For you smokers out there......

[rinkwide]

...I have since quit going on 5 months and find it amazing the thread is still going...

Amazing is right. My Mother-In-Law was still smoking like crazy back in '04 when this thread started - now she's on oxygen in the advanced stages of emphysema. My, how time flies.

 

[smjj]

This is one of those threads that keeps going and going....I posted my opinions early on when I smoked...I have since quit going on 5 months and find it amazing the thread is still going. My opinions have not changed on this subject since I QUIT......Just be respectfull of others....and follow the rules. Most of all have Common Sense...which I feel has become a lost art!

It is a big issue. The moderators shutdown all threads about smoking or smoking related issues if started and refer the poster to this thread. It is amasing though, people don't like a thread and comment about it. The nice thing about the way the DIS is setup is that if a person does not like a thread then they can simply ignore it, try it...smjj

 

[prez65]

It is a big issue. The moderators shutdown all threads about smoking or smoking related issues if started and refer the poster to this thread. It is amasing though, people don't like a thread and comment about it. The nice thing about the way the DIS is setup is that if a person does not like a thread then they can simply ignore it, try it...smjj

I wasn't bashing the thread...I just find it is amazing it is still going....most threads do not have the staying power as this one. I do not want to Ignore it so you clearly misunderstood my post.......and proved my point of respecting others and common sense..... You should try it!

 

[pjb_hockey_mom]

This is one of those threads that keeps going and going....I posted my opinions early on when I smoked...I have since quit going on 5 months and find it amazing the thread is still going. My opinions have not changed on this subject since I QUIT......Just be respectfull of others....and follow the rules. Most of all have Common Sense...which I feel has become a lost art!

That is awesome! You should be very proud of yourself!

 

[JimMIA]

Amazing is right. My Mother-In-Law was still smoking like crazy back in '04 when this thread started - now she's on oxygen in the advanced stages of emphysema. My, how time flies.

Sorry to hear that. I went through that with my Mother, who quit...but too late. Better steel the wife for the end game, because it is not pretty.

 

[ReneeQ]

We returned from BWV week before last. On both this trip, and a trip to VWL in 1/05, I was assigned to a smoking room. This really burns me up (no pun intended!

I booked both of these trips at EXACTLY the 11 month window. My ONLY request is non smoking, AND it's for medical reasons! I don't care about my dumpster view, floor, 5 mile walk to the elevator, etc. I JUST want a nonsmoking room.

In addition to my long list of medical issues, I (unfortunately) was sick during this trip with sinusitis. The last thing my dr. said was "Do not spend ANY time around cigarette smoke."

We check into BWV at 4 PM on Sat 2/17/07 and the CM happily says "your room is ready." I have LEARNED to double check if it's smoking. So I say, "the room is nonsmoking, correct?" She says, with a lovely smile, "No, it's a smoking room, let me get your keys." I tell her I MUST have a nonsmoking room, and she says, "yes, I see that here, that is your only request." She goes to the back, gets me reassigned, and they reassign me to ANOTHER smoking room."

At least she caught that, and went to the back AGAIN and had me reassigned AGAIN to a nonsmoking room. My check in took nearly 40 min.

Does anyone else think this practice is just wrong? If I call at 9 am at exactly the 11 month window, and ONLY request nonsmoking, shouldn't that count for SOMETHING? I know they don't assign rooms based on when the reservations were made (which I think is WRONG and the biggest part of the problem).

I cannot stay in a smoking room. I have dr's notes saying this. I book as far in advance as I can. I only make ONE request. I say at the time of booking the nonsmoking is for medical reasons. Yet TWICE I've been given (or tried to be given) a smoking room. What else can I do???

And, out of curiosity, what would happen if they DIDN'T have a nonsmoking room to change me to? Anyone had that happen to them? What if you CANNOT stay in a smoking room, but they say that's all they have?

 

[smjj]

And, out of curiosity, what would happen if they DIDN'T have a nonsmoking room to change me to? Anyone had that happen to them? What if you CANNOT stay in a smoking room, but they say that's all they have?

I just don't know but I do know, I would be one of those unpleasant DVC members that we were all bashing on another thread a few weeks ago. If you did book at the 11 month window, and you have a medical reason and you stated that when you booked then I would think Disney would or should be able to accomdate you. I am sure others will disaggree with me on this. But like us, we made the same request twice at OKW, both times we were granted non-smoking rooms only to have them both been smoked in. I guess you just can't win..smjj

 

[edk35]

We returned from BWV week before last. On both this trip, and a trip to VWL in 1/05, I was assigned to a smoking room. This really burns me up (no pun intended!

I booked both of these trips at EXACTLY the 11 month window. My ONLY request is non smoking, AND it's for medical reasons! I don't care about my dumpster view, floor, 5 mile walk to the elevator, etc. I JUST want a nonsmoking room.

In addition to my long list of medical issues, I (unfortunately) was sick during this trip with sinusitis. The last thing my dr. said was "Do not spend ANY time around cigarette smoke."

We check into BWV at 4 PM on Sat 2/17/07 and the CM happily says "your room is ready." I have LEARNED to double check if it's smoking. So I say, "the room is nonsmoking, correct?" She says, with a lovely smile, "No, it's a smoking room, let me get your keys." I tell her I MUST have a nonsmoking room, and she says, "yes, I see that here, that is your only request." She goes to the back, gets me reassigned, and they reassign me to ANOTHER smoking room."

At least she caught that, and went to the back AGAIN and had me reassigned AGAIN to a nonsmoking room. My check in took nearly 40 min.

Does anyone else think this practice is just wrong? If I call at 9 am at exactly the 11 month window, and ONLY request nonsmoking, shouldn't that count for SOMETHING? I know they don't assign rooms based on when the reservations were made (which I think is WRONG and the biggest part of the problem).

I cannot stay in a smoking room. I have dr's notes saying this. I book as far in advance as I can. I only make ONE request. I say at the time of booking the nonsmoking is for medical reasons. Yet TWICE I've been given (or tried to be given) a smoking room. What else can I do???

And, out of curiosity, what would happen if they DIDN'T have a nonsmoking room to change me to? Anyone had that happen to them? What if you CANNOT stay in a smoking room, but they say that's all they have?

WOW this scares me Matter of fact after reading this....I CALLED MS and made sure I had non smoking still as a request because I had just made changes to my ressies a few hours ago. I am so sorry this happened to you. I will have to stay on top of this problem too. I have a son with asthma and this could be a major problem We didn't have this problem at SOG....they are a non smoking resort. Thanks for sharing and bringing up the awareness and the possibility that requests are just that...even when it comes to smoking/non smoking. Geez. One would think that if you called that early out....you would get some priority over someone that made their ressie much later. Of course that statement might just open a new can of worms on this thread. YIKES. I better stop while I am ahead.

 

[JimMIA]

WOW this scares me Matter of fact after reading this....I CALLED MS and made sure I had non smoking still as a request because I had just made changes to my ressies a few hours ago. I am so sorry this happened to you. I will have to stay on top of this problem too. I have a son with asthma and this could be a major problem We didn't have this problem at SOG....they are a non smoking resort. Thanks for sharing and bringing up the awareness and the possibility that requests are just that...even when it comes to smoking/non smoking. Geez. One would think that if you called that early out....you would get some priority over someone that made their ressie much later. Of course that statement might just open a new can of worms on this thread. YIKES. I better stop while I am ahead.

This post illustrates why, on some of the "Should I buy DVC?" threads, someone will post that we should all understand that requests are just that...requests, which may not be honored.

And the other part of the issue is that DVC often doesn't enforce their own non-smoking regulations. Timid CM's often tell smokers they can smoke in NS rooms or on balconies of NS rooms (both of which are criminal acts under Florida law) just to appease the guest. I think most smoking guests would abide by the rules if they weren't given such an easy "out" by the CMs.

For those reasons, I would never recommend that someone purchase DVC if they have someone in their family with serious respiratory issues. They'd be better off with Marriott or one of the many other timeshares which are smoke-free. Onsite isn't everything.

 

[elijahpep]

... Timid CM's often tell smokers they can smoke in NS rooms or on balconies of NS rooms (both of which are criminal acts under Florida law) just to appease the guest....

Jim,

I have read Florida's smoking law, enacted in July 2003, and never saw anything in it that says it is criminal to smoke on a balcony. The only thing it says about balconies is to smoke on them the balcony must be less than 50% enclosed.

Not saying you are wrong but is there something I missed when reviewing this law? Also, not trying to fuel the smoking debate either because personally I could care less either way.

~Eli

 

[JimMIA]

Jim,

I have read Florida's smoking law, enacted in July 2003, and never saw anything in it that says it is criminal to smoke on a balcony. The only thing it says about balconies is to smoke on them the balcony must be less than 50% enclosed.

Not saying you are wrong but is there something I missed when reviewing this law? Also, not trying to fuel the smoking debate either because personally I could care less either way.

~Eli

I don't think you really missed anything, but legalese is somewhat difficult to decipher sometimes. There's some legal gibberish here that basically says open is closed. Here's the actual text of the law.

CHAPTER 64I-4 CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT
(5) "Enclosed indoor workplace" means any place where one or more persons engages in work, and which place is predominantly or totally bounded on all sides and above by physical barriers, regardless of whether such barriers consist of or include, without limitation, uncovered openings; screened or otherwise partially covered openings; or open or closed windows, jalousies, doors, or the like. A place is "predominantly" bounded by physical barriers during any time when both of the following conditions exist:

a) It is more than 50 percent covered from above by a physical barrier that excludes rain, and

(b) More than 50 percent of the combined surface area of its sides is covered by closed physical barriers. In calculating the percentage of side surface area covered by closed physical barriers, all solid surfaces that block air flow, except railings, must be considered as closed physical barriers. This section applies to all such enclosed indoor workplaces and enclosed parts thereof without regard to whether work is occurring at any given time.

(7) "Physical barrier" includes an uncovered opening; a screened or otherwise partially covered opening; or an open or closed window, jalousie, or door.

Emphasis added.

A balcony would meet this requirement -- it is 100% covered from rain above, and the "uncovered opening" meets the second requirement. There have been a number of test cases in Florida where bars and restaurants have claimed that outside decks and balconies have been exempt, but they've lost. It's not legal to smoke on the balcony of a room unless the room itself has been designated as non-smoking -- the balcony is an integral part of the room itself.

Florida does not have "Smoking Police" monitoring balconies, but there's not much question about what either the law says or what the legislative intent is.

In reading Florida law, I think it is important to realize that the intent of Florida law is not primarily to protect consumers. It is primarily to protect workers -- in DVC's case, the poor Mousekeepers who have to deal with the stench and associated health risks daily.

 

[DVCconvert]

JimMIA:

A place is "predominantly" bounded by physical barriers during any time when both of the following conditions exist:

a) It is more than 50 percent covered from above by a physical barrier that excludes rain, and

(b) More than 50 percent of the combined surface area of its sides is covered by closed physical barriers. In calculating the percentage of side surface area covered by closed physical barriers, all solid surfaces that block air flow, except railings, must be considered as closed physical barriers.

I know you are 'married' to the inflammatory 'stench' word due to your personal agenda -- but the legal descripton would NOT (emphasis added) NOT apply to balconies - sorry - No "criminal" act here.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

Prez,

Just wanted to add a congrats to you! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JimMIA]

JimMIA:

I know you are 'married' to the inflammatory 'stench' word due to your personal agenda -- but the legal descripton would NOT (emphasis added) NOT apply to balconies - sorry - No "criminal" act here.

Sure it would. It's been tested many times and your side lost. Wrong again.

First of all, most balconies have at least two sides which are exterior walls of the unit...and by quick calculation, that's 50% by itself. And secondly, if you bother to read the statute, you see that "uncovered openings" count the same as fixed walls.

Stench is a great word. It's not inflammatory, just descriptive. Sorry if it offends you (not really ), but the smell of day-old smoke just isn't adequately covered by "obnoxious odor." "Putrid stench" is probably better, but I'm trying to conserve bandwidth.

BTW...did you happen to catch the poll at the beginning of this thread, in which 71% of the people have voted in favor of making DVC completely smoke-free?

 

[JimMIA]

Prez,

Just wanted to add a congrats to you! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!

Yep! Way to go, Prez!!! That's a great accomplishment!

 

[DVCconvert]

JimMIA:

Sure it would. It's been tested many times and your side lost. Wrong again.

First of all, most balconies have at least two sides which are exterior walls of the unit...and by quick calculation, that's 50% by itself. And secondly, if you bother to read the statute, you see that "uncovered openings" count the same as fixed walls.

Stench is a great word. It's not inflammatory, just descriptive. Sorry if it offends you (not really )

Nice. I care about you're feeling too!
thankfully, I can get over the fact that once again it is you who are in fact WRONG....Railings, excluded. Most balconies have railings.


elijahpep:

I have read Florida's smoking law, enacted in July 2003, and never saw anything in it that says it is criminal to smoke on a balcony.

JimMIA:

I don't think you really missed anything

Hello!!!

JimMIA:

BTW...did you happen to catch the poll at the beginning of this thread, in which 71% of the people have voted in favor of making DVC completely smoke-free?

And by that I'm assuming you're pointing out that nearly 1/3 don't agree with your 'putrid' opinion??

 

[JimMIA]

JimMIA:
Nice. I care about you're feeling too!

Not to be overly picky, 'cause I know how sensitive you are...but that should be "your."

thankfully, I can get over the fact that once again it is you who are in fact WRONG....Railings, excluded. Most balconies have railings.

Yes...?

 

[JimMIA]

Nice. I care about you're feeling too!

Oh, and "feelings," not one feeling. Unless you only care about one of my feelings, which I think is unlikely.

 

[JimMIA]

And by that I'm assuming you're pointing out that nearly 1/3 don't agree with your 'putrid' opinion??

No, I was actually pointing out that more than 70% agree with my "putrid stench" of an opinion.

If you want to consider 29% some kind of moral victory, go right ahead...but don't run for political office.

 

[DVCconvert]

which I think is unlikely.

Which maybe another example of a faulty thought process.