Police Ready To Arrest Breakers Of Smoking Ban From Feb 10

[John K]

Good read on today's Stickman on this topic.

[thailien8]

During the past week I've stopped at, or in, about 50 agogo bars in Pattaya and Bangkok. I ask the same question to the hello girls and guys outside each bar: "Smoking or no smoking?" Those who tell me that smoking is not allowed in their bar often do so in an apologetic way, as if they think I will be upset with the law being enforced. I make a little show of delight and enter the bar, tho sometimes not for long if some customer(s) inside are smoking anyway.

When my smoking question is answered affirmatively, the door person always does so with no apologies, assuming that I am asking because I am a smoker and want to break the law inside their bar. I get some satisfaction from showing my disappointment with their answer, giving a thumbs-down, and walking away.

[walkon]

After having a lung removed because of lung cancer, i decided to retire to thailand for a nice hassle free life...and now they tell me i can't smoke when i go out disco dancing!!

No worries mate, once they remove your second lung (without allograph) you won't have the need to smoke.

So are you saying as smoke caused lung cancer for you, it is a "hassle" for you to not smoke in limited venues and not allow others to suffer illness from second hand smoke?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

After having a lung removed because of lung cancer, i decided to retire to thailand for a nice hassle free life...and now they tell me i can't smoke when i go out disco dancing!!

No worries mate, once they remove your second lung (without allograph) you won't have the need to smoke.

So are you saying as smoke caused lung cancer for you, it is a "hassle" for you to not smoke in limited venues and not allow others to suffer illness from second hand smoke?

Without anaesthesia as well. A brain resection could be carried out at the same time.

[walkon]

I still don't get it.

The whole thing in fact. This law has a single objective: Harass a certain part of the population and generate income for the B.I.B. because if HEALTH was a concern, 90% of Bangkok's buses, trucks and other Diesel vehicles had to be taken off the roads immediately FIRST before anyone could turn against the smokers.

For the non-smokers to protect themselves, nothing easier - stay at home and watch Animal Planet instead of going to those filth-holes called "bars" and "pubs" that annoy you so much. If you feel then need to poison yourself the other way go to 7-Eleven and get your whiskey or beer there.

Alcohol vs. cigarettes, that discussion is exactly like "my way to kill myself is healthier than your way to kill yourself". How many smokers have to stay with you in one room for how long for YOU to get any cancer? There are TONS of studies being made with mixed results, but NONE YET found ANY evidence that second-hand smoke caused cancer in ANY person. Sure the clothes smell - see above, stay at home or get over it and wash them. Alcohol in turn kills quickly - a single drunk truck driver has virtually unlimited potential to be a mass murderer - run a bus off the road and you kill 50 people with one go, cool what? But of course alcohol is not dangerous, it's the cigarettes only.

Someone quoted one of my posts, cleverly omitting the signature - and then mentioning "you smokers..." I stated clearly in the (omitted!) signature, and repeat it here: I DO NOT SMOKE!! Never did and never will. But i can't stand the constant smoker-bashing, i am simply fed up with anti-smoker propaganda.

Plus, to all you anti-smokers, if tomorrow suddenly every smoker quits, the government (any government because cigarettes are about the highest taxed products available), what do you think how the government would fill the HUGE income hole? Some other taxes will have to rise significantly. And those are taxes hitting YOU TOO.

I personally welcome ANY smoker to be near me and light up, but keep that bottle closed, i have Pepsi for you.

Best regards......

Thanh

For decades, big tobacco used ANY tactic they could devise to suppress, hinder, squash, eliminate, anything that could show cigarette smoke caused illness. It took a tobacco scientist "inside information" to reveal this. Has anyone seen the movie "The Insider"

Big tobacco were/is akin to organized well funded genocide with one distinction, they don't force someone to smoke, however through marketing do indeed take advantage of peoples vulnerability and/or naivety. Especially troubling is targeting children.

What reason(s) in the world can anyone think of that would suggest second hand smoke is not harmful? It is the very same smoke that is hurting the smoker. Second hand smoke is not magically filtered of toxins by the smokers lungs.

Again, I think smokers have a right to smoke, as long as it does not force others to breathe it.

[walkon]

After having a lung removed because of lung cancer, i decided to retire to thailand for a nice hassle free life...and now they tell me i can't smoke when i go out disco dancing!!

No worries mate, once they remove your second lung (without allograph) you won't have the need to smoke.

So are you saying as smoke caused lung cancer for you, it is a "hassle" for you to not smoke in limited venues and not allow others to suffer illness from second hand smoke?

Without anaesthesia as well. A brain resection could be carried out at the same time.

If only "brain resection" could cure addiction, would be a miracle. Perhaps one day science will have cured every disease, but ignorance I fear will never have a cure.

[johniescfc]

At the moment i cannot see any difference in pattaya except for better quality type places.

a fine doesnt seem to deter customers neither.been to a few barts where they say smoking is ok and put ash trays to show it,but i feel the smoker will get a fine based on the regulations i read.every smoker i speak with say its a good idea because it reduces how many they have.

[jfchandler]

Hmmm.... I'll be the first to acknowledge I'm not a parent, as yet. But if I were a parent, I'd be all in favor of bringing the kids along (assuming they were reasonably old enough) for exciting travels abroad.

However, I'm not quite sure I'm game for having my young kids (boys, girls???) "cuddled" by the working ladies in Walking Street bars, and then going back to the hotel later "at a reasonable hour" (with, or without the cuddling bar lady in tow????)

Don't get me wrong... I'd be all in favor of ME being cuddled by a nice lady, assuming the price was right. But I'm thinking maybe there might be some other places to show the young tikes on their trip to Thailand, other than the pleasures of Walking Street ladies. Maybe they can stay with Mom on Dad's night out???

I for one would not subject my kids to watching drunk limeys fight over hookers but to each his own.

No...you'd rather sit in a crowded room let your kids inhale the toxic chemicals that you and your friends exhale.

This is Thailand and in Pattaya, I've seen many parents take their kids to the Walking Street bars. The girls fight over the kids to see who can cuddle them first. The huge smiles on the faces of the kids says it all. They love the attention that they get in the bars. The kids are then taken back to their hotel at a reasonable hour.

I suppose some unfortunate kids have to grow up being raised by miserable, narrow minded parents, who would prefer lock their kids inside the house/hotel rather than allow them to see the sights of the foreign country they are visiting.

Whatever happened to parental guidance?

[walkon]

The "pay on the spot" fines for smoking is a great idea. It gives otherwise poorly paid police the motivation to enforce the law, which in the long run is a positive thing for society.

The vehicle with bad engines pouring out smoke should be fines as well.

Maybe every 6 months I will smoke half a cigar or less. Being told by venues where cigarettes abound that I could not smoke a cigar seemed absolutely idiotic. I was told people including cigarette smokers did not like the smell of cigars, yet my complaints of cigarettes smoke were futile.

No problem for me to smoke somewhere where others won't be offended. Why should it be a problem for cigarette smokers to do the same?

[walkon]

Hmmm.... I'll be the first to acknowledge I'm not a parent, as yet. But if I were a parent, I'd be all in favor of bringing the kids along (assuming they were reasonably old enough) for exciting travels abroad.

However, I'm not quite sure I'm game for having my young kids (boys, girls???) "cuddled" by the working ladies in Walking Street bars, and then going back to the hotel later "at a reasonable hour" (with, or without the cuddling bar lady in tow????)

Don't get me wrong... I'd be all in favor of ME being cuddled by a nice lady, assuming the price was right. But I'm thinking maybe there might be some other places to show the young tikes on their trip to Thailand, other than the pleasures of Walking Street ladies. Maybe they can stay with Mom on Dad's night out???

I for one would not subject my kids to watching drunk limeys fight over hookers but to each his own.

No...you'd rather sit in a crowded room let your kids inhale the toxic chemicals that you and your friends exhale.

This is Thailand and in Pattaya, I've seen many parents take their kids to the Walking Street bars. The girls fight over the kids to see who can cuddle them first. The huge smiles on the faces of the kids says it all. They love the attention that they get in the bars. The kids are then taken back to their hotel at a reasonable hour.

I suppose some unfortunate kids have to grow up being raised by miserable, narrow minded parents, who would prefer lock their kids inside the house/hotel rather than allow them to see the sights of the foreign country they are visiting.

Whatever happened to parental guidance?

Hopefully, no parents intentionally(with prior knowledge 0f walking street) take the children for a stroll there. I suppose there are parents that like walking street so much that they actually do bring their kids along for the cultural experience and properly explain to them(or not) the science behind walking street.

[gunnyd]

The "pay on the spot" fines for smoking is a great idea. It gives otherwise poorly paid police the motivation to enforce the law, which in the long run is a positive thing for society.

The vehicle with bad engines pouring out smoke should be fines as well.

Maybe every 6 months I will smoke half a cigar or less. Being told by venues where cigarettes abound that I could not smoke a cigar seemed absolutely idiotic. I was told people including cigarette smokers did not like the smell of cigars, yet my complaints of cigarettes smoke were futile.

No problem for me to smoke somewhere where others won't be offended. Why should it be a problem for cigarette smokers to do the same?

Yes the "Fine on the spot" will be great for the police. I wandered too close to a park one time with a butt in my mouth (I was walking down the sidewalk around suk 24 close to the park, but still on the sidewalk) and was stopped by the police. The officer showed me a notice in English that I was breaking the law and that there was a 2000 baht fine. I happened to not have that much on me. After he asked me to fill out a report and whether I wanted a copy I said "may khrap" and then he said the fine would be 500 since I didn't know. I looked back as I walked away and surprise surprise surprise, my 500 found it's way into the officer's pocket and the report was thrown out.

It's just another way for the police to extort money from farangs IMHO.

GunnyD

Edited March 9, 2008 by gunnyd

[kuma]

So I went to cowboy this weekend - rare for me and found that what is said below is 100% true, all the bars were smoke free and full of patrons. full.

i am a fan of parts of nana and i brought this up with them and they just sort of shrugged (everyone is still smiking there) and said customers want to smoke. so nana seems to be doing nothing until forced i guess.

so i am transferring my flag. nana is pretty muchout now, i will spend my gg time at cowboy - and my $$.

hope nana figures it out someday.

Well i dont know but i have been at nana the last 2 nights (r1, r4 mainly) and the ashtrays were out and people were smoking, so..... what is the deal?

one m-san told me they have 3 months to adjust, then the rule will be enforced.

<deleted> is that?

Last night I did a walk through 2 nightlife venue areas. The first was Soi Cowboy and by 9:00 the bars were in full compliance. Even the bars that cater to Japanese customers were smoke free. The second area was RCA and again I found the same that the night clubs were in full compliance. I seems reality has finally hit for the smokers in Thailand.

And ill bet it was no less busy

Yes you are absolutely right on that. Seeing is Soi cowboy is just a few minutes away I decided to go and see again last night. I deliberately went into Baccara for a beer as I fully expected that bar to be the worst oftener. At 9:00 pm the bar was packed I could not find a seat and ended up sitting right at the dance floor. The bar was free of smoke and the only butts I saw were well rounded.

Seeing as that bar caters to Japanese and Japanese have a much higher percentage of smokers in their population, the smoking ban seems to be having no effect on baccara’s bottom line at the end of the night. I suspect the ban is here to stay.

[funfun]

Just to bring this up again as the police are around and warning bars etc 31st is the day they will be back, so looks like we gotta fall into line now!

maybe not a bad thing!

chris

[toret]

During the past week I've stopped at, or in, about 50 agogo bars in Pattaya and Bangkok. I ask the same question to the hello girls and guys outside each bar: "Smoking or no smoking?"

Last time I asked, they said "Smoking upstairs sir, only 700 Baht."

[tuftymorgan]

I heard you can smoke anything or anyone in Burma!!!

[thailien8]

Just to bring this up again as the police are around and warning bars etc 31st is the day they will be back, so looks like we gotta fall into line now!

maybe not a bad thing!

chris

In fact, a very good thing! May 31 is World No Tobacco Day. Thai police could not have picked a better day to "be back" and make the hold-out law-breaking bars "fall into line". So from now on, we can all breathe freely when we go out and spend our money in Thailand's nightlife venues. From what I've seen recently, the smoking ban is pretty much a done deal already. Almost all smokers are now outside in the heat and polluted air (not that this would bother them).

If any venues continue to tolerate smoking indoors, please remember that there is a 24-hour number to report violations of this law: 02-590-3342.

[spidermike007]

I know the smoking ban is being enforced in many places in Thailand, and I am thankful for that. But by far, Koh Samui is the worst offender. There are only a handful of restaurants on Samui, that even have signs posted. It is the worst location in Thailand for non-smokers. I have walked into restaurants and asked for the non-smoking section, and they look at you like you are from Mars. The normal response is, "no problem, you can smoke anywhere". Talk about missing the point. There is not a single government official that cares, or has made any effort. The mayor is lazy, corrupt, and all talk, and no action. He must be voted out next time, but still nothing will change, unless someone in power in Bangkok embarrasses them into submission. The mayor has been informed of the problem, and he promised to set up an enforcement group to go around and inspect every restaurant and bar on the island. As far as we know, not a single one was ever inspected. Talk about bluster. Talk about lack of initiative. Talk about ineffective. Talk about a lack of leadership. Talk about weak and dishonest. Someone has to do something. It has to come from the top. The police cannot be counted on to contribute to the well being of anybody in Koh Samui. They only respond where there is money involved in Samui. There seems to be little incentive for them to enforce the law there, as there is no political pressure on them. Samui is Thailand's "forgotten country".

[mrtoad]

I know the smoking ban is being enforced in many places in Thailand, and I am thankful for that. But by far, Koh Samui is the worst offender. There are only a handful of restaurants on Samui, that even have signs posted. It is the worst location in Thailand for non-smokers. I have walked into restaurants and asked for the non-smoking section, and they look at you like you are from Mars. The normal response is, "no problem, you can smoke anywhere". Talk about missing the point. There is not a single government official that cares, or has made any effort. The mayor is lazy, corrupt, and all talk, and no action. He must be voted out next time, but still nothing will change, unless someone in power in Bangkok embarrasses them into submission. The mayor has been informed of the problem, and he promised to set up an enforcement group to go around and inspect every restaurant and bar on the island. As far as we know, not a single one was ever inspected. Talk about bluster. Talk about lack of initiative. Talk about ineffective. Talk about a lack of leadership. Talk about weak and dishonest. Someone has to do something. It has to come from the top. The police cannot be counted on to contribute to the well being of anybody in Koh Samui. They only respond where there is money involved in Samui. There seems to be little incentive for them to enforce the law there, as there is no political pressure on them. Samui is Thailand's "forgotten country".

Are you going to make the same post, in a number of threads?

[spidermike007]

Yes, I will make the same posts in a few different threads. Anything to get this point across. I would march across

this entire nation if I felt it would do some good, in advancing this thought. As a matter of fact, for your benefit, I will

post my latest response, to a criticism of my thread- hope you like it.

I suppose I get your point about less "nannying". Most people in Samui seem to appreciate the utter lack of law

enforcement, and competent policing. I suppose I like some aspects of that too. But, for a non-smoker who has

an allergy to tobacco smoke it would sure be nice if at least a small percentage of restaurants and bars here

enforced the law. It is the Thai law after all. I am not bringing my personal preferences to this land, and harping

on people not observing my preferences. I am only saying that it would be nice to see the law occasionally enforced,

especially when it comes to something as fabulously heinous as people blowing smoke in your face while you are

trying to enjoy your meal. I consider smoking to be the embodiment of a lack of personal discipline, and also

an extreme display of a lack of self esteem. Sabotaging the body like that could result from no other deep seated

emotion than wanting to, or being willing to destroy one's body, and a willingness to create so much pollution of

filth around them. Of course it is a habit I have no understanding of. And I am not being critical of people who

choose to smoke. I am only saying that it is not too much to ask that smokers show a very modest sense of

discipline when they are eating in a restaurant. I do not think that is too much to ask.