Montreal Suburb Mayor: Ban All Public Smoking

[mikethompson]

Right before sweeping changes due to pot legalization. Looks like any and all tobacco products gets lumped together. Interestingly, even an anti-smoking group say it goes a little too far.
Full Article


enjoy
Edited by jvnshr: Link fixed.

 

[peckinpahhombre]

The link doesn't work but Quebec is well known for its socialist leanings so this doesn't surprise me.

 

[perdurabo]

All in the Name of Progress. Forward

 

[judcole]

Well, let's face it - some people are just party-poops, and don't want anybody to enjoy themselves. ::

 

[mikethompson]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/hampstead-wants-to-ban-smoking-in-public-even-on-streets-and-sidewalks-1.4564822
There we go!

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I'd like to see the evidence of the health impact of second-hand smoke when someone is smoking 100 metres from me on the street," Damphousse said.
And so would I.
"I haven't heard any evidence that that would be a health problem or a health issue."
Nope, nor have I. When will this madness stop?
Regards,
Jay.

 

[mso489]

I understand that many, perhaps a majority, don't want to be exposed to smoking in any manner or form. If I were non-smoking, I would still squint at this kind of statute on the basis that, if this kind of habit can be micromanaged everywhere in a principality, then all habits, mannerisms, and personal traits are also subject to approval and restriction. Exactly where do we draw the line? Even if human differences are not legislated against, this kind of particularization invites bigotry and judgement about everything from ethnicity to how we dress, eat, recreate, groom ourselves, and so on. Legislation against coloring your hair? Wearing shorts? Overweight? Lack of a shoe shine? Not looking enough like me? Bad or different manners? See where this is going? It's not objectionable ... until it is.

 

[briarbuda48]

Very well said mso489.

 

[theloniousmonkfish]

Asinine.

 

[seacaptain]

Predictable.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Mso- Some of what you mention is already happening in Quebec. They introduced a high profile law banning "facial coverings," which was a shot at a part of the Muslim population that chooses to cover their faces. One day, they might take offence with the hat on your head and ban that too.

The proposed smoking ban isn't nearly as controversial, but it will be interesting to see if the public lets that slide. With smokers being such a minority, I'll bet it goes ahead.

 

[mikethompson]

With smokers being such a minority

been to Quebec lately? :lol:

 

[theloniousmonkfish]

Glasses, shades or prescription, fall under "facial coverings"?
If I go anywhere that demands hat, glasses, scarf, or any item on my person be removed they had better be a 5 star restaurant with dress code or a bank on edge from being knocked over too often.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

It's been a little while since I lived there, but with less than 20% of people being smokers, I'd consider that a minority position. It's the trend in most countries. You're more often than not in a minority position.
That is why the outcry when laws like this come out is less and less. When the whole banning in restaurants/bars/planes, etc. trend was happening, you probably heard a lot more about it because there were more smokers -and affected people. These days, I think you'll find much less support for a position of wanting to freely smoke in public places. The majority doesn't tend to want it/or care because the majority of people don't smoke.

 

[mikethompson]

Unadopted, I'm just teasing. If the rate is under 20% nationally, its easily double that in Quebec.
I agree that laws like this typically get less blowback because less people smoke. It was interesting to see an anti-smoking group express concerns too.

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Well, apparently they are on the lower end of the spectrum. It's interesting how perceptions differ from what the numbers say. Maybe it's the French connection and some kind of historic idea of the French being smokers? Newfoundland and Nova Scotia are much higher. Nunavut is a smoker's paradise.

(I would have guessed French too, by the way, as being heavy smokers)

 

[brian64]

Mso- Some of what you mention is already happening in Quebec. They introduced a high profile law banning "facial coverings," which was a shot at a part of the Muslim population that chooses to cover their faces.

I'm not sure they're "choosing" to cover their faces. The ban should have been on forcing women to cover their faces against their will...then it would actually be a good law.

 

[skeeter456]

Sigh* no more smoking on Saint Catherine Street! What will I do now :rofl:

 

[mso489]

There's a large suburb of my city that is heavy-handed with zoning regulations. There was a hugh issue about the installation of a commercial diner with chromium siding, that was to me both attractive and historical in its design. There are ongoing/continuing disputes about how people paint and landscape their homes. It's a pleasant town, and in some ways kind of artistic and bohemian, but the intrusion on some modes of self-expression, that do not seem disturbing nor overt to me and many others, casts an unpleasant aura over the place. I might like living there, but I wouldn't move there for this reason.

 

[aldecaker]

Heavy-handed, undemocratic regimes, or those that aspire to be, always go after the unpopular groups first. That's how they cement their power. Sadly, it generally works.