List - There was a Q and A with a guy with the British Columbia Restaurant and Food Services Association yesterday on All Things Considered. I didn't hear it, but as soon as the audio gets uploaded to our site I'll send the link. Until then, here's a link to a story on the smoking room proposal.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2004/06/10_scheckt_smoking/ Brandt Williams MPR reporter and Jordan resident -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Michael Atherton Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2004 9:48 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Mpls] Smoking Ban David Brauer wrote: > 1. Define air-tightness: Does that mean airlocks? After all, doors to > the smoke-filled room have to open. How to keep the smoke from pouring > out? (Admittedly, there would be less ambient smoke than > currently, but I'm leery that using a term such as "airtight" is > overselling the practical reality.) I find it humorous that the concept of "air locks" seems to be alien to Minnesotans, after all this isn't California where there are few double doors to keep the heat in. Regardless, the concept here is negative air pressure. When air pressure is negative, air flows into the room not out. To maintain negative pressure when the door is opened you just need a simple control system that would increase the rate at which you are removing air to keep smoke from escaping. Please keep in mind that we're not talking about nerve gas here! The risk to others even with a "leaky" system would be 1/100th of what it is now. The problem with keeping the room "air tight" is to insure that you don't need to ventilate too much air to maintain negative pressure (and lose too much heat during the winter). As long as the pressure is negative very little smoke will escape, probably far less than is generated by smokers standing next to building entrances. > 2. Call it "the drug-dealing room." As I understand it, no > employee is compelled to enter the Nicotine Chamber. The > rooms will either be separate or, in the case of a glassed-in > room, obscured by smoke. Not so great for security. You mean like bathrooms where drug-dealing "security" is not a problem? ;-) > 3. Air-quality standards. I understand that these rooms have to be > ventilated, but is there any standard for air quality they must meet? Good question, but I think that smokers and market forces will solve this problem on their own. That is to say, if the smoking-rooms are too smoky I think smokers will go outside to smoke or complain to the management. > 4. Proven success. Any other locality tried this successfully? Well according to the Pioneer Press Vancouver, B.C. has...but I wasn't able to find any information about how well it's going. I would think that a reporter or two should be making calls to find out. > Also, a tip of the cap to WJ Kahn's wonderful coinage "Vice Asylum." We might be a far less repressive society if we were to acknowledge that human nature doesn't need to be confined into narrow conceptions of morality to maintain a "free" society. Please keep in mind that I don't think that anyone is proposing that businesses be required to providing smoking-rooms. Smoking-rooms will exist only if they provide a competitive advantage or the business owner just happens to love smokers. Michael Atherton Prospect Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
