Smoking at tournament matches

sfleinen

sfleinen

14.1 & One Pocket Addict
Gold Member
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mnShooter said:
I would say move to a different state or write your state representatives and let them know how you feel.

Prolonged exposure to second hand smoke can cause some bad things. One of our family friend's kids has bronchitis because of his parents smoking in the house. Now he has a smokers cough and doesn't even smoke.

I'm a smoker but I don't smoke in my house and I don't smoke in my car. Smoking is banned indoors in MN so I can't smoke at bars or pool halls either. I don't usually go out to smoke during a match. You should have to smoke between matches.

I'm really getting sick of these righteous people that don't smoke. Smoking is legal. It probably shouldn't be, but until it's illegal I have the right to smoke outside. Get over it and stop whining.

Also I shouldn't have to pay for your roads or kids hospital bill with my smoking habit. I'm OK with paying for cancer or heart disease research and treatment with the tobacco tax but it shouldn't be used for other things.
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I don't think the question here is whether a smoker has the right to smoke. You are right, in that if a person chooses to take up the habit of smoking, that's his/her right to do so. The legal/moral questions are not part of this thread.

Rather, it's the question of, should the smoker be able to do so *during* a match -- a rather rude and inconsiderate thing to do given the information you presented above -- instead of taking his/her smoke break in-between matches?

IMHO, tournaments like the Joss Tour have it right -- it's a hard and fast, black and white, easily-enforced rule with no gray areas: NO SMOKE BREAKS AT ALL when a match is underway. Between matches, yes, go outside and puff away. But once the match is underway, you need to be table-side, or else forfeit.

-Sean
 
JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
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sfleinen said:
I don't think the question here is whether a smoker has the right to smoke. You are right, in that if a person chooses to take up the habit of smoking, that's his/her right to do so. The legal/moral questions are not part of this thread.

Rather, it's the question of, should the smoker be able to do so *during* a match -- a rather rude and inconsiderate thing to do given the information you presented above -- instead of taking his/her smoke break in-between matches?

IMHO, tournaments like the Joss Tour have it right -- it's a hard and fast, black and white, easily-enforced rule with no gray areas: NO SMOKE BREAKS AT ALL when a match is underway. Between matches, yes, go outside and puff away. But once the match is underway, you need to be table-side, or else forfeit.

-Sean
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Where can I see the exact wording for the non-smoking rule? Do you have a link Sean?
thanks,
Joey
 
JoeyA

JoeyA

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neil said:
so, the bathroom breaks for the drinkers are still o.k., right?? Just can't have a smoke break??

Edit- just for the record, i am against taking a smoke break during a match. Matches are not that long. But, you should be allowed a smoke break between matches.
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absolutely!
 
sfleinen

sfleinen

14.1 & One Pocket Addict
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JoeyA said:
Where can I see the exact wording for the non-smoking rule? Do you have a link Sean?
thanks,
Joey
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Joey:

Unfortunately, it's not up on the Joss website, but rather distributed (during the players' meeting) at each event itself. Mike, in his usual dead-pan humorous way, has the phrase "...and has always been the case, smoke breaks are never allowed once a match is underway. You want to smoke? You wait until your match is done, and you take your butt outside."

I'll email Mike and see if he has this in written form anywhere, if you like?
-Sean
 
chefjeff

chefjeff

If not now...
Silver Member
mnShooter said:
One other thing, tell your room to get some smoke eaters. They should help quite a bit. They are filters that sit in the ceiling. I'm sure they could get some dirt cheap from the pool rooms in non-smoking states.

Shooters in Burnsville, MN I heard spent 10's of thousands of dollars getting new ones right before the smoking ban passed.
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Juxtapose those two paragraphs and what do you get? You get that it is STUPID to risk wasting thousands of dollars to improve YOUR property when the govt really controls it, not you.

Jeff Livingston
 
JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
sfleinen said:
Joey:

Unfortunately, it's not up on the Joss website, but rather distributed (during the players' meeting) at each event itself. Mike, in his usual dead-pan humorous way, has the phrase "...and has always been the case, smoke breaks are never allowed once a match is underway. You want to smoke? You wait until your match is done, and you take your butt outside."

I'll email Mike and see if he has this in written form anywhere, if you like?
-Sean
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That would be GREAT. I want to share the exact wording with other tournament officials and hope that others will do the same in their area.
 
JoeyA

JoeyA

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Seriously, well almost seriously, how do you think my smoking opponent would like it if I started swiping at his smoldering cigarette smoke when he was down on a shot?

It's about the same as them snapping those cigarette lighters when their opponent is down on a shot. In recent years, I haven't seen those ZIPPO lighter users, doing any of those snapping tricks that Zippo lighter users are known to do. I think there's even a video out on how to do different tricks with your Zippo lighter. Pretty cool stuff if I recall. Yeah, my opponent can do the Zippo tricks when I am at the table and I can swipe at the cigarette smoke when he is at the table.
 
chefjeff

chefjeff

If not now...
Silver Member
JoeyA said:
Seriously, well almost seriously, how do you think my smoking opponent would like it if I started swiping at his smoldering cigarette smoke when he was down on a shot?

It's about the same as them snapping those cigarette lighters when their opponent is down on a shot. In recent years, I haven't seen those ZIPPO lighter users, doing any of those snapping tricks that Zippo lighter users are known to do. I think there's even a video out on how to do different tricks with your Zippo lighter. Pretty cool stuff if I recall. Yeah, my opponent can do the Zippo tricks when I am at the table and I can swipe at the cigarette smoke when he is at the table.
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Here's a good trick to use....When he's shooting and not looking, pour just a tiny, unnoticeble bit of your drink into the ashtray. When his cig touches it, phssss...

Jeff Livingston
 
CrisDeLaGarza

CrisDeLaGarza

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I haven't read thru everyone's posts so I apologize if I repeat what others have said but this is an important issue to me too, I'm glad you brought it up, Joey.

A few years ago a board member of the OBCues Tour was diagnosed with lung cancer and as a result, the board decided to make the tournaments non-smoking. I think they do it right in that you are just not allowed to smoke during your matches. In Texas, there are still A LOT of poolhalls where smoking is allowed so at the OBCues stops anyone is allowed to smoke as long as you are not in a match. You can smoke during your break but not at your table. I love this rule because it still allows the establishment to get the business they want from the smokers but doesn't mean I have to sit next to smoke during my matches.
 
CrisDeLaGarza

CrisDeLaGarza

AzB Silver Member
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Another time this issue came up was when I was pregnant. My favorite tournament of the year is the Texas Open and it's really close to my house so I like to play every year. But for two years in a row the crowd was so big that the AC unit could not keep up and it broke during the tournament leaving the room ridiculously hot and filled with smoke since it is outside the city limits and smoking is allowed. I have never felt more sick from smoke in my life as I did those years that the AC broke during the TX Open. So last year when I was pregnant I asked the tournament director if they could do what the OBCues tour does when they are there and only allow smoking while you are not in a match. Obviously this would not prevent the room from being smokey or hot but at least that way I wouldn't have to sit by smokers while I'm playing. He told me he couldn't do that because some guys NEED to smoke in order to play well...it's funny to me that we want our sport to be seen in a professional light and yet so many don't want to take the steps to make it more professional.
 
Snapshot9

Snapshot9

son of 3 leg 1 eye dog ..
Silver Member
Jeesh!

Do we have to make a Federal case out of this everytime there is a thread about smoking??? I, as a smoker, have no problem with waiting for inbetween matches to go outside and smoke. Quick smoke breaks only take 5 minutes. Usually in a decent sized tournament you are waiting 20-45 minutes before your next match.

Now, I am going to expound on one of my irritants, cell phones going off during a match. Both players cellphones should be turned off or at least silent during a match. I hate to sit there while my opponent gets 2-4 calls, and talks for a length of time before he gets back to shooting.
 
chefjeff

chefjeff

If not now...
Silver Member
CrisDeLaGarza said:
Another time this issue came up was when I was pregnant. My favorite tournament of the year is the Texas Open and it's really close to my house so I like to play every year. But for two years in a row the crowd was so big that the AC unit could not keep up and it broke during the tournament leaving the room ridiculously hot and filled with smoke since it is outside the city limits and smoking is allowed. I have never felt more sick from smoke in my life as I did those years that the AC broke during the TX Open. So last year when I was pregnant I asked the tournament director if they could do what the OBCues tour does when they are there and only allow smoking while you are not in a match. Obviously this would not prevent the room from being smokey or hot but at least that way I wouldn't have to sit by smokers while I'm playing. He told me he couldn't do that because some guys NEED to smoke in order to play well...it's funny to me that we want our sport to be seen in a professional light and yet so many don't want to take the steps to make it more professional.
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How about doing post-tourney drug tests of the winners? Drugs in system, no payout.

OK, I know I've stepped in it good, this time.

:rolleyes:

Jeff Livingston
 
justadub

justadub

Rattling corners nightly
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Snapshot9 said:
Do we have to make a Federal case out of this everytime there is a thread about smoking??? I, as a smoker, have no problem with waiting for inbetween matches to go outside and smoke. Quick smoke breaks only take 5 minutes. Usually in a decent sized tournament you are waiting 20-45 minutes before your next match.

Now, I am going to expound on one of my irritants, cell phones going off during a match. Both players cellphones should be turned off or at least silent during a match. I hate to sit there while my opponent gets 2-4 calls, and talks for a length of time before he gets back to shooting.
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Agreed, on both points.
 
JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Summary

With health risks aside, there are many reasons that smoking should be eliminated from the match play in pool tournaments:

Non-smokers and even smokers experience the eye irritant caused by the smoke from cigarettes, leading to a drop in performance.

Smoking at the tournament match table is unprofessional. Sponsors shy away from events that don't have respect for the larger groups of people.

I have even had smokers ask me for my eye drops which I bring to all pool rooms to reduce the irritant caused by smoke.

Smoking during tournament play breaks WILL lead to either intentional or unintentional sharking.

Smoking during tournament play can be a major distraction to some of the players.

Smokers can and have used cigarette lighters and the motion of smoking to distract their opponents under the guise of being "nervous" (while they're sitting in their chair).

Smoking establishments should allow smokers to smoke but NOT AT THE MATCH TABLE AND NOT DURING THE MATCH.

Smoking breaks create delays in the game and sometimes cause irritation from the opponent waiting for their smoking opponent to return to the table.

Joss Tour already has a no-smoking rule in effect for tournament matches and it is accepted by the pool playing community. (Joss tour is one of the most successful tournaments in the country).
 
JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Snapshot9 said:
Do we have to make a Federal case out of this everytime there is a thread about smoking??? I, as a smoker, have no problem with waiting for inbetween matches to go outside and smoke. Quick smoke breaks only take 5 minutes. Usually in a decent sized tournament you are waiting 20-45 minutes before your next match.

Now, I am going to expound on one of my irritants, cell phones going off during a match. Both players cellphones should be turned off or at least silent during a match. I hate to sit there while my opponent gets 2-4 calls, and talks for a length of time before he gets back to shooting.
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I like all three of your points:
Smokers can without difficulty, wait until match is over to smoke.

A smoke break after a match is completed takes only a few minutes.

With the cell phones, I think turning them off is the best rule because if they are on silent, the player can still use the phone while the match is underway. I've seen players texting and having conversations on the telephone while the match is underway.
 
JoeyA

JoeyA

Efren's Mini-Tourn BACKER
Silver Member
Matt90 said:
What was it that made Joey A. lose his composure over someone elses actions ? Strange as it may seem ,I have not smoked in over 21 years but to me it seems like more of a pool room and or tournament with the smoke.To each his own though .I can see where it could become bothersome.
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If a habit is bothersome to other people surely, it can be delayed until you can do it in a private moment.

I don't see any sense in allowing smoking in a tournament match especially if it is a negative to the game. (and smoking has plenty of negativities).

Yeah, I agree with you, that smoke seems more like a pool room or a pool tournament with the smoke.

The putrid smell of old smoke and new smoke combined together to stimulate the smelling senses and when you go home at night with the stench on your clothes, it's always fun to sniff them one more time before the wife or siginificant other screams at you to wash your stinking clothes.

And it always so cool to see a player sitting in his chair, waiting for just the right moment to either lift that cigarette to his mouth or to strike that match just as their opponent is about to pull the trigger. The look on the shooter's face is PRICELESS when he drives that object ball into the rail.

Snapping that cigarette lighter is awesome too but let's not forget about the cigarette packing.

Do you know how cool it is to take one of those cigarette packs and just start banging the filter portion to pack the tobacco a little tighter? That helps with the smoke rings too. You can blow some really cool smoke rings if you pound that cigarette pack in the palm of your hand a dozen times or more.

I didn't lose my composure and don't blame the loss of any match over someone smoking. Smoking during match play is just an irritant and it shouldn't be part of our game.
 
D

decent dennis

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If a person six or more feet from you lighting a cigarette legitamitly throws you off you need to drop the aiming systems and start taking focus lessons. And another thing you keep spouting "only during tournaments", in a establishment that is probably smoking any other day.
 
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