Smoking at tournaments

Smoking at Tournaments

  • yes, I want to smoke at the tournament

    Votes: 23 24.0%

  • no, I do not want smoking

    Votes: 70 72.9%

  • undecided

    Votes: 3 3.1%
  • Total voters
    96
B

Bob Romano

Bob' Wife
Silver Member
As most of you know we are hosting the Midwest Billiard Expo and Open this October.

We are in a quandary regarding smoking permitted at this event. There are 2 seperate rooms the larger of the rooms is 38,000 sq feet. This will hold the expo, the APA events and part of the BCA event. The other room has 12,000 sq feet and hold about 40 tables and will be just for the BCA event.

My suggestion was to have one smoking and the other nonsmoking. I would like to take a poll to see who likes the smoke free rooms to the smoke permitted rooms.

In addition, I would like to know your feelings regarding smoking.

Thanks for all your help!!!!!!!!

Eydie
 
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Bob,

I think under these circumstances you have to appeal to the majority, which is non-smokers.

I smoked for 15 years and quit 6 months ago. As a smoker I would not mind if I had to step out back or where ever to have a smoke. Smokers EXPECT to have to do this. I know as an ex-smoking pool player that it stinks to not be able to smoke while you are playing, but in a major tourney like this I would expect that I would have to play while not smoking and smoke between matches.
 
Bob, I smoked for more than 30 years. I have quit. I don't preach the non smoking x smoker crap. It slowly kills people, it's still their call. It doesn't bother me. When I did smoke, I was always coinsiderate of other people in restaurants. If they were close, I always asked if they would mind. Some did and some didn't. The only thing that really bothers me are the pompous AH's who light up those cigars and stink up the whole freaking room. Could care less what everybody thinks. Just sitting there stinking and thinking they are hot s*!$. What the hell, gota live with it for now. Hope the tournament turns out well. If I had a choice, I would play in a non smoking room.
Don
 
Don, as you know, I like a good argument as much as anyone... But in this case all I can say is Amen My Friend.
 
Every Friday night I play pool at the billiard hall not the bar, and every Friday night when I get home my wife makes me strip naked at the door, throw my clothes down the cellar, and immediately jump in the shower. I reke. I don't smoke. But on Friday night I must consume at least a couple packs in second hand smoke. This isn't right. My wife won't go near the pool hall because of the smoke. I think it hurts the image of pool more than the hustling and gambling. I don't mind smokers, but the chain smokers do bother me. Seems like 75% of the pool players chain smoke.
 
This is one question that you will never come to a 50/50 solution on. I am a smoker and I know that back in the states when I was last there 3 years ago, smoking indoors in a majority of states was against the law period. I do know that when they first started passing these laws it pissed me off to no end. I mostly shoot pool in bars or pool hall/bars and if there was one thing that drove me nuts is in between every game having to take a smoke break and take my happy a** all the way outside to smoke(and everyone who has smoked knows, the more you drink, the more you smoke). Then ofcourse on the way back I'd have to hit the head and make a beer run. So to play a 5-10 minute game I had to take 10 min before the next game, and if I wasnt the one taking a smoke break it was the other guy. Now I know what all of you non/ex smokers would tell me, just quit right. Well save your breath, i've heard it a million times.LOL Right now I am stationed in Okinawa, Japan and you can smoke just about every where out in town, but not at any of the E-clubs on base. SO where do I shoot pool? Out in town. But I can see a pool tournement be non-smoking all together, not just 50/50. I think it would be to distracting to the players and I agree with the statement that it probably would stareotype the game as the seedy back alley hustlers game that is shown on tv or movies a lot.
 
Put on my battle helmut ...

I have smoked for over 40 years, and have played Pool over 40 years. I am in Pool rooms about 4 times a week and a bar once a week to shoot Pool. First off, it is not my observation that there are more non smokers than smokers. I estimate that 65% of the people in those places smoke. Second, what is next? I quit drinking 6 years ago, and drunks get on my nerves, and I don't appreciate inhaling their liquer soaked breath. Are we going to outlaw drinking too. Then what, outlaw gambling completely in Pool rooms ..... Why not just kill the sport altogether ..... Personal freedoms people... I will not go to the National BCA tournament in Vegas anymore because they don't allow smoking in the big room.
I will just go to Valley instead.

Let's get out of this mode where everyone else is responsible for your well being, and go back towards
"let the buyer beware". After all, I know everyone has a brain even if only 40% use it. Most places have an adequate ventilation system, tables are spread out, what is the problem?

Most, but not all, of the people out there complaining about how much smoke bothers them are just babies that probably complain about everything little thing in their lives.

I enjoy smoking, always have, and have no intentions of quitting. I don't care if I die at 98 instead of 103, because what I have seen life isn't that enjoyable at 100 ... besides my eyes would be too bad to play pool then anyway... I have always been an athlete, exercise frequently, keep my weight constant. No everyone that dies early is a smoker. My real grandpa was 94, had all his own hair and teeth, smoked 5 stogies a day, and still chased the nurses.

Whatever happened to live and let live ... and if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen ...

I am a considerate smoker and try not to offend anyone, but I have rights too, just as nonsmokers do ....
 
ok snapshot...when a drunk breathes on me it doesn't shorten my life by hours or days. I put up with people smoking when I play pool and never say anything to them because it is their right to smoke or not to. And I love playing pool. Most times I just move to a different spot near the table. I think it is inconsiderate of chain smokers to have a cigarette let at all times knowing it bothers others. Wouldn't one every 15 minutes or so do?
 
Smoking is disgusting, not only does it kill the poor bugger who is stupid enough to smoke but also all the inocent buggers around them.

Its ridiculous to try to compare it to drinking as being in the same room as somebody who's drinking does you no harm whatsoever.

If we want to encourage kids and women etc into the sport then get rid of the smoke. It doesn't stop somebody from smoking, they only have to step outside. If there too lazy to do this then thats there problem. After all they manage to leave the room when they want to go to the bathroom, don't see many smokers pissing in the corner LOL!

No smoke please, then we can all enjoy it

Cheers
 
I beg your pardon ...

There are more deaths as a result of people drinking than smoking ... fella

Not only does drinking kill the person doing it to excess, but it kills many innocent people as a result of drunken driving....

There is not conclusive proof that second hand smoke is linked to cancer in people, only speculation....

Even my basic menthol pack only has a warning saying, "Smoking by pregnant women may result in fetal injury, premature birth, and low birth weight".

Some people choose to skydive, some to ride motorcycles without a helmut, some to ride the rapids, some to smoke, many to drive without a seat belt on.... etc., etc.
We all take our chances, don't we?

That's why it is a FREE country ....

When I was in the Navy on a LST heading up the Saigon River for the first time, I was in the Crow's Nest up top, and I had all this gear on, flat jacket, helmut, etc.. All this equipment impaired me from doing my job, so I took the flat jacket off. The executive officer saw me and reprimanded me, and told me to put it back on. I explained my problem to him, and told him if he wanted me to do my job right, then I had to do it my way. He got upset and went and got the Captain.
I told him the same thing that it was MY LIFE and if I choose to do it that way, I would stand the risk, but I had to do it my way to do my job right. The Captain said OK, and I got to do my job my way.

NO ONE CAN TELL ANOTHER PERSON WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM. It just doesn't work. If I didn't smoke, I would probably have another habit that would be worse on me. Smoking has a relaxing calming effect on me that allows me to perform at a higher overall level than without it.

At least smoking doesn't impair judgment like drinking does. I have never woke up in the morning with an ugly woman beside me because I smoked 15 cigarettes the night before.....LOL but I did a couple of times back when I drank ....
 
Re: I beg your pardon ...

Snapshot9 said:
There are more deaths as a result of people drinking than smoking ... fella

Not only does drinking kill the person doing it to excess, but it kills many innocent people as a result of drunken driving....

There is not conclusive proof that second hand smoke is linked to cancer in people, only speculation....

Even my basic menthol pack only has a warning saying, "Smoking by pregnant women may result in fetal injury, premature birth, and low birth weight".

That's why it is a FREE country ....
<snip>
Click to expand...
This issue is not about others trying to tell you how to live your life. Personally, I could care less if you want to smoke 5 packs a day and killl yourself. Go for it! Just don't take me with you!
Would you mind providing proof that what you state in your post is not mere heresay? Are you suggesting that pregnant women smoke because it is only a warning?

I would like to encourage you to follow the links provided. You
will not be disappointed.

Here is the link to World Health Organization Reports;
http://www.who.int/inf-pr-1999/en/pr99-35.html

Here is plenty of evidence by many different organisations, including the WHO and others from several countries & continents;
California EPA Report Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental
Tobacco Smoke (1997):
http://www.oehha.org/air/environmental_tobacco/index.html
http://www5.who.int/tobacco/page.cfm?tld=67#healtheffects
http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/publications/synopses/ph23syn.htm
http://www.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/tobacco/contents.htm
http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/roc/tenth/profiles/s176toba.pdf
http://www.euro.who.int/document/aiq/8_1ets.pdf
http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/may2000/niehs-15.htm

Here is 464 pages of evidence by the National Cancer
Institute ;
http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/monographs/10/m10_complete.pdf

Here is a link to a press release by the WHO stating that Phillip
Morris & other tobacco companies monitored & actively interfered with the conduct of an international ETS epidemiological study by the WHO;
http://www.uicc.org/publ/pr/home/00040701.shtml

and another by the WHO that states that almost HALF the worlds
children are endangered by tobacco smoke;
http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/1999/06/F.RU.990629125134.html

In fact, if you do a google search with these keywords, you will find that there are 26,100 links to sites that offer evidence against what you are saying;
world health organization report environmental tobacco smoke

Here is a link to a Washington Post article about the 1998 ruling
upholding Judge Osteen's EPA ruling;
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/tobacco/stories/secondhand072098.htm

Take note of this quote from the article;
Of the reports that were inconclusive or found no health effects,
nearly three-quarters were written by scientists funded by cigarette companies, the JAMA article said. In fact, it said, the evidence "suggests that the tobacco industry may be attempting to influence scientific opinion by flooding the scientific literature with large numbers of review articles supporting its position."

If you would like to stay up to date with the WHO, here is the link for it;
http://www.who.int/tobacco/en/

Here is the current status of ETS is at the WHO;
http://www.who.int/tobacco/health_impact/secondhand_smoke/en/

Take note of this quote from within this WHO page;
While the tobacco industry continues to claim that the evidence that passive smoking causes disease – particularly lung cancer – is controversial, every independent authoritative scientific body that has examined the evidence has concluded that passive smoking causes many diseases ( Table 1 ). Moreover, the evidence that passive smoking causes disease is not new. The first studies linking passive smoking with breathing problems in children and lung cancer in adults 20 years or more ago and the studies linking passive smoking and heart disease are over 10 years old.
The tobacco industry attacks the evidence that passive smoking is
dangerous because it knows that smokers are reluctant to poison
others. Smoke free workplaces, public places, and homes help smokers cut down or stop, which reduces tobacco company sales and profits.
 
You seem to have missed the point, you can smoke as much as you like for me thats your right, as it is mine to breath clean air. However my not smoking does not harm your health and your smoking does (as admited by all the cigerette companies). Drink driving does contribute to deaths but I don't recall anyone being run over while playing pool?

It was my first time at the BCA event in vegas and I must say that it was fantasitc, can't imagine what that room would have been like if it was full of smoke! Although many people did tell me that it was disgusting.

Interestingly the BCA numbers where dramitcally up this year and the VNEA numbers have been declining over recent years - the tournament director wasn't sure why - maybe its because people would rather play pool without getting lung cancer at the same time!

Good luck with your smokes, hope you enjoy them. But the ONE difference between smoking and most other vices is that smoke is shared by all inocent bystanders without choice, if I drink or take cocaine, the vast majority of the time it only effects me. Smoking is shared by EVERYONE 100% of the time.

This is obviously why most sensible governments are banning smoking from public places, and smoking is in decline.

interestingly they recently tested very young children for traces of nicotince, and almost all the children had traces in their lungs. The killer was that the children lived in non-smoking housholds, they had obtained the nictine passively!!!

As I said, I don't care what anyone wants to do to them selves, you can take drugs and do what you want as its YOUR life and your body, but inocent bystanders shouldn't be faced with the choice of either:

a) stop playing pool

or

b) dramatically increase their risk of cancer

Making pool players smoke outside doesn't stop anyone from playing pool, it may inconvenience a few smokers, but no more so than going to the bathroom!

Sure most sensible people can see this.

Cheers
 
Back in the 60's I worked for AT&T and we couldn't smoke at the switchboard but we could go to the john to "burn" one. Then I worked for RCA in computer maintenance and again we couldn't smoke in the computer room but it was okay in our repair shop. One day I mentioned to the boss of the computer room that it was nice of them to have an air-conditioned, smoke free room for their employees. He looked at me like I was a stone idiot and said he had a million dollars worth of computer equipment and didn't want to damage it with smoke. Seems we care less about human life than we do about our equipment.

I was a 3 pack a day addict until I quit in 1974, for the 3rd and final time.

The women at the Spirit Tour do not allow smoking in the playing area.

And I heard them announce at Capone's at the Men's florida tour that smoking was not allowed in the playing area.

How pathetic is a person who can't play one match, maybe an hour long, without having to smoke a cigarette.

And the saddast thing I see is when a woman brings her baby into a smoke filled bar.

Jake
 
We were all born without smoking. It's a nasty habit most have done [me included]. I quit 20 plus years ago. [ 3 packs of camel reg. per day]. Those who have never smoked, should have the right to say no to smokin around them.Those who do smoke, should respect others. It's not a natural habit. it's just a habit we picked up. Again, we were born without smoking.
blud
 
I have never smoked, but grew up in a smokers home (both parents) and 90% of my friends smoked as well as the bars I hung out at everyone smoked. I have gotten used to it, to a point though. I got married last November and my wife has a 10 year old son. Both of them never batted an eye at pool until I came into the picture. The first time I took my step-son to a pool tournament in Florida (not going to name the place) it was filled with smoke and they left and I stayed behind. This is the first time they watched me really play, and only seen about 10 minutes of the tournament, actually didn't even see the bracket drawn. As long as there's smoking allowed in a pool room or at a tournament, my family will never see me play.
I'm sure I'm not alone on this either.

Zim
 
Even tie. 9-9. Which is about what it will end up, and how split everyone will be. There is no clear solution. Someone will always be pissed.
 
This could be a never ending argument ....

First, The warning on the cigarette pack only warns people that smoking by a pregnant woman may have those affects on her baby. It is not a general warning to those that are not pregnant. Conclusive evidence on the part of the WHO would have brought legislation saying that anyone that smoked would have a higher probability of getting cancer on the cigarette packs... you know it and I do too.

Second, It is not your right to breathe clean air ... It is your right to LIVE, what ever you do with your environment you are born into is up to you. Yes, clean air was the norm back when, but that is not necessarily true nowdays ... Ask people that live in Pittsburg or L.A..

Third, If smoke filled rooms are a problem, then someone needs to get with the poolroom owner about PROPER ventilation for the place. Either that or you need to go to a higher class of Poolroom. Bars are another matter, and generally not as classy as a good Poolroom.

Fourth, babies should not be in Poolrooms. The Poolrooms I go to, you have to be 21 to get in. And if you are taking babies to bars, shame on you.

Fifth, I am not normally a rant and rave smoker. I understand that some places host a wide variety of people and If I have to go outside to smoke, that is fine. BUT, I disagree with you that Poolrooms for ADULTS over 21 should be one of them. The advocation by non smokers that all public places should not have smoking or a city wide ban infringes on the basic rights of the owners and the people that elect to smoke. Restaurants can have separate sections, and that is fine, but Poolrooms can not because of the nature of their business. This across the board ban is nothing more than a reworked form of McCarthyism.

Sixth, I DO NOT USE DRUGS, and I do not drink. I like to keep a clear head and keep my game in top form.

Seventh, Both my ex-wife and I smoked, but my son and daughter do not smoke.

Eighth, Let and let live, but be nice about it... I try to do that, and I want non smokers to do that too.
Smoking is one of those issues like abortion ... you know what I mean ...
and yes, I am Pro choice, as you expected...
 
Snapshot9 said:
This could be a never ending argument ....

<SNIP RANT>

Sixth, I DO NOT USE DRUGS.

Smoking is one of those issues like abortion ... you know what I mean ...
and yes, I am Pro choice, as you expected...
Click to expand...

Are you going to provide proof of anything you say regarding smoking?

What do you think nicotine is? Vitamins?

It is in no way like abortion. A woman has the right to have all the abortions she wants, and not give me one at the same time...

What you really mean to say is that you are pro choice as long as it is agreeable to you!
 
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Well, as of today this thread has 248 hits on it and only 21 votes. Humm... Okay, the people who are reading this thread and not voting maybe you are not members and cannot vote? This is the perfect time to join AZ and VOTE!
 
Our Regional and Championship Tournaments will be non-smoking within the Tournament perimeter.

Smokers will be able to "enjoy" a smoke in other areas between games, but not on the Tournament floor.

My vote - is for those that don't smoke - which one is myself.

Tom
 
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