to be able to go out to bars and nightclubs without coming home smelling like an ashtray.

More importantly, it's a serious hazard to all the bartenders and waitresses who are in those bars and nightclubs for 40 hours a week or more. Yes, lots of them smoke, but plenty don't, and I've seen studies that showed a higher risk of cancer EVEN FOR THE SMOKERS who work in a secondhand smoke heavy environment compared with other smokers who don't. (sadly, I no longer have the citation for this though, it was a while ago) The public health aspect was more convincing to me then the personal comfort aspect.

I have read that an expert from the tobacco company was misquoted and actually agrees that smoking increases your chance of cancer by one thousand percent, but second hand smoke is only fifteen percent based on the thousand percent.

It has something to do with the density of the second hand smoke and it’s inability to invade the lungs.
I believe that means .015 percent.
Someone check my math, please.

Unfortunately now that I have emphysema I’m back to smoking. Hate it, but it is the most habit forming drug off or on the market.


AND Ecmst12, trust me. It takes only ONE cigarette to get you started again. I had quit for ten years, the first, and second, time. God Bless and keep free of the smoke.
It is A disgusting habit.

LSCAP said:

I have read that an expert from the tobacco company was misquoted and actually agrees that smoking increases your chance of cancer by one thousand percent, but second hand smoke is only fifteen percent based on the thousand percent.

It has something to do with the density of the second hand smoke and it’s inability to invade the lungs.
I believe that means .015 percent.
Someone check my math, please.

Unfortunately now that I have emphysema I’m back to smoking. Hate it, but it is the most habit forming drug off or on the market.


AND Ecmst12, trust me. It takes only ONE cigarette to get you started again. I had quit for ten years, the first, and second, time. God Bless and keep free of the smoke.
It is A disgusting habit.

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(no, I don't want to beat this thread into the ground but.....)

Wouldn't happen to have a source for that, would you?

Some of us like to be able to go out to bars and nightclubs without coming home smelling like an ashtray.

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I know! But the absence of a ban wouldn't prevent forward-thinking bar owners from opening smoke-free nightclubs anyway... my logic (using a loose interpretation of the term "logic," heh) is that when the purpose of an establishment is to sell one form of legal poison to people, it seems a little ridiculous to ban the use of another legal poison in the same place. ****tails and cigarettes just go together. Or at least they did when I drank.

OK, TMI. Sorry y'all.

See, smoking and drinking going together is a cultural problem. There are legitimate public-health reasons to keep smoking out of buildings, but if a side effect is to start to wear away at this need for people to have a cigarette in one hand whenever they have a drink in the other, then maybe the number of smokers will finally start to drop. It will certainly make it easier for EX smokers to go out for drinks without as much temptation to light up.

One thing that they did around Philly when the smoking ban took effect was to relax enforcement of the open container laws. So people could carry their drink outside with them when they went to smoke, thereby not leaving it unattended and open for tampering or trashing, and not interrupting their fun as much, and also not having to worry about getting arrested for it.

It also seems that there is much more resistence to smoking bans BEFORE they take effect. Once they are in place, the public pretty quickly comes to support it. Even SMOKERS don't want to come home smelling like an ashtray after a night out on the town! And the inconvenience of stepping outside is really SO minor. And since smokers are actually the minority of people, bar and restaurant owners find that their customers are actually INCREASING instead of dropping off like they feared.

ecmst12 said:

Even SMOKERS don't want to come home smelling like an ashtray after a night out on the town!

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NEWSFLASH! You smokers already smell like ashtrays even if you smoke outside.

Alex23 said:

NEWSFLASH! You smokers already smell like ashtrays even if you smoke outside.

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SHE isn't a smoker! I'm the one who said that I smoke. And I don't smell bad!

ecmst12, I actually agree with everything you said.

Plus now I have the giggles because I forgot about the auto-edit and that you can't call a highball a ****tail. Cause it's dirty.

Non-smoker here. But I still think smoking outside does not cause the same amount of odor as sitting around marinating in smoke for a couple of hours.