> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- > Van: Doug [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Verzonden: dinsdag 19 maart 2002 5:28 > Aan: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Onderwerp: Re: Class-action law suit (was Re: Question for > ListAdministrato rs)
> >> So why are all you non smokers over there still allowing the smokers > >> to slowly kill you? > > > > Probably because it is an horrendous task to sue each and every > > single bar owner, restaurant owner, employer etcetera that allows > > smoking on the premises. And who should we sue to be freed from > > people smoking outdoors? > > I would think that after the first few successful lawsuits that the > rest would get the idea. The problem is that businesses are privately owned, which means that it is impossible to sue a business for allowing smoking on their premises. If an owner does not voluntarily ban smoking on the premises, the only way to make such places smoke-free is through legislation that makes it illegal to smoke there. There *are* groups pressuring the government to make such laws, but there is one annoying thing getting in the way: a rather powerful tobacco lobby. So far, the only public places where smoking is banned is in government buildings. > The laws we have against outdoor smoking in places such as train > stations or other crowded areas are mostly local ordinances. They > aren't universal and they don't work perfectly, but they do help. A situation we can only dream of over here... > I'm amazed at how well the anti-tobacco campaign has worked and very > grateful to those who have provided us with a marked improvement in our > quality of life. Its the way other drugs should be dealt with (more or > less). Unlike other drugs (like alcohol, cocaine etcetera), tobacco seems to be more or less acceptable in the workplace; it is not even considered a drug. In several places where I worked, I pointed out to smokers that tobacco really falls in the same category as those other substances and therefore should be banned as well. After all, few employers will accept it when there employees use alcohol or cocaine at work. Did not exactly boost my popularity, to see the least. Understandable, of course, because by drawing those parallels you are essentially calling your smoking co-workers drug addicts... Jeroen _________________________________________________________________________ Wonderful World of Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com Tom's Photo Gallery: http://tom.vanbaardwijk.com
