Hold the Turkey, Pass the Patch

For all of the non-smokers who have avoided a night out on the town to huddle around an Ionic Air Purifier you now have permission to go out again. The day has finally arrived; Dallas bars are now smoke-free. If the City of Dallas seems a little on edge today try to cut it some slack. It isn’t easy going ‘cold turkey’.

We all like to think of North Texas as the leader in, well, everything. But this time we’re not the first to go smoke free. Shortly after I moved to Dallas from San Francisco, sometime around 1996, San Francisco became one of, if not the, first major city to legislate a ban on smoking in bars. It was generally reported that the ban would trigger the end of San Francisco’s night life. No longer would the ‘bridge and tunnel’ people make their way to the City. Residents of San Francisco would migrate to San Mateo or Walnut Creek for the pleasure of smoking while drinking. About a year after the ordinance was in place I returned to San Francisco for a visit. Except for the lack of smoke, everything was the same; I stood in line to get into my favorite old haunts just like I used to do. The city’s night life did not come crashing down upon itself. Of course Dallas is not San Francisco so we can’t really expect the same results. Or can we?

Sure we can! Bars and clubs are an important part of our culture; it’s where the modern gay rights movement (as it was called in the 70’s) began. They are where most of us first found ‘people like us’. They are even the places were some of us met our partners (fifteen years ago)! Look, we’re masters at making lemonade out of lemons. Let’s all go out and support our community and the bars/clubs that support it as well. While you’re at it you might actually have some fun. Of course if you want to know where to find the BEST clubs you only need to look at the Chamber’s online directory. The best businesses are always Chamber members.

Butt Cops – According to the Dallas Morning News the new smoking ordinance will be enforced by “Environmental and Health Services sanitarians – or “butt cops” as some prefer to call them.” So many jokes, so little time.

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