A City on the Back-End of Tomorrow
-
Kevin Godbee - Aug 26, 2011
- 8 min read
By C. R. S. Lyles
On June 11th, 2011, despite protestations from local business-owners and smokers alike, Springfield, Missouri passed Council Bill 2010-180, which bans any and all smoking activity indoors within the city limits.
“The City Council has determined that the adoption of this ordinance furthers the public health and welfare of the community by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment, and by guaranteeing the right of non-smokers to breathe smoke-free air, and further determining that the need to breathe smoke-free air shall have priority over the desire to smoke.”
The above passage is taken directly from Council Bill 2010-180, which was filed over a year before the injunction took place and was sponsored by Council members Dan Chiles, John Rush, Cindy Rushefsky, and Mayor Jim O’Neal.
“To my knowledge, it seems like everyone would rather go ahead and sit down at their neighborhood bar and have a drink than go outside and smoke,” said Mayor O’Neal. “Before I was even elected, I would hear grumbling from people from both in and out of town who would complain about the level of smoking, and from the feedback I’ve received, it seems that, for now, the majority of people are pretty happy with the ordinance.”
However, despite Mayor O’Neal’s optimistic outlook, not all council members (and certainly not all of the citizens of Springfield) were for the passage of this bill.
“Whether it’s smoking or the kind of light bulbs we have in our homes, this smoking ban is another perfect example of our continuing loss of freedoms in this country. It all comes down to whether you support public health over public freedom,” said councilman Nick Ibarra of the Springfield City Council.
Through stories coming out of Springfield and its city newspaper, the News-Leader, the ordinance seems to have been met with understanding, compliance, and little if any opposition, but the truth, as always, is far more complex.
“There were a lot of businesses who said ‘We agree with you, but we’re against this ban. We don’t want to alienate our non-smoking customers, so we’re not going to speak out about it.’ If more businesses had voiced their opposition, this could have turned out much differently,” said Ibarra.
Council Bill 2010-180 passed by only a 53-47 margin as opposed to a more usual 70% – 30% or 60% – 40% split.
And this margin becomes even more impressive when one looks at the campaign funds that were spent by both sides of this argument.
According to Ibarra, the proponents of this initiative spent approximately $90,000 in their attempt to have this bill passed, while the opposition, a group who calls themselves Live Free Springfield, spent only about $16,000.
Of the $90,000 that was donated in support of the ordinance, only between $100 and $500 was raised locally, whereas all of the money raised for the opposition came from local support.
The remainder of the money raised in support of Council Bill 2010-180 came from donations from the American Cancer Society.
Local business owner Jessica Hutson, along with husband Christian, were a part of the Live Free Springfield movement, and have been vocal ever since the ordinance passed on how it has affected their tobacco shop, Just For Him.
“Our business is reliant upon people being able to smoke in here,” said Hutson. “We specialize in custom tobacco products and premium cigars — a lot of our merchandise is stuff that people haven’t had before. We want to be able to talk to them about what they’re trying out, have them light it up in the store and discuss what they like and don’t like about it. Thanks to this ordinance, we can no longer do that.”
And thanks to further stipulations of the recent ordinance, it seems even the air outside the store has been claimed by the anti-smoking proponents.
“We have a large outdoor patio at our shop where our customers can sit outside and relax while they smoke. Three days after the ordinance went into effect, we had two visits from the health department to our outdoor patio and even though we were found to be in compliance with the ordinance, we now can’t even smoke outside because our landlord took away our smoking patio.,” said Hutson. “So, really, we’re not even allowed to have smokers indoors or outdoors at the shop.”
Though obviously as nonsensical, annoying, and frustrating as it is for local customers to not even be allowed the freedom to enjoy a smoke in a facility specifically built so that they can enjoy a smoke (and thanks to the three industrial-strength filters that were installed in Just For Him, those more sensitive to the smell of burning tobacco need not worry about the dangerous carcinogens getting outside the walls of the store), it is not only the local customers who suffer from this ordinance, but the national and international customers as well.
Just For Him has a national online fan base for their custom tobacco blends, and ships to almost every country around the world each week. In addition, representatives from Just For Him are present at most pipe shows around the country.
But, because of this ordinance, business has had to adjust to fit both the demanding and restrictive parameters of Council Bill 2010-180.
“We can’t custom blend now because we can’t test it in the shop with this new ordinance in effect. In order to test, we have to have a trial and error process that we just can’t have now,” said Hutson. “We can’t even test faulty product and make sure that our merchandise is good. Recently, we had to send back a large shipment of tobacco because a customer called us and told us that something was wrong with it, and we weren’t able to catch it before it went out because of the ban.”
In a time period which is being referred to as the “Great Recession”, subjecting even one businesses to stipulations which hinder its practice and restricts them from something as simple as testing merchandise for flaws is both socially irresponsible and remarkably cold for a country whose entire reputation and economy is built upon the ideals of entrepreneurship.
Proponents of the bill, however, argue that allowing exemptions to the ordinance will only lead to further disagreements between both sides.
“We tried to pass the ordinance a while back at the council level, and we were ready to make some concessions that were reasonable, but the intent from the opponents of the bill was just to shoot it down altogether,” said Mayor O’Neal. “If you make too many exemptions, then soon everyone wants them.”
Ironically, council members at that time voted 9-0 in favor of an exemption to the ban for tobacco shops, but members since then, such as council members John Rush and Cindy Rushefsky, have changed their minds about amending the ordinance.
“The moment that happens, we’re going to hear from everybody else,” said Rush about the possibility of concessions.
Rushefsky even wants to see further restrictions added to the ordinance, such as a stipulation that tobacco stores must be free-standing (not connected to other businesses) for even the possibility of an amendment to the ordinance to be considered.
The trouble with this whole situation, though officials such as Rush and Rushefsky would undoubtedly disagree, is that this ordinance is just another example of the misplaced activism which retains just as much of the momentum and public support as it did in the ’60s but whose direction has managed to shift into the realms of the ludicrous.
The ability for this ban to be opened up for an amendment at some future date is a moot point; an amendment wouldn’t even be needed for this bill had its sponsors just taken a moment to consider the social and financial ramifications that this ordinance would create.
It’s like voting to make a city part of a dry county, but allowing the bars to stay open, or enacting mandatory dietary restrictions, but keeping McDonald’s within the city limits.
Sadly and yet again, it’s just another case of the same old story on a different day.
Six months after a bill has been passed, it is opened back up for discussion and the possibility of amendments can be brought before the City Council.
“On October 12th, we plan to hold a meeting where we can open it back up for debate. We plan to offer the possibility of an amendment to the tobacco and smoke shops,” said Mayor O’Neal.
As undoubtedly many of the Springfield smoke shops are, Just For Him is ready to be present at that meeting.
“We don’t intend to go anywhere,” said Hutson. “We continue to be here despite this ordinance because we have the most customers. Our in-town customers will still come in to sit down and have lunch here even though they can’t smoke inside, and our out-of-town and international customers were calling for weeks after [the ordinance passed] to ask how the vote had gone.”
Though it has been months now since Council Bill 2010-180 passed, the debate still rages behind the scenes and preparations for the October 12th meeting are already being made.
“This is our business, and this is our knowledge,” said Hutson. “Part of what we’re selling is our knowledge. People come in with questions, and if we can’t help them, then we lose what we are as a store.”
It is more than appropriate to note, then, that the Just For Him tobacco shop resides on a road called Battlefield.
Just For Him
1334 East Battlefield Road
Springfield, MO 65804
Ph: 417-886-8380
Website: JustForHim.com
[mappress]
Carter R. Lyles is a student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL and at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He is a journalism/psychology major, and in addition to his work at Pipes Magazine, he has contributed articles to The Alligator, Thursday Night Magazine, and The Fine Print. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
12 Responses
Smokingpipes.com Updates
9 Fresh Winslow Pipes |
4 Fresh Estate Pipes |
16 Fresh Rossi Pipes |
3 Fresh Tom Eltang Pipes |
2 Fresh Missouri Meerschaum Pipes |
Recent Posts
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
Vegas Baby The show started out strong on the 14th floor hospitality suites hosted by the Vegas Pipe Show and Smoking Pipes as well as room hopping to carvers, estate sellers, and vendors to pre-game for the festivities. If you’re interested in what that looks like I’ll refer you to last years pipe show round up. I circled with Brian Levine to get the totals in comparison to last year: This year’s show numbers: 108 Exhibitor tables, 445 attendees, 3,250 Raffle Tickets, 100ish dinners, 172 Rooms in the Hotel. Last year, by comparison, 107 exhibitor tables, 425 attendees, 2,200 raffle tickets, 104 dinners, and 175 rooms on Friday and Saturday nights. We were at capacity, basically, when it came to vendor tables and the dinner, so there is no physical room for growth at this point except for attendees. That said, we filled that smoking lounge to the brim. New Carvers Spotlight Garret Woo (Pipes by Woo) How long have you been carving? Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. James: What is the craziest thing you’ve seen at this show? Garret: The first thing that comes to mind is the table over there with C-Pipes with the shapes and the size and petiteness and the intricate details they did. You can check out what Garret is working on by going to his Instagram. Stefan Cashwell James: how long have you been carving? Stefan: about 3 years. James: What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen at the show? Stefan: The Adam Davidson pipe with the clear shape and the bamboo—I don’t know if it’s 3D printed or what, but it’s amazing. James: What’s your favorite shape to do? Stefan: That’s a tough question. I think they’re all the same shape, but what’s fascinating is that Dublin, volcano, and blowfish are all the same depending on how you turn them. Playing with that, with all its variations, is a lot of fun. My favorite accent to use is also horn; it’s finicky, but it’s a great accent on pipes. You can check out Stefan’s work on his Instagram. Science: Meet Pipes I chatted with Chris from the San Diego Pipe Club; he started off doing stem replacements for estate pipes but also improved the airflow. James: How are you doing 3d printing? What is the thought process? Chris: It’s a 3D-printed pipe with a briar insert. The design is a calabash meets a Peterson system meets a metal Falcon/Kirsten radiator style. It is a bottom draft smoking bowl like a radiator like those metal pipes. The inside chamber is a calabash. The stummel and accent rings in the stems are all 3d printed. The insert is briar, olive wood, or I have the potential to use meerschaum as well. This idea came about through the San Diego Pipe Club, wanting to see if we could 3D print a pipe and being curious about the technology; I have a printer and design ability, so here we are. James: What’s the type of plastic you’re using? Chris: It’s all PLA plastic, a renewable potato starch plastic that is food-safe. The stummels are printed with a plastic that has wood in it 40% wood fiber, bamboo, rosewood, ebony, redwood, and walnut are the woods I’m printing. For the accent rings I just got a new material that I’m printing that has 40% copper, so its real metal that you can sand, and polish the same as wood filament. The stems are 3d printed as well. The concept is renewable and cheap from a production standpoint, with the ability to make a very high quality smoking pipe based on the experience. By combining the calabash system pipe and bottom draft hole and using 3d simulations to see airflow, I can see where I’m having eddies and ripples in my current, and see where my moisture and all the particles are dropping back out from a vapor to a liquid. Most people who have tried these say the stems are clean, and they don’t even have to run a pipe cleaner afterward because everything collects at the bottom. Chris has also been experimenting with color-changing plastics so you can see the hotspots. Chris said he was able to use this to slow down his cadence, which, of course, could mean you could get a slow-smoke training pipe to teach yourself to perform better. If you’re interested in learning more or want to check one out, you can contact him on Instagram: Copper Beard Pipe Works The Negative Space The show was buzzing about one specific pipe, which had everyone guessing how it was made. I chatted with Adam Davidson briefly about it. James: How did this idea come to fruition? Adam Davidson: Smokingpipes.com had an expo back in August open to all of the makers they carry. The theme was to make a pipe utilizing bamboo. Given that the last time we had the expo I made a smooth Almond with three bamboo shanks, […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 631. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with pipe maker Dan Keller from Good Made Better. Dan is from South Dakota. Growing up working in the family hardware store where he was always finding solutions to fixing things, he ended up always wanting to make things. He now makes elegant handmade pens, pen holders, portable desks, blotters, blotting paper, book carry cases, and of course artisan pipes. At the top of the show we are continuing the virtual tour of Brian’s pipes with his “f#@k you pipes”.
“Follow the money.” Hal Holbrook was right.
I think it’s fair to say that logic and reason are dead in Springfield Missouri.
If I could vote there, because the Mayor has an obvious lack of backbone (owing to the fact it has migrated into his head), the Mayor will lose my vote.
In a March, 2011 article PipesMagazine.com reported that, in Illinois, lawmakers are backpedaling on a similar indoor smoking ban because gambling casino revenues are down. So I guess Romeowood (above) is right. That reality notwithstanding, the article,
https://pipesmagazine.com/blog/pipe-news/illinois-lawmakers-mull-smoking-in-casinos-bars/
goes on to note:
“There is a falsely placed prejudice regarding secondhand smoke that never should have been allowed to fester in the first place. Even OSHA has established safe levels of secondhand smoke and those levels are literally thousands of times higher than normally found in bars and restaurants that allow smoking.”
.
It is particularly distressing that outside propaganda money was used to overcome local opposition of the ordinance. Based on donations for and against, the ordinance appears to be unpopular at the local level, but has been crammed down the locals’ throats.
.
I’ll never again vote for a Democrat candidate — not even a relative running for dogcatcher!
Looks like we’ll have to wait another 30 years for all these old moron mayers and law-makes keel over so we can over turn every stupid bill they’ve ever written down.
You know, I can understand banning smoking in restaurants, I really can. I’m a smoker and even I don’t like being around smoke when I’m eating. This however is beyond the pale. These bans have to have some common sense grandfather clauses for establishments like this whose income comes solely or in a great part from tobacco sales. This is just ridiculous.
I must agree with what Choch said. Lawrence was one of the first cities in my area to ban smoking at all bars and restaurants, and even as a smoker, I supported those initiatives. It made eating at restaurants more pleasant. I didn’t feel like I had to shower after a plate of barbecue riblets from Applebee’s (for anything other than the normal meat-sweat reasons.)
However, there are clearly exceptions that need to be made. A store that primarily sells tobacco should very clearly have an exception.
While I understand some look at banning smoking anywhere as a loss of freedoms, it is undeniable that smoking can have negative health consequences. If someone eating an awesome blossom doesn’t want to smell my pipe smoke, it would be rude of me to tell them “Too bad, personal freedom.” Before smoking was banned, occasionally that was the response. (I have anecdotal evidence to back this up, if you care.)
However, if I’m puffing from a bowl of McClelland from my local Brick and Mortar tobacco retailer, and they wish to complain, they can kindly bugger off.
This article is an outstanding summation of the difficulties faced not only by the tobacco industries and businesses like Just For Him, but small business as a whole. Over-regulation, pandering to stridently vocal special interests, reliance on malleable (potentially corrupt?) politicians to look out for constituents’ interests, the list goes on and on. I’m glad non-smokers have their rights. however, smokers, as a minority, should also have their rights respected. Most smokers do not go out of their way to cause others “smoking distress.” i would say that a majority of pipe smokers are looked upon favorably, since we try to be unobtrusive, and what we smoke generally smells better than cigarettes. Still, we’re hunted down, even in our sanctuaries like Just For Him. What’s next, smoking bans for our backyards, in our own homes?
I like Just For Him blends; I’ve never had a bad one. If the only thing I can do to support their cause is to increase my ordering from them, then that’s what I’ll do. At least here in Texas, we can still smoke in a tobacconist’s. Let Missouri be free, too!
Sorry for hogging the bandwidth on this topic, but I just couldn’t contain myself.
.
Exemptions to the smoking restriction ordinance seem entirely reasonable for a tobacconist since only tobaccophiles would be there anyway. Yet the article states that Mayor O’Neal and Councilmen Rush and Rushefsky are reluctant to make such concessions because, “If you make too many exemptions, then soon everyone wants them”, and “’The moment that happens, we’re going to hear from everybody else’, said Rush about the possibility of concessions.”
.
Well, duh! If you propose a law to which everyone seeks an exemption, what does that tell you about the need for such a law and the will of the people?
.
Morons!
“Of the $90,000 that was donated in support of the ordinance, only between $100 and $500 was raised locally, whereas ALL of the money raised for the opposition came from local support. The remainder of the money raised in support of Council Bill 2010-180 came from donations from the American Cancer Society.”
What does this say? Do people really want local control, or give it away to some faceless money-grubbing outside organization? Amazing the people don’t see that.
Yet it was a similar story in San Angelo Texas last year when the voters approved nearly 3 to 1 a blanket smoking ban sponsored by the cancer society and their local lickspittles. The city council tossed a few crumbs to the opposition (allowing the local quality tobacco shop to REMAIN OPEN instead of closing it because it’s not “free-standing” and removing the phase-out of ALL smoking rooms in motels) but the main thrust, eliminating smoking from all other businesses and within 20 feet of entrances remains intact.
I support Springfield’s tobacco merchants in begging for a few crumbs in order to remain open, but the smoking ban should be struck down in totality. Let the marketplace (the merchants and their patrons) decide where to go and what to do.
Smoke may be annoying to some people, but it’s NOT going to hurt them. If smoking were as dangerous as the cancer society says it is, all the smokers would have died out years ago!
What’s wrong with the Springfield politicians that they allow outsiders (Cancer Society) to purchase their votes and they ignore the wishes and desires of the people that elected them (If you make…exemptions then everybody will want them.-Mayor O’Neal.) When politicians fail to do the bidding of their constituents they should be replaced. Let them learn first hand about the unemployment that they have caused. This also applies to politicians on the national level.
@ cortezattic: Congratulations on your comment about never voting for a Dumbocrat,(did I spell that right? Yeah, I guess I did.) I’m so bloody tired of the pleasure police treating us as 2 year olds and telling us what we can and can’t do I could SCREAM! People don’t realize that the objective of these fanatics is to erode our freedoms one at a time so we won’t notice. Stick to your guns. I don’t care if Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, Zarathustra, Lao Tzu or Confucius were running on the dumbocratic ticket, ( If there’s anyone I’ve failed to offend, I appologize. Feel frewe to let me know, and I’ll be sure to include you next time!), they wouldn’t get my vote!