Dallas, TX Smoking Ban Extended to Bars

Well, folks, even the great state of Texas is falling prey to the ever-increasing witch hunt on tobacco. As of last Friday, the smoking ban in Dallas was extended to include bars. One of the five opponents of the ban in the city council deferred his vote “in a last ditch attempt to delay the implementation.” The deferral pretty much guaranteed that the bill would become law.

Read the article below to see just how many more of us are being controlled by bigger government.

When Dallas clocks tick past midnight Friday, and the last cigarettes are extinguished in bar and pool hall ashtrays like millions before them, it’ll officially become illegal to light up in most every indoor workplace across the city.

That’s because a last-ditch attempt Wednesday to delay implementation of Dallas’ recently expanded smoking ordinance failed to gain traction. And City Council member Tennell Atkins, a smoking ban opponent, simply deferred his objection to a later council meeting.

The deferral effectively ensures that Dallas’ expanded smoking ordinance, which the council approved Dec. 10 by a 10-5 vote, will become law as scheduled.

Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, an early advocate of the smoking ban, hailed Wednesday’s actions.

He predicted there may be some initial confusion about the new law, and perhaps an influx of smoking complaints to the city’s 311 municipal service line. But overall, Leppert said, he expects the transition to proceed smoothly.

“I’m glad we’re moving forward,” the mayor said.

Leppert said the city isn’t planning any extraordinary enforcement efforts during the ordinance expansion’s early days, and instead, “the law will just be a standard implementation.”

Atkins expressed concern last week that some bars and clubs were having difficulty obtaining permits to build outdoor decks and porches, where smoking would be legal.

But Dallas officials determined that only a tiny fraction of the city’s bars and clubs fell into such a category. They say they’ll handle such situations on an individual basis after the ban takes effect.

Saying he’s glad the city will address these situations, Atkins likewise bemoaned what he says will be “negative economic effects of the ban” that cause bars and billiard halls to endure additional financial stress during a recession.

Dallas’ expanded smoking ban outlaws lighting up in practically every indoor workplace, including bars and billiard halls. Smoking is also prohibited within 15 feet of a workplace entrance, save for those leading to an outdoor deck or patio.

Tobacco shops and cigar bars – facilities generating 15 percent or more of their revenue from tobacco product sales – are exempt from the ban.

In 2003, the City Council banned smoking in restaurants, and last year began seriously debating extending that ban primarily in the name of health concerns.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-dalcouncil_09met.ART0.Central.Edition1.4a7fcc0.html

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1. 

   Bob says:

   April 13, 2009 at 11:58 am

   Don’t waste your time building patios. The ban lobbyists are instructed on the last page of their book to keep returning every year until ALL exemptions are gone. They have ABSOLUTLY NO CONCERN about local affairs or businesses. Here’s their book. The print is very small to discourage people from reading it. You need to CTRL and scroll to see it.
   http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/CIA_Fundamentals.pdf
2. 

   Kyle W. says:

   April 13, 2009 at 8:13 pm

   I live in the Dallas-area and I know that those who enjoy cigars here are definitely not alone in our frustration with how things are going. It will not be long before attempts are made to get rid of cigar bars and cigar shops, or at least enjoying a cigar while on the premises. I’ve heard that several areas are even facing these stringent rules. Have we really gotten to be this legalistic of a society? Unfortunately, yes.
   I know I’m being dramatic, but how long is it before I can’t enjoy a cigar in my own backyard or garage for fear that I’ll get a ticket because someone happened to be jogging by and got a whiff of EO Cubao?
   Perhaps more concern should be paid towards an ever-increasing morbidly obese population? We’re complaining about cigar smoke while more and more Americans die of heart disease… not from nicotine, but from rivers of plaque and cholesterol flooding their arteries. Don’t bring your legislation on me when you’re not supervising that which is the real killer.
3. 

   Ricky says:

   April 14, 2009 at 8:12 am

   I’m with you, Kyle, but I wouldn’t go so far as to just switch the focus onto regulating food, even though they’ve already begun that too. The problem here is that the government is trying to legislate away our rights to enjoy things, even things that may not be good for us. I don’t want them telling me I can’t enjoy a hamburger either, let alone being able to smoke my cigars.
4. 

   FriedBob says:

   April 16, 2009 at 7:58 am

   This whole thing reminds me of an episode of The Simpsons where Homer and Grandpa Simpson went to Ireland and were tricked into buying a bar. They discovered that the reason the bar was failing was that smoking had been banned in bars and other public buildings.

   As a result? They opened a “smoke easy” and not only allowed smoking but encouraged it.

   At the rate things are going, people will need to start doing things like this – if only as acts of civil protest!