Discrimination...on Smokers?

[GMC]

I think we need more smoking areas personally, there are alot nearby unless you're on main street, because the nearest one is out the gates, but that means a line to get out and a line to get back in, most people see me comming anyway and put it out. I don't like sending pople to the river because as was adressed earlier, it's in full sun whenever the sun is out (however it's great if you want to watch fantasmic!) big thunder has a nice one, but its much too out of the way from main street, as with matterhorn, which is hard to get too, and the one across from inno, is just plain hard to describe. If it's clearly hazardous for someone to be smoking in a certina area, i say something, like main street, too many people, i don't need allergic attacks, or in lines, middle of veiwing areas, or anyplace there's a smoking area nearby. Does this make a bad CM? A bad person? Or just lazy?

[LittleDollClaudia]

All right..time for me to get my soap box and my ladder so I can climb unto it. I do agree that there are not enough places to smoke. But I have a suggestion. Disneyland should do like Knott's has. There are signs posted in Camp Snoopy that it is a smoke free zone. It actually works because you can smoke in the rest of the park except for of course in line and at eating areas. So make Fantasyland and Toontown where the kids primarily are smoke free. It could be a happy medium, I think. And now for a different stance. I do have to say about the smoking areas that are there now, I have a huge problem with. The three or four spots that are placed are "always" full of what???!?!?! I have said this before...parents with young children and seniors who glare at you when you light up. Give me a damn break. You have the entire park while I have a few feet to enjoy my putting another nail in my coffin. Is there a shortage of benches or are you trying in your small way to start some kind of boycott? Don't look at me like I am doing it on purpose and do that fake coughing. You knew exactly what you were doing when you chose to sit here. :mad: I know I am not the only one who has encountered this. How come they can yell when the smoker is in a wrong place(which I agree with) but the smoker cannot ask the complainer to leave the area which is specifically labelled as a SMOKING AREA?!?!? Splain that one please. Okay, I am climbing down my ladder and putting my things back into the closet until I need them again. Thank you for letting me vent.

[LiveWire]

well Im one who actually likes the disneyland smoking policy. I agree that non smokers shouldnt harass smokers who are in the designated smoking area. I have had several guests approach me and ask where smoking areas were (I make it a point to know where they are) and I always give them their options depending on where they are heading and I always make it a point to thank them for smoking only in a designated area. They are usually very cooperative and kind about it. Only once have I ever had to tell someone to put out a cigarette and that was when they were smoking at coke corner. They put it out and didn't bitch about it. But Im glad Im not around constant cigarette smoke. As long as you make provisions for it then I dont see how its discrimination especially when you have a park full of small children.

[1team1dream]

I don't think you understand what it's like to be a smoker, kiddo. It's just that legislation is making places to smoke harder and harder to find - and it is an addiction - your body physically needs the nicotine. You don't get nicotine, you get the shakes and you get cranky. It would be compassionate of you if you could understand that portion of it and try to be a little less of a crusader on a soapbox when you ask people (nicely, I hope) to put their cigarettes out. There is nothing harder than quitting, and I can attest to that. It probably took nearly a dozen attempts in over 10 years for me to quit for good, so I can sympathize with people who need a "fix." Roll your eyes if you must, make a joke out of the policy, but try to be nicer about it - tell them "they make me do this." That way, it's not you being the big, bad smoking police. Granted, I know the smoke smells icky coming your way when you don't want it in your face, but it's a personal habit (albeit a smelly one) - not a moral crusade A little compassion would be more becoming and helpful when dealing with people's habits in this case.

Crack is an addiction as well, and the body believes it needs it. I feel if you have the decision to either start doing or not doing crack you have the same decision to start smoking or not to start smoking. Millions of people survive every day without smoking, (and some don't because of second hand smoke) I smoke hookah a couple times a week, not because I have to or because my body wants it, but because I enjoy it. If I was asked to give it up by a loved one I know that I could quit cold turkey. I do agree that as cast members we should still treat these people nicely, however I am in no way trying to justify their decision to ignore our policy on designated smoking areas. I don't believe that these people should take out the company's rules and the non smokers right to breathe chemical free air on us cast members. :(

[BirdMom]

Crack is an addiction as well, and the body believes it needs it. I feel if you have the decision to either start doing or not doing crack you have the same decision to start smoking or not to start smoking. Millions of people survive every day without smoking, (and some don't because of second hand smoke)

That's kind of a snarky reply. I mean by equating cigarette smoking with illegal drugs. When the government outlaws tobacco, then you can realistically conflate the two. Nicotine is a legal narcotic, albeit not a controlled substance. Everyone knows that it's a narcotic now, along with all the information of studies that have been disseminated ad-nauseum publicly over and over again. I was hardly aware of that when I started - nor was my brain in any state to make a fully informed rational decision. As a study at UCLA pointed out last year, the human brain isn't fully developed until somewhere around 20. I was 12 when I started smoking - I hung out with a crowd of tough, hardcore surfers around the H.B. pier, and that was just what everyone did to fit in. That in no way is meant as an excuse, but I can say that I was easilly persuaded and underinformed in 1971, and became addicted long before I had the mental capacity to understand addiction and physiological effects. Besides, how many young tweens or teens think about health issues in any depth - puh-leeze!

The thing that I am fed up with is the holier-than-thou responses scattered through this thread, and the holier-than-thou attitude heaped upon smokers by a lot of people in So Cal. Yeah, smoking is a choice. So is getting up in the morning, or eating chocolate. Enough already.

You can pat yourselves on the back and feel proud that you never caved in to peer pressure or that you were "smarter" than everyone who did start. Keep your smug moral superior attitude to yourself already. If someone's ciggy bothers you, there's no need to be rude or nasty about it - two minutes of exposure is not going to give you lung cancer that very minute. It takes years of excessive exposure, but some people act as if they're in the presence of Typhoid Mary or a leper.

In case you never read Miss Manners (I don't know if the Register still prints her column or not), the person who feels put upon and bluntly demands that someone in their vicinity stop what they're doing in the moment - or go do it somewhere else (provided it isn't illegal) is considered the rude one. And I'm fully aware of the irony that I am being quite rude to point this out. To paraphrase Miss Manners, being in the "right" is no excuse for being rude to someone else. So I should probably apologize to those of you whose metaphorical faces I would love to be yelling in right now, but I'm not going to, because y'all refuse to apolgize for feeling so above reproach and superior to those who still haven't kicked the habit.

If someone wants to smoke a hookah, smoke a pipe, cigar or cigarette in their own house - it's none of my business, nor is it yours Mr/Miss/Mrs Busybody. If someone is not in a designated smoking area in public, and you're not a working cast member/employee - find someone who is who can handle the situation in a friendlier manner with more authority (i.e. - the authorization of employment). And again, the CM's who deal with the smoking question are more welcome when they are non-judgemental and nice about the problem at hand.

And again - for those of you holier than thou non-smokers who feel you have a right to clean air - when are you going to start walking/riding bikes/horses everywhere? Because motor vehicles are much bigger pollutants than cigarettes, and not too many people complain about smog issues in a moralizing-you-should-be-ashamed-of-yourself tone of voice. And driving an internal combustion engine polluting car is a choice too, isn't it? I was working for G.M. when the electric car program was around. It was based in another department of the facility I was working in - and I didn't exactly see people beating down the doors of the dealerships to get their hands on electric cars back then, nor do I hear a great groundswell of demands from all you militant anti-smoking types because you're worried about air quality. If you're going to talk the talk, you should really walk the walk.

[1team1dream]

I have no idea what part of my comment lead you to believe I had a holier than thou attitude. I said that as cast members we should be nice to the people that are smoking in non designated areas. My whole point was that these smokers should adhere to the rules and if they can't they shouldn't have started smoking in the first place. I'm an open minded person who does not believe I am better or more special than anybody else, and if could honestly afford to purchase an electric or at least a hybrid vehicle I would, but as a cast member, as well as someone who is paying medical bills for a brain tumor I cannot afford to do so. I don't drive much, other than the 2 miles it is from home and the resort. I no longer have the balance to ride a bicycle so therefore it is not an option, prior to my brain surgery for two years I did not have a car and walked to and from work every day. So now you know why I am wondering why you got so defensive.

[GMC]

do i need to call a moderator?

[GMC]

If i saw someone harassing smokers in a smoking section, or if they came up to me and complained, i would be more than happy to inform them of our policies and remind them that smokers are people too, and if they can't smoke in your breathing area, maybe you shouldn't be allowed to breathe in their smoking area. I would then light one up and blow it in the faces, if i was in as a guest, other wise, i'd direct them to one of the abundant non-smoking areas of the park.

[1team1dream]

If you ever feel that there is a need, feal free to do so by clicking on the "report" link at the top-right corner of each post.

All the Mods have been in stealth mode as of late due to various reasons, but we're still checking in. And if this thread were to get to that point, we would step in.

Just as a reminder, aimed at nobody in particular:


And as another reminder, although the two are very related, the topic at hand is on smoking at theme parks (in the OP's case, Disneyland), not smoking in general.

I still do not understand what everyone's issue is, I was not attacking anybody. Life's too short (Especially mine, having a brain tumor) to be making personal attacks, I was merely stating an opinion on smoking, I apologize for offending anybody. I hadn't realized it was such a sore subject.

[BullFrog]

Crack is an addiction as well, and the body believes it needs it. I feel if you have the decision to either start doing or not doing crack you have the same decision to start smoking or not to start smoking. Millions of people survive every day without smoking, (and some don't because of second hand smoke) I smoke hookah a couple times a week, not because I have to or because my body wants it, but because I enjoy it. If I was asked to give it up by a loved one I know that I could quit cold turkey. I do agree that as cast members we should still treat these people nicely, however I am in no way trying to justify their decision to ignore our policy on designated smoking areas. I don't believe that these people should take out the company's rules and the non smokers right to breathe chemical free air on us cast members. :(

Just to let you know, not in a bad way, but for future dealings with smokers.

Smoking is a harder habit to break than Heroin, Cocaine or Crack. Simply stating, “just quit” is a lot easier said than done. It can be done, but it’s not that easy and can take years.

Secondly, there is no nicotine in Hookah tobacco, thus no addiction or withdrawals. Thus comparing smoking a Hookah to smoking cigarettes is like comparing a bb gun to a nuclear bomb. It’s a whole different animal entirely.

Third, Crack is illegal and can kill you in very short order. Cigarettes are legal and can assist in killing you over decades. It’s not a very close comparison in my book. I do however agree that it’s a decision to start, but remember it’s easier to quit Crack.

That’s all I wanted to say, I hope this paints a clearer picture of smokers for you. My advice to anyone who doesn’t smoke yet is “don’t start, what every you do, don’t start”. I’ve been smoking for years and want to quit but like I said, easier said than done.