At what point is smoking bad for business?

slide13 said:

I'm sorry, but what a stupid statement. Asking someone to go outside to take part in an activity that is both annoying and harmful to the health of those around them is not treating you like a second-class citizen. It's simply forcing you to be decent to those around you by not subjecting them to your pollution of the air they breathe. Same way if someone was walking around with a loud boom box blaring at a tourney, guessing they'd be asked to leave, too, for subjecting everyone around them to their noise.

I'm very thankful I live in a smoke free state. I was a smoker once and even then I was for the ban. I used to go outside to smoke, it wasn't such a hardship. Now that I don't smoke I would never frequent a smoking establishment, couldn't stand it.

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Well said. I was thinking that not giving a rat's ass about the health of others would probably quality someone as a second class citizen anyway.

Smoking Hasn't Affected Pool Playing in CA

The pool industry has been on a downslide the last 7-10 years and smoking bans have nothing to do with this, at least not in California.
League play has blossomed with the advent of the smoke free environment & if smoking was still allowed, league play would diminish fast.

Thank God California doesn't allow smoking. Step outside for 5-10 mins. if you need to smoke but definitely not cool in pool rooms, bars or restaurants.

Matt B.

JimmyRayK said:

I understand, It's someone's own right as a smoker to slowly kill themselves. How is ok that they are also slowly killing everybody else around them..........and without any conscience????? I'll never understand that.

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Because cigarettes are legal and excellent moneymakers.

Allen Brown said:

Because cigarettes are legal and excellent moneymakers.

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A man who smokes cigarettes is a closet penis puffer.

asiasdad <......second hand smoke cancer survivor 2001 to present.

asiasdad said:

A man who smokes cigarettes is a closet penis puffer.

asiasdad <......second hand smoke cancer survivor 2001 to present.

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I'm not condoning smoking at all. I hate cigarettes with a passion and have lost a few loved ones to lung cancer from second hand smoke.

They are legal and that's why people continue to smoke them in public. There is also too much tax money being made off of them for the government to deem them illegal. It's all about the Benjamin's......plus the planets population gets smaller at the same time. It's a win win situation.

Allen Brown said:

I'm not condoning smoking at all. I hate cigarettes with a passion and have lost a few loved ones to lung cancer from second hand smoke.

They are legal and that's why people continue to smoke them in public. There is also too much tax money being made off of them for the government to deem them illegal. It's all about the Benjamin's......plus the planets population gets smaller at the same time. It's a win win situation.

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You and I are on the same side of the fight

Smoking is a health hazard. Debating whether it is bad for business is secondary to he effects it has on the heath of the smoker and on the people around the smoker.
http://www.cancer.org/research/infographicgallery/tobacco-related-healthcare-costs
Click on the link to see a truer estimate of the cost of smoking.

brokenarrowjbe said:

Smoking is a health hazard. Debating whether it is bad for business is secondary to he effects it has on the heath of the smoker and on the people around the smoker.
http://www.cancer.org/research/infographicgallery/tobacco-related-healthcare-costs
Click on the link to see a truer estimate of the cost of smoking.

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SMOKING KILLS! Ok, we got it! So does ALOT of other things. America= free choice. What that means to me is you are free to partake in what ud like, conversly u are also free to NOT PARTAKE in anything you choose. What that means : OWNERS DECIDE. Don't like it; ok dont come. Right or wrong, tradition or no tradition - if you do not like the environment cool dont F'fing come, please! Ur not wanted! You wanna gamble? You wanna have some fun? Ya have a fantasy for an Asian ???? Stay home or go to " YOUR PLACE"! That's fine! Leave " US" ALONE!!!! LOL

KJ Cues said:

I'm sorry also that you missed the gist of the statement.
I don't go to tourneys anymore, pool-halls or bars.
Do you think I'm alone?
The issue has automatically lessened the number of clientele in any of these businesses.
I still smoke; I enjoy it. I just don't spend my money at places that don't allow me to smoke.
May be stupid to you but it works for me.

KJ

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It definitely is stupid, especially since many of those places don't have a choice as to whether they can or can't allow you to smoke. I will never understand the idea that smokers have that it is their right to blow smoke all over everyone around them, and asking them to do it outside is somehow infringing on their rights.

On the flip side of your argument, while the smoking atmosphere never fully stopped me from going into a pool hall, I am certainly more inclined to go now that Illinois is a smoke free state. Also, I would not have taken my kids to the pool hall, EVER, if it was still going on, and I now take them for fun days with their Dad, and my oldest daughter who is 9 is looking to start playing in the junior league. So in my case, the pool hall is definitely getting more buisness due to the lack of smoking in my state.

trustyrusty said:

do you believe that a business owner should have the right to open an establishment to cater to him and others like him? Or once the state decides that he is a minority and society has spoken, he can not have choices of places where he can smoke in a public setting? Or is it, since you and the majority of the public don't want to be bothered by something that you don't participate in, then that act shouldn't be allowed anywhere? You can choose to not go somewhere just as well as he can, right?

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That decision has nothing to do with him being a minority, and everything to do with the health of every person that attends or works in the establishment. OSHA makes you wear helmets on construction sites and most states require seat belts. It is the same idea here.

At what point is smoking bad for business?

When your smoking customers are too sick to come in and spend money or dead. (joking...kind of)

Seriously though, I went through the beginning of the no smoking laws in both California and Colorado and saw that the in each case it hurt the businesses. I think for at least 3-4 years. It's a very tough call because many years ago I used to smoke and it played a big part of my game, it gave me a routine that helped long sessions or tense tournament matches. When I quite I turned to Chap Stick and licked my fingers to wet the sides of my tip...I had to do something with my hands and mouth.

But I have to say that I am glad for the no smoking laws and rooms because of two big things, my opponents would always leave their lit cigs at the table where I was sitting and the smoke would drift right to my face - I ended up getting one of those fans that poker player used to blow it away. The second was that I had to take my clothes off and put them straight in the washer when I got home because I and my clothes wreaked of smoke smell. My wife is very grateful and so is every person I know who is a non-smoker not having to be subjected to the second-hand smoke.

Smokers have rights that seem to be stripped away these days, but selfishly I do not miss it at all. People seem to adjust by going to their cars to smoke, etc and it sometimes slows sets or tournaments down a titch, but we all have to adjust a little.

dave

imho

When a establishment stops allowing patrons to smoke in there place, thats when it becomes bad for business.:thumbup:
J/k

I occasionally smoke ,and I have no problem taking it outside, its a common courtesy these days. Although when its 30 degrees or lower, it would be nice if there was a smoke room. That way I wouldnt have to pack all my equipment up just to get smoke break.

Stop smoking and start vaping.

Seriously, as far as I'm concerned, there's no longer any excuse to smoke. A quality e-cigarette costs 35 bucks, and around 20 cents a day to use...but most importantly, it's a better experience all around. Excellent throat kick, efficient nicotine delivery, and so far, zero evidence of any harm.

I'm confident that when the long-term studies are done and published, vaping would be considered virtually the same as not smoking at all.

Ben Franklin quote:

”He who gives up freedom for safety deserves neither and will eventually lose both.”

OK, let me make this real clear for those that are having trouble grasping this.
If you're offended by the fact that I smoke, you have a problem.
I'm doing my part to alleviate your concerns, I don't frequent your pool-halls,
bars, tourneys or any other places that you say my smoking is not welcome.
Doesn't bother me a bit. I'm not the one going out of business because of this issue.

In an earlier post I was accused of being a martyr.
I'm hardly a martyr because I'm not campaigning for a cause.
You people can do whatever you want, it has no effect on me. Again, I'm not the one loosing business.
I still have most of my freedoms intact; Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
You gave yours up when you allowed the local government to tell you who you can permit in your establishments.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea, let's remove smoking, it will be better for business". Well, is it???

Pool has been on a down-slide for quite a while now. If you want to blame it on people that smoke, go for it.
But they're gone now so where do you now place the blame for the demise?
Pool's got a problem and it ain't people who smoke.
Don't want people in your room that smoke, fine by me, I don't want to be in your room. I own a table.
Why would I WANT to be in an establishment where I'm not welcome??? I don't need it. See ya.

slide13 said:

I'm sorry, but what a stupid statement. Asking someone to go outside to take part in an activity that is both annoying and harmful to the health of those around them is not treating you like a second-class citizen. It's simply forcing you to be decent to those around you by not subjecting them to your pollution of the air they breathe. Same way if someone was walking around with a loud boom box blaring at a tourney, guessing they'd be asked to leave, too, for subjecting everyone around them to their noise.

I'm very thankful I live in a smoke free state. I was a smoker once and even then I was for the ban. I used to go outside to smoke, it wasn't such a hardship. Now that I don't smoke I would never frequent a smoking establishment, couldn't stand it.

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I wonder if he'd enjoy eating at a nice restaurant when all of a sudden when his meal came....the table next to him lit up cigars and U know the rest of the story.

Here it's been NS for years, and it helps ALLOT, now they complain they can't smoke pot on the outside decks while they are having their pint of beer, tho many with the hash oil pipes do, and NO one cares since it's outside. Another wonderful aspect of having a business with NS, the nicotine doesn't build up on ALL your equipment, walls, and refrigeration units. To me the most important aspect of that is this. Many young put their way thru college bartending or being a server, but many of those ''well educated'' youngins' won't work there because how it will effect their health, and in turn the restaurant/bar/poolroom doesn't always get the quality employees they wish they had.

buddha162 said:

Stop smoking and start vaping.

Seriously, as far as I'm concerned, there's no longer any excuse to smoke. A quality e-cigarette costs 35 bucks, and around 20 cents a day to use...but most importantly, it's a better experience all around. Excellent throat kick, efficient nicotine delivery, and so far, zero evidence of any harm.

I'm confident that when the long-term studies are done and published, vaping would be considered virtually the same as not smoking at all.

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I second this. I quit smoking cigarettes in Feb and got an e-cigarette. It allowed me to still get the nicotine but without the tar and other chemicals involved with combustible tobacco. Plus, I gradually stepped down the nicotine content in the juice eventually to zero. In June, I stopped vaping too. It was by far the most painless quitting experience I have ever had and the only one that was successful.

Seriously, for me, these things are the greatest invention since pool tables. I still take a drag off my wife's e-cig occasionally just because I like the flavor she uses (she's on zero nicotine juice). It's as harmless as a fog machine at a concert, in fact, the vapor comes from the same source (propylene glycol).

Now I am completely off tobacco products (was a 20-year smoker) and have no desire to start back. I will still frequent the smoking establishments in my area though. I come out smelling like an ashtray but I can take a shower to fix that.

I have no problem with people smoking indoors. All the pool halls and most of the bars with pool tables around here that I know of allow smoking though. There seem to be far more smokers than non-smokers in the pool world, but I am seeing a lot of them turn to vaping, at least until they get drunk.

pdcue said:

The smoking ban in Ohio singlehandedly killed most of the poolrooms and many
bars and restaurants in Ohio, as happened in most of the states that have bans.

KJ has once again smacked the old nail squarely upon the head - poolplayers want
to smoke while they play pool.

Making your biz more inclusive is all well and good in theory - but there is a wise
old saying(said by wise old people) about not throwing the baby out with the
bathwater - ignore it at your peril.

Dale

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RIght, meanwhile the economy and the current state of pool, not to mention some bad owners had NOTHING to do with them going out of business

IL went non smoking 7 or 8 years ago, and some rooms thrived because of the business model, others went under cause they were going to go under anyways, because business was slow. The room I played in had 16 teams on Thursday nights, and we still have a waiting list, 7 years later... nobody dropped out... nobody.,

How does someone stop playing pool cause they can't smoke. I play baseball, and you can't smoke anywhere on the field or in the park, and the parking lot is just way to far to go, but guess what, the smokers sucked it up for 2 1/2 hours, played the game they love, and smoked their brains out on the car ride home. Geez, how hard is this for some folks ??