" Gotta hand it to them, they made a valiant effort but in the end they should of known it was a futile attempt. "

" I thought there was thousands of non smokers just chomping at the bit to go out when the smoking ban was enacted. I can safely say that the patrons to the bar I work at are the same ones as before. Except now, they have to go outside to smoke. I have seen no increase in business due to non smokers frequenting my bar. It's funny actually, on any given night as soon as someone decides it is time to go out and have a smoke, everybody decides to go. So about 3 or 4 times per hour, I am the only person left in the bar for about 5 minutes. And just to make this perfectly clear, the only thing I am against in this whole thing is the government taking away the small business owner's right to run his business as he sees fit. "

" "...the public’s interest in enjoying the health benefits under the law outweigh the group’s request for the restraining order."

So, we are doing this for the greater good, there it is in black and white. Communism here we come! ;) "

" Rock on! Let them waste there money. Bring on more lawsuits! haha! "

" I see trial lawyers are the only winners here. Good job Smokey Joes! "

" i LOVE the smoking ban!! Obviously other states don't have a problem with it since most others have it also!! "

" Yes - How dare these business owners attempt to run THEIR establishment, THEIR way! Did they really think this was a free society?!? "

" Hey hetfield, these aren't the smoky joes, these are the business owners who want the freedom to run their business the way they want to. "

" To hawkiis and Anthony... What if these business owners attempted to allow underage drinking at THEIR establishments? Allowed patrons at THEIR establishments to engage in prostitution? Allowed patrons at THEIR establishments to use/sell drugs? Just because the legislature creates a law that places reasonable restirctions on "private" business doesn't mean we are now a nation of communists. Seriously, get a grip -- this is a reasonable restiction on an activity that negatively affects the populace. Let it go. "

" jake64, bad analogies. underage drinking, prostitution, etc. are illegal. smoking is legal. not only is it legal, but it is regulated and taxed by our government.
i'm all for banning smoking in public places, but to dictate that a private business owner cannot allow a legal activity in his place of business while exempting the casinos is wrong! "

" what's next? stepping on a scale before you can buy a big mac? : 0 wonder what that would do to the fast food industry!
it is pretty sad when you walk by a bar and the owner has to stand outside HIS property to have a smoke. "

" Jake64 - Thanks for your intelligent post. It will probably not get through to most of these posters, but you are exactly right. Unfortunately, most business owners if faced with the choice of making extra money or doing something that is socially responsible will choose to make the extra money. That is why government has to step in. I am a business owner and I'm not always happy about some restictions, but I also am open-minded enough to see the reasoning behind it. Smokers apparently lack this ability. Talk to someone who actually lived in a communist country and see how sorry they feel for you that you have to go outside to smoke. I'm sure you would feel pretty stupid for using that asinine analogy. "

" I am a nonsmoker but I have to agree that the jackbooted thugs have gone too far. Just take a look at fast food. A ban considered in CA and now they are coming after your happy meal. If you are not one of the beautiful people looks like you’re no longer welcomed here. I hate the smell of perfume. Time that women smelling like funeral homes keep their stench inside and not force me to smell it. "

" Jake64. A couple points; a)underage drinking is ILLEGAL. b)prostitution is ILLEGAL. c)using/selling drugs is, everyone together, ILLEGAL. Last I looked smoking was not illegal. It is a legal activity that is being regulated. Your examples are all ILLEGAL activities. Smoking is legal. So why not let bars be smoking if they want? And when you say "reasonable restrictions", how about alcohol, fatty foods, salt, sugar, car exhaust, sun, lawn chemicals, etc. All of those things "negatively affects the populace". Right? Should we start banning the use of those, while not making them actually illegal? "

" Ok...here we go...for the record, I am a non-smoker!!!
Hey Jake64...you are apparently a 'real intellectual'...WOW!!!(sarcasm)
Underage drinking = illegal activity, Prostitution = illegal activity,
Using/Selling drugs = illegal activity.
Smoking cigarettes, although not a real intellectual choice itself, is not illegal.

The owners of these establishments are exactly that...the OWN these places, and now are being told by the governmnet, that a perfectly legal, maybe not smart, but legal, activity is no longer allowed in THEIR establishments.
If this ban were to have been implemented properly, it would have been put up for a vote by the people.

The people may well have chosen to ban it, but it would have been done democratically! As it stands, the government should really focus on some real issues, not on whether people may or may not smoke in a bar for crying out loud!!! "

" Anthony et al. You now complain about your rights being taken away. What are you going to do about it on election day? Vote out all liberals who want nothing else but to turn Iowa and the nation into Cali-land. No smoking, gays marrying, abortionists on food stamps.

This is the point. Stop enabling these anti-constitutionalists to take away what is yours, including your money.

To do anything else is hypocritical. The democrats want to control everything you do! "

" Hey are you all forgetting! Smoking is illegal if you are under 18, HMMMMM there goes your argument as drinking is illegal if you are under 21. "

" Jake64 - As several posters have already pointed out, your analogies are beyond flawed. It's very simple - If you don't like smoke or feel it is harmful, DON'T GO TO A PLACE THAT ALLOWS SMOKING! How difficult is this really? If you wish to make your analogies even a little relevant, then I suggest you start making the push to make cigs illegal. And if that happens, I hope the politicians illegally over-tax something you do care about, to fill in the tax collecting shortfall. "

" You're right, bubbly1, no one under 18 should be allowed to smoke in a private establishment! ;) "

" bubbly1

So is voting. So your point is? It will be all fine and well until they come after your dress size or pizza. Jackbooted thugs do the dirty work. I would suggest reading up on how US Army Troops fired on WW I Vets and drove them out of Washington. You may want to read up on the Bonus Army to see how far jackbooted thugs will go. "

" Hunting is legal, but you can't do it in a bar.
Consensual sex is legal, but you can't do it in a bar.
Drinking under the age of 21 used to be legal, now it is not.

Get over the fact that the law changed to protect us. Just as many laws have changed in the past, and more will change in the future.

Smoking in designated areas is legal today. That may change in the future. There is NOBODY on here that can argue that smoking is a good thing, so maybe that will happen sooner rather than later.

I laugh every time I read one of those posts that say if you don't like smoke, don't go there. How stupid is that? How about instead saying, "If you choose to poison yourself because you are weak and addicted to smoking, why not go outside so you don't hurt anyone else?" Doesn't that make more sense? Make the modern day lepers go outside, and leave those who actually care about themselves inside. "

" I have noticed excess littering of cigarette butts on streets and sidewalks. Parts of some business districts are starting to look like a giant ashtray thanks to the Iowa Legislature and Governor Culver.

The smoking ban is discriminatory against private business owners that serve the public because of the exemptions of casinos. "

" Shouldbemayer, So are you saying that all smokers are weak. Well I know allot of smokers and I wouldn't describe any of them as weak. Just cause you hate smokers doesn't mean you should insult them.

And yes I do smoke. I don't do it cause I have to I do it cause I love to. "

" TO timbrackett, gkb32, RUKIDDINGME and hawkiis –

Apparently you all fail to see the point of my comment. The thrust of your argument that the smoking ban is improper is that it takes away the right of “private business” owners to run their “private” establishments as they see fit… Isn’t that exactly what the government has done with the criminalization of underage drinking, prostitution, and other “victimless” crimes? After all, alcohol is a legal substance, much like tobacco. Would you actually suggest that the governmental regulation of its use (ie: sale to minors) is improperly taking away the right of bar owners to conduct business as they see fit? If a “private” bar owner loses his/her liquor license for repeated violations of Iowa law, is the resulting governmental prohibition against selling alcohol in that “private” establishment any less improper than the ban on smoking under your theory of business owner rights?

Consider the relatively recent governmental action taken regarding the sale of pseudoephedrine, a perfectly LEGAL and useful substance. “Private business” must now comply with numerous restrictions regarding the sale of this substance (ie: limitation on the amount sold, record keeping regarding sales, location of product in the store). Failure to comply with these regulations is criminally and administratively punishable. Was this improper governmental intrusion into “private business?” Would you actually argue that this legislation, which has reduced the number of methamphetamine labs in the state by nearly 85%, is the first step on the way to communism? The potential danger to the populace from methamphetamine led to this appropriate and effective legislation, much as the potential danger to the populace from second-hand smoke led the legislature to FURTHER regulate this LEGAL product.

You see, my analogies to ILLEGAL activities are not at all flawed – this legislation makes smoking in public ILLEGAL. Prior to the legislative creation of specific provisions in the Iowa Criminal Code, all activity is legal under Iowa law. Every single criminal or administrative law is a restriction on private rights. You apparently just don’t think this kind of activity warrants intrusion, while I (and the majority of Iowans) do.

To gkb32: There already are reasonable restrictions on alcohol – dozens, in fact (ie: age restrictions, criminalization of consumption in public, public intoxication, requiring liquor laws, etc.). And if your use of “fatty foods, salt, sugar, car exhaust, sun, lawn chemicals, etc.” had the serious potential to injure or kill members of the populace, then regulation may be appropriate and would almost certainly be legal.

To RUKIDDINGME: Seriously? “If this ban were to have been implemented properly, it would have been put up for a vote by the people.” You apparently need a civics lesson on the functioning of our system of government…

To timbrackett: You’re right about the casino exemption. The justification offered for that exemption is clearly related to revenue-generation and I’ve no argument with your position on that aspect of this matter. But that doesn’t make the legislation improper. The government is allowed to address social problems in steps and is not legally required to do in all in one swoop…

Until next time, gentlemen……….. "

" The casino exemption still bothers me. It doesn't matter whether you're for or against the smoking ban. I think most people would see the exemption as unfair. It's scary because it shows just how deep into this gambling revenue our state government has gotten. I really believe the money that's lost in casinos (and in the lottery) is a bigger problem than what's in the air. There are a lot of families in serious financial trouble because of the get-rich-quick lure of gambling. I don't care what the economic development people or politicians say -- it's not a healthy trend for our state. "

" It seems the post from Jake64 settled this argument. I can't stand smoking in public places, and am glad to have "reasonable regulations" placed on these people. Thanks for the posts and rationalism, Jake64. "

" Casinos are not the only venues in Iowa that are allowed to smoke. residents in nursing homes may smoke in their room if their roommate also smokes (but remember an employee MAY have to enter that room to perform cares.). There is smoking at the Iowa Veteran's Home. Hotels MAY designate smoking rooms if all on one floor (cleaning personnel still have to enter that room after they leave.) There are some other examples of where smoking is still allowed on public grounds so it isn't "just" casinos that are exempt. And prostitution is a victimless crime? Give me a break. So you think prostitutes do that because it's just so enjoyable, huh? LMAO!!! "