Petition for smoke-free APA Tournaments

[Sweet Marissa]

You must be a smoker!
I would prefer if all smokers would just go outside in the snow and sleet and catch pneumonia and die. LOL.

They would probably choke on their own phlegm first

(Just kidding!)

 

[henho]

Second hand smoke is a theory as to its harmful -snapshot9

There are apparently a lot of people who actually believe the crap the media has to say. . . . For me, the jury is still out on whether or not 2nd hand smoke kills. I think the great majority of damage done by smoking is self-inflicted, not through 2nd hand smoke. -DoomCue

I just wanted to clear up that the FACTS are: smoking is bad, worse then alcohol, and second hand smoke is harmful also. There have been several cases of the media or some organization misrepresenting studies or spewing BS, and as a backlash, whenever a claim is made that some people don't like, they discount it by saying that the jury is still out on the facts, that prior studies were bogus.

As far as tobacco goes, yes there was a lot of politicking interfering with factual information, but since that time there have been hundreds of legitimate studies proving the harmfulness of first-hand and second-hand smoke. The majority of these studies have no vested interest other than to find the facts. If you feel like doing the work to find the facts on any topic, I recommend using research databases such as PubMed and reading some abstracts, that way you get the real information and can make decisions for yourself. But to say that claims about the harmfulness of smoke, whether first-hand or secondhand, are unsubstantiated because of prior tainted studies, is not true. Research has examined all angles of tobaccos' effects. The question isnt whether smoking is harmful or how harmful it is, but what rights people in public (and possibly private) domains.

 

[lschult2]

Even with the numbers I posted above, I have no doubt that smoking kills. I also have no doubt that drinking kills. For me, the jury is still out on whether or not 2nd hand smoke kills. I think the great majority of damage done by smoking is self-inflicted, not through 2nd hand smoke. I would wager that of the two "evils," drinking affects far more lives than smoking does.
-djb

First, I would like to thank everyone on both sides of this debate for this discussion. It's really good to get all the issues on the table.

Second, I would like to thank everyone who's voted on this petition. Again, I would like to invite everyone who plays or has played in the APA to vote, whether your vote is YES or NO, at www.NoSmokingAPA.com

Third, I would like to chime in with some of my views on this debate. The quote from DoomCue above captures one of the key issues in the debate: does ETS (second-hand smoke) kill?

My view on this matter is that I don't care what medical experts and research says on this. And I certainly hope that I don't have to prove I will be killed by playing in APA tournaments to get the APA to ban smoking in the tournament rooms. I want to APA to ban smoking in the tournament rooms because I and thousands of other APA members want it banned.

I want it banned because it makes for a miserable experience playing pool. I love pool, I love the APA, and I love the competition and rush of the nationals. But the wonderful experience is diminished by the thick cloud of smoke in the tournament rooms. I feel bad, my health is impacted such that I've gotten a flu both times I was at nationals (and I almost never get the flu), my stamina is reduced, I smell bad, my eyes water. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

Why did I put up with all this twice to go to nationals? First time, because I didn't know it would be like that. Second time, because I thought maybe it would be better this time. But now that I know what it's like, I don't want to go to APA nationals. The smoke is too bad. All I want is to be able the play the game I love with my teammates that I love at the pinnacle of the amateur team level which is APA nationals. All while having clean air to breath in the tournament room.

I hope I don't have to prove that players are dying to get the APA to change this. I hope we can convince the APA to change this because it's what the players want.

Hence the petition. So chime in fellow APA players. What do you want?

www.NoSmokingAPA.com

 

[justabrake]

Freedom of choice is a great thing!!! NO ONE is asking you to go to a smoked filled pool hall.. Its your choice to go there and expose yourself to it. If you dont like it, go somewhere else. Dont ruin it for others that love smoke filled rooms.

Hey-dooziexx, are your pool cues that you sell are they in a smoke free room or are they exposed to smoke and if so maybe you should put that on your website saying that these cues are IN a smoke envioment and SMELL

Steven

 

[dooziexx]

Hey-dooziexx, are your pool cues that you sell are they in a smoke free room or are they exposed to smoke and if so maybe you should put that on your website saying that these cues are IN a smoke envioment and SMELL

Steven

Hey Steven,
All of my cues are stored in my walk-in closet in my house. I dont smoke in my house only outside. BTW, Im not a heavy smoker although I use to be back in the college days. I can go days without smoking...On average, I smoke about 2 or 3 cigarettes a day.

Feel free to ask other AZ'ers that bought cues from me if the cues that they bought from me smell like smoke...

 

[Bamacues]

I have seen a lot of responses here that imply that other "vices" are just as bad as smoking, so why aren't they being addressed. The issue for this forum, as I saw it, was for smoking only. The others mentioned, ie, drinking, etc, are separate issues.

I don't smoke. My father died at 59 years from smoking. My uncle committed suicide in his mid 50's because he had emphasema from smoking so bad that he could not get a breath and just gave up. I have had heart trouble and heart surgery and it is already difficult for me to get a good oxygen supply, let alone when the oxygen is displaced by smoke.

I don't mind if you smoke. I think there should be a smoking area for you guys away from the table. The fact that you get nervous when playing and need a smoke to calm you down is understandable. I just don't want to breath in your second hand smoke.

Smokers on here say if non-smokers don't want to be around smoke, then don't play pool. That is not the way it is going. There are now more non-smokers than there are smokers. Whether smokers like it or not, the days of smoking in public places are numbered.

Dooziexx states that he doesn't smoke in his home, but rather goes outside when he wants a cigerette. That is all we are asking our fellow pool players to do.

 

[mapman72]

hmmm?

Hey Steven,
All of my cues are stored in my walk-in closet in my house. I dont smoke in my house only outside. BTW, Im not a heavy smoker although I use to be back in the college days. I can go days without smoking...On average, I smoke about 2 or 3 cigarettes a day.

Feel free to ask other AZ'ers that bought cues from me if the cues that they bought from me smell like smoke...

If you don't want to pollute the environment in your house for whatever reason, why do you have no problem polluting the pool hall? I assume you don't smoke in your house because you don't want things to stink or maybe you don't want to endanger those that you live with. That's all nonsmoking poolplayers are asking of you. Step outside and take a smoke. To me, it seems easier to take a five minute break from a pool match to step outside and smoke than to wake up in the morning, get dressed, grab your coffee, and go outside to smoke before you do whatever else you have planned to do around the house. But the fact is, whether you or snapshot or whoever else claim to be "considerate" smokers or not, you ultimately don't extend the same consideration to your fellow poolplayers and your poolroom that you do to your home and your family. How do you justify that?

 

[bobroberts]

I would think that if a PH was smoke free they would do better then if they were not.They would draw people from other rooms that allow smoking.I quit after 30 years.I believe that one day in the not so different future there will not be smoking in the U.S. because of health issues.Its been 10 years since I have quit and now I cant understand how anyone cay pay $5.00 a pack an still smoke.It really is a disgusting habit and it does not stop you from being nervous when shooting,actually it is making you more nervous.

 

[dooziexx]

If you don't want to pollute the environment in your house for whatever reason, why do you have no problem polluting the pool hall? I assume you don't smoke in your house because you don't want things to stink or maybe you don't want to endanger those that you live with. That's all nonsmoking poolplayers are asking of you. Step outside and take a smoke. To me, it seems easier to take a five minute break from a pool match to step outside and smoke than to wake up in the morning, get dressed, grab your coffee, and go outside to smoke before you do whatever else you have planned to do around the house. But the fact is, whether you or snapshot or whoever else claim to be "considerate" smokers or not, you ultimately don't extend the same consideration to your fellow poolplayers and your poolroom that you do to your home and your family. How do you justify that?

If the pool hall allows me to smoke, then I will. If they dont, I will step outside and have one.. No big deal.. I have no complaints with that.. None of my posts stated that Im out to break the house rules by smoking in non-smoking areas.

btw, Most of the time when I do want to light one up while at the poolhall, I do it outside. If the poolhall allows me to smoke inside, I would... as long as Im not breaking their house rules.

 

[ATM]

I smoke and obviously know its not good for me, but Im curious if there are any stats on percent of non smokers that get any form of cancer, that havent been exposed to prolong second hand smoke. Or stats on percent of lives saved from owning a firearm. On the news you only hear " New study shows eating rice on every odd Tuesday now increases the chances of breast cancer in men" lol. "16 year old shot in driveby while he was at the movies with parents". You never see an interview of a guy saying" I shot the mother fer cause he entered my home, armed looking for something to sell for his crack. " some" studies makes me go hmmm. Did you only poll people on one side of the situation.

 

[Snapshot9]

Opinions ...

Everyone has one. To me non-smoking Pool Rooms are like rooms that
don't allow gambling, their nice, but I won't be there. Non-smokers sound
like women on dating sites that won't date a guy that smokes, even though
he might be the love of her life (as determined by God, not her). If we all
could pick and chose everything in life, our lives would be perfect, wouldn't
they? Sometimes, we have to accept something in life, even if we don't
like it.

But, I live in Kansas, and we are 'behind the times' here, so non-smoking
pool rooms are not an issue here .... at least yet.

 

[diamondpete]

You must be a smoker!
I would prefer if all smokers would just go outside in the snow and sleet and catch pneumonia and die. LOL.

I wish all liars and thieves would croak too but they haven't, now have they Ted