Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

This nanny state so blows. This is a prime example of overkill. I hope the owners of business' challenge this in court. They are out-*******-side! What a joke.



Outdoor bistros say stringent smoking rules will kill biz

Fume and doom

By Richard Weir
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 - Updated 15h ago

Hub bar and restaurant owners are burning up over the city’s sudden crackdown on puffing patrons on rooftop decks or in sidewalk cafes as part of the city’s tough new workplace smoking rules.

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“I’m afraid we’re going to lose business,” said Tony Castagnozzi of the Rattlesnake Bar and Grill on Bolyston Street. “People will say, ‘Screw it. We’ll go out of town to a place where we can have dinner and a cigar outside.’ It just makes it tougher and tougher to do business in the city.”

Last month, city inspectors began visiting the 250 or so bars and cafes with decks and patios, handing out warning letters and putting proprietors on notice that they face costly fines - $200 for a first offense, $700 for a second and $1,000 for a third - if customers are caught smoking in any “adjacent outdoor area” served by staff.

Outdoor bistros say stringent smoking rules will kill biz - BostonHerald.com

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

City is desperate for money and the mayor is a stickler for a municipal meal tax, they will find anything to fine to get it :rolleyes:

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

Oh I get it alright. This place sucks. You can't even smoke OUTSIDE. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA what a ******* state we live in. baaaaaaaaaaaaa.....

A carton of Marlboro's:

Florida $32.99
MA $80

ahahahahahahahaha...and just like a cookie....

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

It's not a recent thing with Menino either...he has wanted the meals tax for years even in the best of times and has been one of the weasels who have forced things like the ban on trans fats and non-hybrid taxis. He is using this ban as a way to get that meal tax approved with little battle from the people it will actually affect.

When the law allowing the municipalities to adopt the meal tax he was the biggest cheerleader and will probably be the first one with a ordinance ready for council approval. Oh well, Boston loses out on fine restaurants and customers to Cambridge, Watertown, Newton, and Quincy :rolleyes:

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

Just wait until we have national health insurance. Remember the thread when someone wanted to ban soda because it's bad for you ? Imagine the Dems banning everything because it costs too much for their stupid national health care system.

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

There you have it :) Cigarettes in this state have literally become almost contraband. I know people who go FLA and/or the Carolinas on a regular basis, and whoever smokes puts their order in.

Just wait til this government gets it's tentacles into Healthcare.

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

I'm a social smoker. I might smoke 5 ciggs a month. Not 5 packs, 5 ciggarettes. I've been that way since college. Anyhow, my buddy is a legit smoker, as is his brother. When we left Florida, we took home about 15 cartons in our suitcases. I mean, WTF, $32.99 for a carton of Marlboro's!?! To think that Florida doesn't even have an income tax either. Their Health Index ranking must totally blow.

I want to remind people that the difference in cost per carton, from Florida, to Massachusetts, is ALL TAX. Think about that.

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

When the cigarette ban went into effect in Rhode Island it ruined many bar and pub businesses ... Massachusetts followed with their own ban. Those same bars and pubs have since seen their business return. Places that serve food are happier now with the ban ... business is better.

Now here's the kicker ... Mass. law was a bit different than Rhode Island law in that it still allowed smoking in private clubs ... social clubs so to speak. In the beginning those social clubs reaped a windfall of business as smokers went to them. Now ... those same social clubs are hurting badly as people have gotten used to smoking outside and/or now like that their local hangouts and eateries are not filled with smoke.

Does seem a bit cruel for them to do this but times have changed and non-smokers far outnumber smokers. these outside areas are just skirting the law that was put into effect for good reasons.

As an asthmatic and someone who has never smoked
... I must admit I am biased towards the non-smoking laws ... for the record.;)

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

A person could go to FLA and buy cartons of cigarettes, come here to MA (or even NYC), sell those cartons for $50.00, and still make money. Smokers in MA would line up to pay $50.00 a carton.

Re: Nanny State: Boston fining people who smoke outside, at roof deck bars & bistros
 

I like the fact that people don't smoke indoors anymore, at clubs and stuff, but that doesn't change the fact that the ordinance is BS. It should be up to the owner of the establishment to decide whether or not smoking will be allowed in his place. If he wants his bar to be a smoking establishment, so be it. People who don't want to go there cuz of it, don't have to. If he wants to be no smoke, then smokers can go elsewhere just the same. The fact that the state dictates to owners what they can do with their own place, is BS. The outside stuff is ridiculous in and of itself. You are outside. Hello, outside, as in open air, no walls, no windows, not enclosed.