VIDEO: Smoking ban would force hookah lounge in Grand Forks to close
June 29, 2012 at 4:06 am in Grand Forks Herald
A petition circulating the state to put a permanent smoking ban on the November ballot will force a Grand Forks man to close his business and he’ll be out of a job. Continue Reading
And once the nannies have outlawed smoking, they’ll emulate Bloomberg and move on to fast food, pop, liquor, salt, and everything else they deem that others should not have the decision in consuming.
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Wow, Grand Forks once again finds a way to suck the fun out of life. This is a hookah bar, so the second hand smoke argument is lacking merit because if a person is against second hand smoke, they would never go to a hookah bar in the first place.
Also one of the arguments was “what if it is next to a daycare.” Well it is not and there certainly could be some regulations such as no smoking within 50 yards of certain places. But go ahead GF and keep allowing a few people to make personal decisions for the people, makes total sense. Yet another reason why many young people move away.
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I am against smoking but the argument against second hand smoke has always bothered me. The Nicotine is already gone in the smokers lungs. what he exhales is just smoke, smelly yes, but not the same as smoke direct from the cigarettte.
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The food police are working on sugar right now, remember trans fats? People quit smoking and now they eat more. The food police have created a double headed snake. If one head don’t bite you the other one will. This is more confusing than than a two story outhouse.
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Look, I’m completely anti-smoking, but this is dumb. There should clearly be an exception for businesses such as this and cigar bars, etc. where the majority of sales is tobacco related.
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@Arron and rest.. See there are others who don’t agree with you.. I do.. But there are those who want you to live your life their way.. After smoking they will go for the things you enjoy.. You want to go boating, well it isn’t going to happen unless you are in a full rubber suit so you don’t drown and can’t hurt yourself when you hit the water at 50 mph.. you like to rock climb, not anymore.. to dangerous.. people have had to cut off their limbs to survive even more traumatic events.. You want a Big Mac, it isn’t going to happen. You like a beer after work, only if it is on your property in your own home.. But only if you don’t have children so you don’t unnecessarily influence them to drink..
It is coming, it will happen.. You can call me nuts but it will eventually happen. We live in a nanny state, and those helicopter moms, or those people two flipping ugly to get a mate need something to occupy their time.. and they will make you live how they choose to live.
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I guess we’d all better get used to a diet of alfalfa sprouts and tofu
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once you let the govt in the door the mandates will not stop.
Too late folks, Obamacare got the ball rolling full speed.
Now we just need to sit back and see which party is in charge when we become a full fledged dictatorship.
You can say it wont happen but its too late, its already started.
Democracy cannot survive when the people realize they Govt will provide for their safety and comfort.
Thanks Sheeple.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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This is so sad. I am totally against smoking and cant stand the smell of smoke on some of my cowrkers but, this is sad. My step daughters smokes and I dont like it but I would never tell someone how to live….even if she wanted to go to a lounge to do so. Harry better watch out, booze is next! Even my 14year old asked what was the difference between someone going to a hookah lounge to smoke and going to fantasy’s to buy toys was. Once again, everyone else gets to tell us how to (not) do the legal pleasures in life.
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Here’s my current address: Six weeks today….two weeks to go.
The Richard M Schulze Family American Cancer Society Hope Lodge
2500 University Avenue SE
Minneapolis, MN 55414
1-800-227-2345
I hope my Area Voice’s friends never have to come here. It’s a great place but communal living is not my style. The weekdays aren’t bad but the weekends are not fun.
In defense of smokers cancer strikes the healthiest people as well. My husband’s is hereditary. I have a cousin on the Iron Range with brain cancer. It’s a tough situation. God only knows how he developed that.
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I agree that smoking should be banned from the likes of bars and what not, but a hookah lounge should be omitted. You go to a bar for a beer, not a smoke. You go to a hookah lounge specifically to smoke. People who do not smoke, do not venture here (the smart ones anyway). I think it should be exempt.
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That makes sense. I hope the petition allows for that kind of wiggle room.
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I saw the anti-smoking ad last night, which is reflective of how these people view the role of government versus that of the individual. Parents, daughter, husband all complain their loved one breathes second-hand smoke. Zoom in on the woman in question, working in a bar. Now, of course, it’s not her responsibility to find another job, is it?
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Following your line of reasoning, the government should outlaw all endeavors which may present a danger, whether the participants are willing to take the risk or not:
All sports
Workers in high places (linemen, windmill maintenence, tree trimmers…)
Firemen and police
Factory workers
The list is endless.
Point is, people have a choice of working or frequenting a business that permits smoking; they aren’t herded in at gunpoint.
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We’ll just have to agree to disagree. You seem to believe that people should not take responsibility for their actions, and let the government decide for them…and us.
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Alvin, you and I are going to disagree. I started out my life in minimum wage jobs. I have worked for some great people and for some really horrendous people. I have worked jobs in which smoking was allowed in the building and smoking wasn’t. EVERY job I took I new the ramifications of taking that job, and what it was going to do to give me a marketable skill.
NOBODY forces ANYONE to apply for any specific job. If people worried as much about their marketable skill set as they do about what they are going to wear, or where they are going to party this weekend there would be self perpetuating changes within the system.
If a business owner cannot get as many customers into his establishment who smoke vs who don’t smoke, it should be pretty obvious what part of the market he should be trying to get to come into his bar. The same would be said on if he as the owner would have it as a smoking or non-smoking bar.. Same for employees.. If he can’t get decent employees into his establishment that don’t want to work around smoking or smokers in general, maybe he should think a little bit.
This is precisely the point of my post above.. You are so dead set that people have to live their life your way there is no other way.. Where does personal choice come into play.
I’d be better off living in Russia, I’d have more freedom.
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If it makes you happy I don’t agree with seat belt laws either. The sad part is you are right.. It will pass and that is all the more the shame for this country. People came here for personal freedom, there is a very distinct lack of that for the business owner anymore.
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I am a smoker and when I looked for jobs, I always looked at places that allowed smoking first because I hated being confined to a 15-minute break every four hours in a regular position. Every one of my coworkers was a smoker. Having worked in many bars for many years, that was the one perk of my job…being able to smoke while at work. Likewise, people who can’t stand smoke generally don’t get jobs at smoky places. I think banning smoking is a good thing for some places, but it’s stepping over the line in other places when smoking is one of the main activities, especially the hookah lounge…That is completely impeding on smokers’ rights.
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American Crystal is hiring, good pay and benefits!
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Ok…Two points…First…Don’t get over dramatic about this leading to eventual concentration camps by the dream police or such…..Oof Da…..It’s not that critical…It’s just a smoking ban….You know…Like that drug ban that many of you might support because you believe it protects society.
Second…..I’ve said it before and once again…This is going way too far…And it really irks me when someone suddenly bings in the vision of a day care being right next to a hooka lounge (There isn’t one here right? I really can’t picture such a thing) That’s notching up the drama to an extreme level of stupidity too. But as many have said…This is the business it is in and those who go there are there to smoke. Between this and trying to ban smoking rooms from motels This is very bad policy.
Yes I know well how bad smoking is for people, and I’d like to see the country eventually go smokless (Well tobacco anyway). But it still is legal so to not allow them to have a place of their own seems to be going beyond their rights. What’s the next logical conclusion? To ban anyplace from selling tobacco? Then we’ll have another contraband fo criminals to make a lot of money off of…Instead of the criminals who hold political office and keep tapping tobacco sales…..
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“And it really irks me when someone suddenly bings in the vision of a day care being right next to a hooka lounge”
People whose atgument has no merit habitually bring up “It’s for the children” gambit.
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It’s almost Independence Day and guess what Minnesotans still aren’t as responsible as their western neighbors in regards to fireworks (good ones, that is). We can thank Gov. Dayton for vetoing that. I’m surprised Minnesota doesn’t have a law that ALL bicycles need training wheels. First nanny, then Gestapo ( as in the 16,000 IRS agents that will be hired to enforce Obamacare).
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You must realize that the IRS agent thing is an urban legend. There is no such plan, never was, not going to be. It’s all fiction put out by the conservative talking heads and voices.
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Ok Lowrent….When hyou find out what it’s actually all about and you discover this big ad thing your right wing talking heads have been scaring you on isn’t really something to be scared about….Are you going to stand tall and admit you had it all wrong? Or will you be like those you get this misinformation from and act like it never happened? Once Americans see what’s actually going to happen your right wing talking heads will just act like all their scare taticts never even happened….Just watch….
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“I’m surprised Minnesota doesn’t have a law that ALL bicycles need training wheels.” Regardless of whether you agree with other comments of lowrent, that comment might just sum up the last 50 years of Minnesota lawmaking.
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Want to clean the air in ND? Ban the sale of all tobacco products. Can’t be done, won’t be done. Too much tax money to lose. So leave the hookah business alone. He has rights also and if you don’t like it, don’t go there. By the way, I quit smoking 3 yrs ago.
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“Don’t go there” Come on….It can’t be just that simple can it? Of course try tell that to those poor kids in day cares set up next to Hooka lounges….Do you really think they can simply “Not go there?”
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Some of these daycares are set up in the worst places. I don’t think they belong in a business district unless it is a detached building with a playground equivalent to what an elementary school would have. Kids spend so much time there.
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Ok…I’ve been cracking on that stupid line in the story, but I’m assuming that this place isn’t actually by a day care center……If I’m wrong then have I ever got the old egg on the face….
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416 DeMers. He is in the perfect spot and should be left alone IMO. I wish the guy the best.
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Tundra, the sixth sense to all peoples is not ESP but freedom. The loss of freedom is exemplified in the Hookah case. Freedom transcends all politics and to witness the loss of it is like watching a glacier break off piece by piece while anchored in an Alaskan bay.
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I spoke too soon because I was latching on to your last part about the Affordabl Medical Reform Bill. As I’ve mentiond elsewhere, I’m totally against my fellow non smokers going to these extremes also….But I reall don’t find this anywhere near to Gestapo tactic…..I’d point to the TSA as that long before I’d point to this…..
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Got it, Tundra, you win again.
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You want to talk TSA? Did you ever think you’d see Americans having to subject themselves to what used to be considered illegal searches without cause….For the crime of flying?….I’m for security, but against this over reaction that should have been readjusted several years ago now……That’s why when someone starts mentioning Gestapo Tactics my thoughts go to that first…..
Hey…I got one for you….I think it was last week in Evansdale, IN some really young teen boy had latched onto his neighbors WIFI and either got on the police site or something like that. He started saying that the cops should be destroyed and other such nonsense typical of a 13 year old boy with too much time and a bad attitude. The cops traced the computer to the neighbors home and sent swat to what might be a home grown terrorist (The had no idea how old he was) There was an 18 year old girl there watching TV with the living room door part way open. Swat comes in after tossing a couple flash bangs and breaking both a window and the screen door (Which was unlocked). The bad part for Swat was they had the media following so it was all caught on film. When they discovered their mistake…They sent two cops over to the right address and handled it the right way….Someone seemed to foget to check the intel before jumping the gun…….Just imagine if instead of an 18 year old she was 68 or older? Hey…It has happened….
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Kind of reminds me of the old movie “WarGames”. It seems the more “Big Brother” can monitor our movements the more likely it is that “justified” abuses like you mentioned, Tundra, would occur.
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One reason I only activate my computer camera when I plan to talk to someone and never just leave it hooked up afterwords……You just never know do you? Not that I have anything to hide, but still…
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As a nonsmoker, I respect the rights of smokers. However, these rights do not include subjecting nonsmokers to your disgusting habit. And I do not buy the excuse that “if you don’t want to be around cancer causing, emphysema contributing, just plain old stinky smoke, don’t go there” because employees, sales agents from other businesses, and many other groups have no choice. Take it outside.
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I agree…Only this buisness is smoking….In a private enclosed area not efffecting any other business (As far as I know). I haven’t smoked for over 30 years and the stench bothers me too….But to shut down business like this is going too far. So is not allowing motels to block of a section for smoking rooms…As long as they don’t drift into the rest of the rooms somehow….
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If I remember correctly, the story says that their is a daycare center that may be being affected. If you look across the country, most cities are smoke free in both public and private buildings. I love the city of Grand Forks, but they are really looking silly fighting this the way they are.
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I immeadiately jumped on that because it was BS thrown in there that had nothing to do with this lounge and perhaps any lounge. It was just a scam bit to say “What about the childern” To get exactly that kind of response. That was one hell of a cheap shot.
Funny how I who also hates being around smoke am sticking up for this to such an extent, but there’s right and there’s wrong, and this is just wrong for going too far…
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This isn’t about the rights of smokers or nonsmokers. It’s about the right of a private property owner to set his own smoking policy on his own private property. (And no, the fact that the public is allowed inside does not make it public property. He owns it. His customers don’t.) Your right to not be offended by what’s going on inside ends at the front door.
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I believe it is ridiculous how far people are taking this here.. There isn’t a single policy out there that EVERYONE is going to agree with. Obviously this is a touchy subject because for the most part, smokers are pissed and nonsmokers are happy. How do we find a happy medium to please both smokers and nonsmokers? Well, I don’t think it’s possible. They’ve tried.. Think back to when most restaurants had smoking sections and nonsmoking sections.. In most places, nonsmoking customers still smelled the smoke.. the workers were still breathing in the smoke.. Now in Grand Forks with the smoking ban in the bars, they have resorted to outdoor “smoke rooms”. Smokers seem to use them frequently and nonsmokers don’t ever have to go out there if they chose not to. I would assume more places would lean toward that if the smoking ban passes… Anyway.. I think what we all really need to do is take a look at the big picture. It is a FACT that the smoking ban would save our state a lot of money each year in health care costs related to second hand smoke, along with prolong the health of people in our state. I’m really disappointed with all of you who keep saying people can choose where they work or not to go to a place that allows smoking.. well.. sometimes that isn’t an option. Although our state’s economy is doing well right now, there are always going to be people who have trouble finding work and maybe a bar is the only place they can secure employment for the time-being. Should they have to choose between continuing to look for work and living off the welfare system or living in poverty over choosing the job in the bar? Is it REALLY fair that to all of the people in those situations, we are telling them they should have to deal with the second hand smoke that is putting them at risk for many health problems? How about a pregnant woman? Should she put her unborn child’s health at risk because she’s trying to find a way to support herself and her child? C’mon people, lets be realistic here. There are many pros of the smoking ban and for smokers, many cons. But you cannot tell me that a smoking ban is going to seriously impose on your life. You can still smoke in other locations and nonsmokers will not have to worry about the effects of second hand smoke, (which has been proven to be worse on the body than actually smoking)
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“I believe it’s ridiculous how far people are taking this here”….then you give a long lecture about smoking? This article is about a Hookah Lounge and the effects a non-smoking ban in ND could have on it. Hookah Lounge….not every public place in the state.
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Sometimes it helps to read the article first……
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LOL….Ok…How about this…A non smoking section in a Hookah Lounge? Now there’s a plan….
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I guarantee Tina is under 30, maybe way under 30, and has grown up being bombarded with all the anti-smoker propaganda and hysterical weeping and wailing about alleged health risks from secondhand smoke, all of which was debunked a long time ago. And she wants people to “be realistic here”? Here’s realistic: go educate yourself. You might be surprised how much you’ve been lied to.
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or welding suction vents built into the tables
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