Truckers may puff but veterans may not…
That’s the basics of the way the reporting reads on how the smoking rules will look. As reported in the Toledo Blade not everyone is satisfied with this:
“We don’t think it’s right to run World War II and Korean veterans outdoors in the freezing rain to smoke a cigarette,” said Bill Seagraves, commander of the Department of Ohio Veterans of Foreign Wars. “They earned the right. I don’t think we can live with it the way it is.”
The Columbus Dispatch provides a different variation of the quote from Bill Seagraves and some additional information:
“I just don’t think that it’s right to run our World War II vets and Korean vets outside to smoke a cigarette,” Seagraves said. “I think they should have a place they can go smoke without going outside in the snow and the rain to have a cigarette.”
The health department’s assistant general counsel, Socrates H. Tuch, said the ballot measure approved by 58 percent of Ohio voters was clear in applying the ban to veterans halls.There’s good reason for that, said Shelly Kiser, of the American Lung Association, one of the principal sponsors of the statewide smoking ban. Kiser said her 85-year-old grandfather, a World War II veteran, can’t spend time in veterans halls without exacerbating his heart condition.
“A lot of people think smoking rooms will be the answer,” Kiser said. “We found that smoking rooms are not effective in protecting nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.”
Over at the Akron Beacon Journal, there is an article about how to get your Landlord to make your rental unit smoke free, probably the next step, making sure than only people who own their own homes can smoke. Suggesting that someone be evicted for smoking, seems harsh but that appears to be the way this is heading.
The Cleveland Plain Dealer just had parts of the story from the Columbus Dispatch article.
I think we can pretty much guarantee this issue is not over and there will be future attempts to change this thru not only the legislation but by voters.
““They earned the right. I don’t think we can live with it the way it is.”
They earned the right?
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:20 pmBill Delaney on the smoking ban petition efforts, will be on Toledo Today, Wednesday.
January 23rd, 2007 at 1:26 pm“Bill Delaney on the smoking ban petition efforts, will be on Toledo Today, Wednesday.”
I cannot tune in as I am at work during the shows time,
I just do not understand where the idea that smoking indoors is a right that should be afforded to a vet.
The politicians can offer say things to various groups but a law or regulation intended to insure better health seems to be hardly one that can be turned around because of some self induced right.
January 23rd, 2007 at 2:30 pmThanks Tom, I’ll be listening
NC, I think the feeling of the issue of the right comes in on the Veteran aspect because these are private clubs. While I also realize there are those that feel that they should have the right as a business owner to decide which legal products will be allowed on their property, the Veteran issue is a bit different. Some of these groups feel that they were given misleading information, that the rules concerning smoking where not going to apply to them.
You as an example have the “right” to determine if you will allow smoking in your home or not. You have the “right” to determine if you will smoke or not, as long as you are of course old enough to buy a tobacco product. They feel that if the group of them as private members of a club want to allow smoking they should be able to. From a logical point of view the chances of them being reported for breaking the law is limited since if all of the members agree it’s would make the chance of being reported slim, yet they want the legal right to determine in their private group what they can or can’t do.
January 23rd, 2007 at 2:51 pm“NC, I think the feeling of the issue of the right comes in on the Veteran aspect because these are private clubs.”
I do not beleive that all the VFW halls are private member only clubs. There is one on Detroit between E. Alexis and Laskey that has a big sign out front, at least it did, welcoming non members.
The phrasing of this to me; “We don’t think it’s right to run World War II and Korean veterans outdoors in the freezing rain to smoke a cigarette,” said Bill Seagraves, commander of the Department of Ohio Veterans of Foreign Wars. “They earned the right. I don’t think we can live with it the way it is.” implies to me that because they are vets and served the country they have the right to smoke where they want and it is a clever wording to draw in people who feel that the vets do have the right which to me is not something a vet fought for. My dad fought in WWII in the Battle of the Bugle and being able to smoke where he wanted was not what he fought for.
And this; “Socrates Tuch, legal counsel to the state Health Department, said that while the law has a provision exempting private clubs, it also says that all employers – businesses, associations or private entities – that have employees must comply. That includes private clubs, such as VFW halls, that have bartenders and wait staff, paid or unpaid, he said.”
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?Category=13&ID=330642&r=3&subCategoryID=
And further;
Towns allowed to ban smoking in private clubs
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:06 pmhttp://www.krowenlaw.com/privateclub.htm
I agree not all of the Veterans clubs would be considered “private”. I also agree the way the statement was quoted by Bill Seagraves could create some discussion.
Some of the smaller clubs is what this was specifically directed too from my understanding which is why they thought they would be exempt.
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:14 pm