Puff the Magic Dragon, lived by the sea... and Mornings, lunch and eveoutside my office

The sun is shining, breeze is warm, an the air smells like George Burns' Ass.

This is what I come across when I exit/enter my office building on a daily basis. I thought I'd write about this after I had some time to think about the issue, and cool down.

For those of you who are not from Ontario, you may not know that we have some pretty strict smoking laws in place to protect non-smokers from inadvertently inhaling second-hand smoke toxins while in public areas. In brief, the law forbids smoking within 9 meters of building entrances, and must not have an overhead shelter. All entrances must display a non-smoking sign.

In an effort to encourage smoking within designated smoking areas, the building management at my office, has created a patio-style smoking area with seating and wind shelter. Unfortunately, this area is not used as frequently as it should be.

Instead of using this designated smokers-section, you find that smokers more frequently use the sheltered entrance area as their preferred smoking area. The wonderful thing about this sheltered entrance area is that it holds smoke very well, leaving us smoke-sensitive workers to share in the splendour of second hand smoke. I frequently find myself fighting off headaches due to second-hand smoke. I have an allergy to smoke, and asthma that are both aggravated each time I enter and exit the office.

The office management has taken steps to try and deter smokers who choose to smoke in law-prohibited areas. The office has sent out emails, and has asked office patrons to move to the designated smoking area Unfortunately, the smokers ignore these requests and continue to infringe on the health and happiness of their fellow coworkers by smoking within 5 feet of the entrance.

I have asked coworkers in the past to head to the smoking section instead of smoking within the confined of the pre-designated smoke-free areas. Although my coworkers oblige when I ask, they retun to the designated smoke-free areas for their next nic-fix.

Normally, my reaction to resolving issue that affect me would be to request action from the parties involved (which I've already done), and if results are not achieved, I'd escalate the issue to the local authority, and finally to the legal authority. Unfortunately, I don't feel the local authority nor the legal authorities will action my request.

In the past, I've made complaints to the local smoking authorities for smoking infractions that adversely affected me. To my dismay, the local authorities felt that although the rules were being broken, they weren't being broken "that bad" so the were left with a warning.

I would compare smoking in non-smoking areas to bringing peanut butter to an elementary school. The happiness of the individual is trumped by the health of another. The problem is that people really aren't taking the negative affects of smoking seriously. There are coalitions to save smoking and right to choose parties looking to keep smoking in public areas. You don't see coalitions for peanuts in schools, or free the peanut campaigns. The affects are the same, but not as immediate. Why are we so blind to ignore these facts?

My hope now is that someone reads this and understands that these smoking laws are not meant to inconvenience smokers for the sake of inconvenience, but rather are meant to protect the smoke sensitive individuals like myself.

Why don't you Smoke the Cheese off my Dick?

I'd like to preface this rant by saying that it is in no way directed at my friends or acquaintances who smoke. Every time I've ever seen them lite up, it was always in the designated puff zones. That being said. This message is directed to those people who choose to ignore the designated smoking areas.


I am an asthmatic and have recently had some minor breathing complications. I don't blame smoking or smokers for this, but their presences does not aid my situation. When designated smoking areas and new smoking rules were heightened a few years back, I was extremely pleased. No longer would I have to come home smelling like smoke when I left a Bar. No longe would I have to walk through a cloud of smoke as I walked into school or the mall.

Unfortunately, many people believe these rules are a nuisance and a hindrance to their personal liberties, and freedom to smoke. These smoking bylaws were created to protect people who do not smoke, do not like smoke, are allergic to smoke or may have health conditions that are exasperated by smoke. It's too bad that the few ignorant smokers who do not obey the signs and rules infringe upon the space of others.

Thursday (unlike most days of the week), I had the pleasure of walking through a wall of smoke as I entered my office building. Although the property management has clearly posted signs noting the designated and prohibited smoking areas, some smokers feel they can ignore the rules and light-up anywhere they please. I don't understand why this type of behavior is tolerated.

A few years ago, I was a patron at a Night club, where the DJ and management decided to announce that the Smoking By-Law would not be enforced at their establishment. As soon as the announcement was made, hundreds of Club patrons lit up and filled the Club with smoke. Since I couldn't handle the reek of smoke, I decided to leave. Before I left, I spoke with the on-site manager and asked for a coat check refund and a cover-charge refund. The manager declined, and I left the Bar. The following day, I called the region of Peel's Smoking Task Force and lodged a formal complaint. One week later, I was called by the city representative to inform me that they had conducted an under cover investigation and found the Club to be in contradiction of the region's smoking By-Laws. Victory was mine and I was sure that my concerned citizen approach would have resulted in a financial penalty to the Evil Club. Much to my surprise, the city representative informed me that although the rules were being broken and the management and staff were doing nothing to enforce the by-law, the city chose to let them off with a warning as there wasn't enough rules being broken. To me it appears that the city's bark is bigger than its bite. I guess the next time I feel like breaking the law, I should only break a few and I'll get off with a warning instead of being charged.

Getting back to the earlier story of me walking through the wall of smoke at my office, I have very little motivation to contact the building management when smoking by-laws are being broken. Instead, I will take the fight fire with fire method. I know that there's designated washrooms, but I could choose to ignore them. If I whipped it out and started pissing at the entrance of my office, I am sure someone would call the police. So why is it that we tolerate smokers who smoke in designated non-smoking areas? What's the worst my public urination would do? Maybe if it's cold, my pee would freeze and someone may slip on it. The frozen pee scenario is quite a long shot, while the negative affects of second hand smoke are proven.

Now, I assure you that I do not plan on dropping trow and peeing, or dropping a deuce out front of my office entrance. I just want people to recognize how smoking is tolerated more-so than most other social faux-pas.