WOW, you Bulgarians is really a brainwashed people from what I can see here. Complaining on the Non-smokers as being manipulative. We just don't want smoke in our food and lungs. You smokers never show respect, that's why a law is needed. Simple fact. If you start behaving, the law is not needed. Can you?

This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained foul, abusive or discriminating language

Try find some information about what happened in the Netherlands and all will see it DOES have effect on a BIG part of the income of small bars and restaurants.

Maybe start a smokers club so all non smokers know they should better not enter.

This problem could easily be fixed by a real non-smoking section. Not a pretend non-smoking sections like you see in so many places in Bulgaria. It also wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many chain smokers in Bulgaria. If you simply had this, it would make a huge difference. Is that sooooooooo hard?

It should be just like in the US.
Allowed but restricted.
Restricted from smoking in Buildings and public places, on congregations and any place where people gather and can see others smoking

I smoke but I don see a problem for all these bans because all smokers can smoke outside without annoying other non-smokers, so be realistic I am a smoker it is unfair for all non-smokers to take smoke we do!! And on the other hands I do not think this will effect the business sales .... in other countries business is still ongoing and in a way it had positive effects and everyone is happy.... think twice!!!

To Concerned: I'm not that surprised to hear about your experiences. The antismoking lobby has controlled the "money microphone" for years through TV ads and paid press releases and such (See Lie #2 at TheTruthIsALie.com for a bit more on that.) and in the last two years has been coming after the internet with splashy sites, Facebook-type presence, and attempts to silence critics. They play dirty: Read the "New Stiletto" at:

http://encyclopedia.smokersclub.com/257.html

to see more about "The Lies Behind The Smoking Bans"

I'd like to [...]

Read the full comment hear more about your experience if you like at Cantiloper on the aol system.

Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"

Perhaps this is a great opportunity to draw some attention to tactics currently used by some anti-smoking organizations in social network sites.
I should know, I fell foul by joining a small group, which I understood promoted the choice of smoke/smoke free premises by pub owners.
Soon it became obvious that not only did members of an opposite group pose as genuine smokers, they also lowered the tone to the extend of making it impossible to hold any civilized conversation.
Furthermore, I was subtly prompted to join the anti-smoking group, using a fake profile, [...]

Read the full comment which I declined.

This may be a single incident - yet it prompts so many questions, most of all:
Why resort to such questionable tactics?

It's a PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE.
It seeks to guarantee a smoke free (and thus healthier) environment for NON SMOKERS. NON SMOKERS are people who have chosen not to polute their bodies with drugs. A NON SMOKER'S choice to "NOT SMOKE" does no harm to the smoker sitting at the next table, in a public place. This is not the case in the reverse situation. Smokers are only being banned from smoking in public places, outside of these places they can smoke themselves to death. Which is what they're doing anyway!!

Its true smoking for non smokers is disagreeable and there is nothing wrong with trying to keep both parties happy but of course without introducing ridiculous laws. non smoking bans ARE bad for business and any drop in sales of cigs is bad for the taxes! anyway smoking is the bulgarian national pastime Hurray

There's much more to this anti-smoking crap than what the corporate media is telling us.The big pharma companies are some of the biggest investors in, check it out- fast food chains....much more detrimental to your health than smoking.I know of no one yet who's died of cancer because they smoked. And consider that 1 out of 2 people will at some point get cancer, you'll get an occasional smoker lumped in there too....
The war is on us and it's a war for our minds.

It is truly scary when issues go global and those who sell nicotine cessation products (Robert Wood Johnson Fdtn. nonprofit of Johnson and Johnson) buy laws that they profit from. Bulgaria need not put up with this fraud.

Funny how these pro-ban supporters in different cities show up with prepared T-Shirts. Ever wonder where the money comes from for them?

In terms of bans not being bad for biz, check out the twisting and juggling that goes on and the million dollar grants that drive it. Read my Aftercomments at:

http://www.jacobgrier.com/blog/archives/2210.html

for a perfect example. If you have any specific substantive criticsims please come back and share them here. I am open about who I am and what my "competing interest" might be, [...]

Read the full comment and I stand behind what I write.

Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"

BRAVO!!!!!now the war against terror has been won!!!!so,now we can deal with the minor problems like hunger ,unnessesary wars, deliberate economic colupses,media terror ,false education and so on...

ALL THESE EXTREME WAR AGAINST SMOKING IS NOT NORMAL!!!!
WHY THEY DONT COMPLAIN THE SAME HARD ABOUT DRAGS??????
ALL THIS EXAGERATION STARTED ONES AGAIN FROM AMERICA!!!
WHY THEY DONT TAKE CARE ABOUT SO MANY OTHER PROBLEMS LIKE AIR POLUTION THAT NOT EVEN HAVE SIGNED THE UNIVERSAL TREETE TO REDUSE IT? ENOUGH WITH THIS AMERICAN HYSRERIA !!!!!!

Heres a time line starting in 1900,dont be surprised to see the same thing playing out today nearly 100 years later.

1901: REGULATION: Strong anti-cigarette activity in 43 of the 45 states. "Only Wyoming and Louisiana had paid no attention to the cigarette controversy, while the other forty-three states either already had anti-cigarette laws on the books or were considering new or tougher anti-cigarette laws, or were the scenes of heavy anti- cigarette activity" (Dillow, 1981:10).

1904: New York: A judge sends a woman is sent to jail for 30 days for [...]

Read the full comment smoking in front of her children.

1904: New York City. A woman is arrested for smoking a cigarette in an automobile. "You can't do that on Fifth Avenue," the arresting officer says.

1907: Business owners are refusing to hire smokers. On August 8, the New York Times writes: "Business ... is doing what all the anti-cigarette specialists could not do."

1917: SMOKEFREE: Tobacco control laws have fallen, including smoking bans in numerous cities, and the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Idaho and Tennessee.

1937: hitler institutes laws against smoking.This one you can google.

ZIEG HEIL as the pic shows.....now lets see them GOOSE STEP

That comment about "no business damage" from Gary has no proof other than press releases and "studies" that lump McDonald's, the corner neighborhood bar, 5 star restaurants...all together to shade the truth. If you will research the organizations that say these things, you will find ties to antismoking lobbying more than often.

Businesses that smokers like to patronize....often do fail when these bans go in.

People that make blanket statements like "Gary" are either naive people who just hate the smell of cigarettes and believe everything they read in a rag without [...]

Read the full comment having the real world experience or are tools of antismoking organizations trying to spread the sins of omission (denial of closures) to keep people deceived on the real truth of the matter.

Businesses do close because of smoking bans. Not all, but many, particularly bars.

Do you remember the lesson in grade school to be aware that when taking a multiple choice test, "every" and "all" questions need to be looked at very carefully and that people who say "every" or "all" is another red flag to not take at face value?

Why do all these people so pro antismoking smoking all look like they just need to put some jackboots on and goose step to complete their "uniforms".

And uniform they are. Like robots.

Whose personal freedom are you talking about. YOURS!!! How about a non-smoker. ME!!! At least you are switching to electronic, If you want to kill yourself. That's personal freedom. Everywhere they have banned smoking in restaurants and bars, there has been no lack of business. Hurray

It's good to see someone standing up for personal freedom. Here in the US, it seems everyone is all too willing to roll over and let the government ban smoking anywhere they please.

I have had to get around all the bans by switching to electronic cigarettes because they are not subject to the bans.

http://www.e-cigsmoker.com