Smoking Ban Update

[Gearjammer]

I don't go to internet cafes. But all the restaurants I've been to have eliminated smoking. There are signs up and smoking areas are gone.

 

[igor]

The medical science is clear and irrefutable.

Nobody argues that second hand smoking is harmful, but people should be allowed to take as much risk in their lives as they are willing to take.
I don't see any reason why restaurant owners and employees should take a hit because of a crusade for healthy life style. Government could have created a system of tax breaks for restaurants with big non-smoking areas. If demand in the society for this type of things is as high as you think, you could have started or at least invested into a non-smoking restaurant and have a great success with it. Instead they go on with the ban, so that people could see that government is doing something and it still cares about their health.
On practice I believe that the restaurant owners will very soon realize that it is much easier to close their eyes on the smokers and just pay occasional bribes to inspectors.

 

[chris]

Smoking is hazardous to both smokers' health and the health of those who are forced to breathe passive smoke. It's unfortunate that restaurant/bar staff will (I believe temporarily - smokers will eventually return in my opinion) experience a loss of some tips, however they will no longer be exposed to passive smoke. It seems to me far more important to protect the health of the entire public - restaurant patrons and staff - than it is to maintain a retograde open smoking policy that damages the public's health and comfort. Short term economic considerations often take priority over public welfare (read Ibsen's Enemy of the People) but this hardly justifies maintaining what was a deplorable open smoking policy in Buenos Aires. Incidentally, there is still smoking in restaurants of over 100 meters, so it is not a complete ban. I disagree that restaurants will ignore the law and pay occasional fines. Small places in less affluent neighborhoods MAY be able to get away with this however I predict that restaurants in the center and Barrio Norte will not be able to do so. The penalties are severe and include closure for a period of thirty days. Angry customers have only to report smoking incidents or, if necessary, take simple legal action to compel owners to comply. I very much doubt that it will reach this point. Smoking bans on colectivos, subway trains, commuter trains, airplanes, long distance trains and buses have been existence for some time. I travel extensively on all forms of transport and have yet to see anyone break the law. If the ban works on public vehicles, why shouldn't it work in restaurants and bars? Buenos Aires is behind the times in some important aspects however in this case the City legislature has adopted a progressive policy that conforms to enlightened thinking in more developed countries. This is a transition period. Smokers will learn to adjust as they have in California and New York where the bans have had virtually no long term effects on restaurant/bar revenues.

 

[JG]

I was in a popular bar, called Glam, a week ago. its near near Cordoba. it has a large front room with bar and small dance area, a back room with bar, and a large patio garden, where smoking is permitted. there are non smoking signs visible all over the bar.
Allow me to make a long story short. the bar is disregarding the new law. first the bartender was smoking, then some clients, then the rush of people arrive and by 3am the entire place was smoking. i was surrounded by smokers, the dance area was full of burning cigarettes and smoke. i spoke with the bartenders who laughed at me in the end and the security guy on my way out, who said (i swear to you!) that they didnt care about this law and didnt want to follow it.
I called the 800 the next day and reported them. the dept. of health made a big show in the first days of this law raiding places and handing out 1000 peso fines. Well, was it just for show?
Im in Mar del Plata now and theyt dont have such a law yet, unfortunately. There are no non smoking sections that ive encountered. This cafe internet kiosk is FULL of smokers, my eyes are burning. I went to a bar the other night and while it might not be a surprise to many of you to see smokers, it was how many they smoked. the girl next to me smoked 10 im sure. it was one after the other. i wonder if shell stop for the 9 months of pregnancy should she become a mother as her addiction seemed acute. but thats not my business, its MY life i dont want shortened.
Here are some stats from the New York Times on weds (yesterday),
NYT article says, "cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in this country, killing more than 160,000 people a year, which is more than 95 percent of patients. And while the death rates for other cancers have fallen, the rate for lung cancer remains stubbornly high, possibly because the cancers are often caught too late."
As previously mentioned by me, one of these people was a non smoking friend back home who died from lung cancer last July.
Classified by the (US) Environmental Protection Agency as a known carcinogen, it contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic ammonia and hydrogen cyanide, according to the American Lung Association.
Has anyone else found a place that didnt care to enforce this law on restricting smoking in enclosed spaces? Has this law gone the way of the seat belt law, which seemed to be just for show too. Perhaps its their fascination with death.

 

[nroza]

The non smoking law works only for Bs As (Capital Federal). MDP belongs to Provincia de Buenos Aires jurisdiction.

 

[chris]

JG was referring to a bar in BA, not Mar del Plata. So far I have not encountered any problems with the smoking law. I've also noticed that places are much busier than they were the first week.

 

[rosarino]

FYI in Córdoba and Rosario smoking is banned in public places too.

 

[JG]

You can ban anything, but if the people were raised not to think of anyone but themselves and not to respect any law, then all you have is paper to make it look good. im sure its banned to throw garbage everywhere, but as i walk around in whatever city im in, im in MDP now, they eat an alfajore and throw the wrapper, they toss garbage all day long. in the attractive plaza colon here, it looked like someone collected all the garbage cans and just dumped it all over the plaza.
And the beach wasnt any cleaner and this is hardly high season. the city govt. put one plastic garbage can that they cut in half on the beach. much less than a half hearted effort.
Many cars here with no headlights at night. New cars, with no muffler, rattling down the street, ancient trucks from an old movie spewing smoke. Crossing the streets here in touristy mar del plata is a game of chicken. few stop signs and they have no intention of down shifting their wreck of a car thats never had a tune up for you. you must run or jump. you might be protected by the law in the pedestrian crosswalk with a green light, but..........
im sure theres laws against all of this. Pass laws, fine, i want to see some people respect them.

 

[horacew2006]

There are a few positive signs that things are getting better- the restaurants and cafes I have been going to are still smoke free. I see an occssional dog owner cleaning up after his pet on the street. At the same time I have to agree with JG. Some of the readers of this column will no doubt condemn me for expressing my opinion and tell me to "go back to my country" for expressing the opinion that Argentina is at heart third world. Here you will find a widespread indifference to the welfare of one's neighbors. Porters sweep up the sidewalk in front of their buildings and deposit the litter in the street! They then diligently polish every bit of brass they can find. To me these are metaphors for a country based on egocentricism and illogic.

 

[bigbadwolf]

At the same time I have to agree with JG. Some of the readers of this column will no doubt condemn me for expressing my opinion and tell me to "go back to my country" for expressing the opinion that Argentina is at heart third world. Here you will find a widespread indifference to the welfare of one's neighbors. Porters sweep up the sidewalk in front of their buildings and deposit the litter in the street! They then diligently polish every bit of brass they can find. To me these are metaphors for a country based on egocentricism and illogic.

Argentina is Third World. In fact, some Third World countries I've visited have shown more attention to public cleanliness, respect for smoking bans, and adherence to traffic laws than does Argentina. But Argentines take umbrage at being lumped in with the great unwashed. In their opinion, they're ... well, faux Europeans; Buenos Aires is a European city in the pampas. What a larf. But dare to say what Argentina is and the wounded vanity of the locals lashes out: get on the next flight out, and go back to wherever you came from. They live in a world of make-believe, and have but the foggiest idea of what's happening in the rest of the world.