Smokers back in X Boys

[gerefan2]

Well that No Smoking policy didn't last long did it?
Last night the Mamasan, her friends, and a falang. drinking a bottle, all smoking.
Also customers smoking in the audience.
Don't they realise how they make the place stink and how bad they smell themselves.
Why cant these people just take 5 steps outside for a few minutes?
Ah sorry, I forgot,.... there's no such thing as a considerate smoker.
Back on my Avoid list again.

[scottish-guy]

I have never smoked, yet I have never had any problem with others doing so in a bar - I believe it's called being tolerant - so this development at X Boys would not bother me personally

Of course, when one reads of the goings-on at Eros bar, it seems that on occasion, even non-smokers enjoy having a fag in public!

:))

[marti]

Ah sorry, I forgot,.... there's no such thing as a considerate smoker.
So true. so true.

I have never smoked, yet I have never had any problem with others doing so in a bar - I believe it's called being tolerant - so this development at X Boys would not bother me personally

Of course, when one reads of the goings-on at Eros bar, it seems that on occasion, even non-smokers enjoy having a fag in public!

:))Agree wholeheartedly.

[Smiles]

" ... I have never smoked, yet I have never had any problem with others doing so . . . in public! ... "
So let me get this straight. You've already admit to smelling like week-old urine, plus on a really bad day like feces, and now you are OK with your clothes reeking of nicotine ... and then, you sit down next to me on a plane, in economy, on a 12-hour flight to Thailand.
Nice.

[Patanawet]

I have never smoked, yet I have never had any problem with others doing so in a bar - I believe it's called being tolerant - so this development at X Boys would not bother me personally

I agree 100% with scottish guy.
It's no smoking laws that are contributing to 31 pubs per week in the U.K. to close. Why not just insist on overhead powerful suckers (extract fans) be installed?
And here in Thailand, alcohol is not allowed to be served in stores or restaurants between 2 and 5 and after midnight. The authorities here are now are allegedly enforcing this existing law. Makes a mockery of places like 'Wine Connection'.
I left U.K. many years ago to avoid the 'nanny state'
Like scottish guy, I am a lifelong non-smoker.
Let the flamers begin:

[fountainhall]

Not sure if I missed a thread, but was there ever a time when smoking wasn't allowed in the go-go bars? I realise it's against the law but it never seemed to stop anyone. I remember in the old Solid bar there were no less than 3 NO SMOKING signs. A good year or so before it closed, I noticed one guy entertaining about 5 of the boys and all were smoking. As that was a small bar and the smoke really was intrusive, I went over and asked politely if he'd seen the signs and if he'd consider not smoking. Very pleasantly he agreed. About 5 minutes later my companion warned me he was coming over to our table thinking perhaps he might be intent on making trouble. Far from it! He explained he was one of the co-owners and if he didn't allow smoking he'd have even fewer customers than normally entered that bar! Sadly even permitting smoking did not save it from extinction.

[Patanawet]

I remember in the old Solid bar there were no less than 3 NO SMOKING signs. A good year or so before it closed, I noticed one guy entertaining about 5 of the boys and all were smoking. As that was a small bar and the smoke really was intrusive, I went over and asked politely if he'd seen the signs and if he'd consider not smoking. Very pleasantly he agreed. Sadly even permitting smoking did not save it from extinction.
Yes he was indeed part owner.
Smoking or not was not a contributory factor in the closing of Solid. It was eventually taken over by Issan live music bar next door for expansion. That, sadly, has gone as well now.
The other part owner/ manager and everything else at Solid, Wirat, has his own outside beer bar at the end of Soi Twilight. Right hand side next to Scorpion. Some of the ex Solid boys still work for him.
Smoking permitted.

[francois]

Even in the best of non-smoking bars there are those inconsiderate smokers who stink up the place and pollute the air. Even in the outdoor bars/restaurants the smell of cig smoke is enough to spoil the taste of food and ruin a pleasurable experience.

[a447]

Gerefan, Marti, I disagree with the statement that all smokers are inconsiderate! I only smoke when on holidays and never back home. When I approach a gogo bar smoking, I'm often told "Can smoke inside. No problem." But I always finish my smoke outside before entering and explain that some customers don't like smokers inside the bar.

Some of us actually are considerate. There is no excuse for fouling the air in an enclosed environment.

Oh, and there's a bonus to smoking outdoors, too. You get to speak one on one with the gogo boys who also come out for a smoke. Much quieter and you can actually have a decent (or indecent) conversation with them.

[Surfcrest]

If second hand smoke has been proven to cause specific health concerns for the people exposed to it, it really becomes a question of human rights. The people working in the establishment are really the people at issue. Just as a factory worker has recourse when he / she is knowingly exposed to a carcinogen in the workplace, so too is someone working in a public environment...exposed to second hand smoke. Past lawsuits set the precedent.

This isn't about taste, or tolerance, but rather about the people working in the bars...including the boys.

Maybe I'm stepping out on a limb, but from my experiences...a lot of bar boys smoke. I can't recall one that didn't. If you take the smoke out of the bars, might that not change? I would hope so, for their future lives after they retire from the bars.

Smiles and I are Canadian. We took smoke out of public spaces long ago and as a result fewer Canadian smoke. Wouldn't that be the right direction for Thailand to go moving forward? Especially if the kingdom has some investment in health care and caring for the dying smokers?

I think it's important for everyone to know why No Smoking laws exist.

Surfcrest

[arsenal]

If smoking is allowed in a bar then I will, if not I'll go outside. However going outside (unless the bar know me well) brings with it the inevitable scurry of a staff member to tell the outside staff I haven't paid the bill and don't let me leave without doing so. I find this attitude rather annoying and as yet, have found no solution to.

[a447]

arsenal, I've only ever had that happen to me once and that was on my last visit to Bangkok back in December. It happened at the Golden Cock when a staff member came outside to check on me. At Dreamboyy/Bangkokboys I always settle my bill first as they have so many customers to keep an eye on.

In other bars I just make sure I leave my ciggie packet on the table in the bar to show I've gone outside for a quick puff. I basically stick to the same bars in Pattaya and the guys know me there so it's never been a problem.

[scottish-guy]

" ... You've already admit to smelling like week-old urine, plus on a really bad day like feces, and now you are OK with your clothes reeking of nicotine ... and then, you sit down next to me on a plane, in economy, on a 12-hour flight to Thailand.
Nice.

You asked for this one, Smiles:

I may smell of piss, shit, and nicotine, but I wouldn't sit next to you on a plane. I have standards.

j/k

:))

[catawampuscat]

There's a new thread on gaybuttonthai which is pro extremely loud music till 3am and pro smoking tobacco everywhere.
I'm sure the underagers are next and why not decriminalize murder, arson, rape. Nobody wants to be a party pooper
or a wet blanket. Make everyday songkran and get rid of laws forbidding children to smoke tobacco or drink alcohol.
The I wanna party and who gives a shit about anyone else crowd will never get it. Hopeless.
Gaybutton not one of the pro hearing shattering noise and indoor smoking supporters, it should be noted.

[arsenal]

There is another aspect to this that perhaps hasn't occured to most of you. It's a fair assumption to assume that everyone here is to a more or less degree a 'reasonable' person. That is that if smoking is not permitted you either won't smoke or will extinguish a cigarette if asked to do so and upon entering a bar will expect to buy a drink.
This is not the case with the Russians or the Chinese. (Don't boher screaming 'Racist', I've seen it with my own fucking eyes many times.)
I suspect that rather than go to all the hassle of getting these people not to smoke the bar owners have simply decided it's easier to allow it.

[scottish-guy]

Catty, the smoking issue has long been one of your "pet peeves" - but let's not get into hyperbole like equating smoking in a bar with arson, rape, murder*, paedophilia, etc - it really does your case no good.

On the noise pollution front - no offence, but by your age any noise damage that's going to happen to your hearing has already taken place - unless you suddenly plan to start going clubbing every night or taking up clay pigeon shooting without ear defenders.

:ymparty:

* I foresee one of our more reactionary members telling me that the effects of passive smoking equates to murder. What I would say in response is that I'm not convinced about the alleged effects of passive smoking. A friend put this question to me years ago and I'm still unable to answer:

" Millions (maybe billions) of smokers keep cats, dogs, or other pets and some are never let out of the house. So, you are talking about exposure to second hand cigarette fumes 24/7 with no opportunity to avoid them. Yet I've never heard of a cat or dog dying of lung cancer, have you?"

[bucknaway]

I don't smoke and cigarette smoke does not bother me to the point of ruining my time in an establishment. What bothers me more then the cigarette smoke in a bar is the polluted air in Bangkok and Pattaya but I don't let it ruin my holiday. I just blow my nose, shake my heat at the pollution my Mucus trapped and continue enjoying myself.

... it really becomes a question of human rights.I think this is THE standout entry for Chain Yanker of the Month Award. Human Rights? Thailand??? How we laughed in Kommentariatville.

[francois]

" Millions (maybe billions) of smokers keep cats, dogs, or other pets and some are never let out of the house. So, you are talking about exposure to second hand cigarette fumes 24/7 with no opportunity to avoid them. Yet I've never heard of a cat or dog dying of lung cancer, have you?"

A bit of on-line research shows that pets do suffer health effects from second hand smoke.

[Surfcrest]

... it really becomes a question of human rights.I think this is THE standout entry for Chain Yanker of the Month Award. Human Rights? Thailand??? How we laughed in Kommentariatville.
Not constitutional Human Rights Kommie. Human rights in terms of an individual's rights in a court of law.

Surfcrest

[Dodger]

a447 wrote:


Gerefan, Marti, I disagree with the statement that all smokers are inconsiderate! I only smoke when on holidays and never back home. When I approach a gogo bar smoking, I'm often told "Can smoke inside. No problem." But I always finish my smoke outside before entering and explain that some customers don't like smokers inside the bar.

Some of us actually are considerate. There is no excuse for fouling the air in an enclosed environment.

Oh, and there's a bonus to smoking outdoors, too. You get to speak one on one with the gogo boys who also come out for a smoke. Much quieter and you can actually have a decent (or indecent) conversation with them.

I really liked what you had to say and share a common view.

I smoke very little when back here in the States working but enjoy smoking (way too much) when hopping the bars when on holiday. I also avoid walking in a place with a lit cigarette (regardless if the manager says it's OK or not) until I see what's going on inside. If there are others smoking and noone seems bothered I will eventually light up. If noone is smoking inside I prefer taking a stroll outside in the same manner that you do to avoid having my smoke going into the face of a non-smoker.

Common curtesy between both the "smokers" and the "non-smokers" seems to work best.

[christianpfc]

...it the inevitable scurry of a staff member to tell the outside staff I haven't paid the bill and don't let me leave without doing so. I find this attitude rather annoying and as yet, have found no solution to.
I often wondered, never asked, now I know!

X Boys recently moved from the old place (left side of the Soi when coming from Second road), to new place (right side, previous X Boys land), the old place is available for rent.

I think the argument that customers stay away from non-smoking venues is invalid, rather the opposite is true: non-smokers stay away from venues that allow smoking. (Statistical data or a poll required to prove the veracity.) Look at airplanes: I have not heard about smokers not traveling by air because they can't smoke on airplanes (funnily, modern airplanes still have non-smoking signs, even though I think smoking on airplanes was abandoned decades ago.)

But I can understand that bar owners, and even more so staff, just don't want the hassle to enforce non-smoking.

I'm surprised that some non-smokers don't care about smoke. For me, it's as bothering as the smell of urine or bad breath. In bad cases (heavy smoking in a bar), my eyes start to tear.

... it really becomes a question of human rights.I think this is THE standout entry for Chain Yanker of the Month Award. Human Rights? Thailand??? How we laughed in Kommentariatville.Human rights in terms of an individual's rights in a court of law.That's exactly what I thought you meant. You actually believe that Thai courts generally or even sometimes enforce an individual's human rights? You're being serious?!! What a hoot.

[LoveThailand]

There's a new thread on gaybuttonthai which is pro extremely loud music till 3am and pro smoking tobacco everywhere.
I'm sure the underagers are next and why not decriminalize murder, arson, rape. Nobody wants to be a party pooper
or a wet blanket. Make everyday songkran and get rid of laws forbidding children to smoke tobacco or drink alcohol.
The I wanna party and who gives a shit about anyone else crowd will never get it. Hopeless.
Gaybutton not one of the pro hearing shattering noise and indoor smoking supporters, it should be noted.

Last I checked prostitution was also illegal in Thailand.

[catawampuscat]

So many clever minds. At least no one called anyone a Nazi.
It's amazing that Boyzboyzboyz and Toy Boys are so busy and there's no smoking
allowed. One might be lead to believe strict no smoking enforcement means no
customers. Amazing how many people stopped flying in airplanes when no smoking
Was enforced. Amazingly the airlines are so busy and so full when so many believe
no smoking enforcement is the death knell for businesses. Facts never bother some farangs.

[Gaybutton]

Last I checked prostitution was also illegal in Thailand.
When was the last you checked?

Living here as long as I have, I've come to realize that what legal and illegal means in Thailand is greatly different from what I always thought it meant. Yes, laws are certainly on the books about prostitution being illegal. However, in Thailand my experience tells me it's meaningless. As far as I can tell, the only things illegal on a practical basis in Thailand are what the police choose to enforce and the way they enforce it. Unless the prostitution involves under-age, enforcement is either ignored or treated as nothing more than a joke.

For example, news stories appear every couple of weeks or so about the police rounding up the lady-boy prostitutes on Pattaya Beach Road. They're taken to the police station, warned, and fined one or two hundred baht. Then they are released and they're all right back on Pattaya Beach Road. That's my idea of "joke enforcement."

There are even news stories about prostitutes going to the police to complain that somebody didn't pay. And the police go after the person who didn't pay.

Prostitution truly illegal in Thailand? Please give me several minutes to finish having my little laugh . . .

I've come to realize that what legal and illegal means in Thailand is greatly different from what I always thought it meant.You are confusing illegality with enforcement. When you were younger were homosexual practices illegal in your home country? Were the anti-sodomy laws enforced? Did the police selectively enforce those laws? Was every sodomite caught every time they had sex?

Just because the rule of law and the enforcement of laws is weak/selective/optional (choose one or more) in Thailand does not mean the underlying activity is somehow "not illegal". Friends with whom I sometimes drive here in the UK very often drive over the speed limit. They have never been caught. That does not make their activity any less illegal.

[Gaybutton]

That does not make their activity any less illegal.
Really? Why I had no idea.

I believe I said on a practical basis, along with pointing out that laws are on the books that make prostitution illegal, didn't I? But it's very nice anyway to be treated to a lecture on the difference between illegality and enforcement, just as if I needed one . . .

[Smiles]

"... At least no one called anyone a Nazi ... "
... yet. Give it a little more time there Himmler. The topic is only two pages long.
At about six pages, and usually during the heavy drinking hours, posters-left-standing will be calling everyone Brown Shirts. Or anti-semites.

[arsenal]

Brownshirts? Where?
Calling all smokers. We will light them in the bars, we will light them on the beaches, we will light them in the plaza and we will light them in the town. Sadly we can no longer light them in the skies.

[francois]

"... At least no one called anyone a Nazi ... "
... yet. Give it a little more time there Himmler. The topic is only two pages long.
At about six pages, and usually during the heavy drinking hours, posters-left-standing will be calling everyone Brown Shirts. Or anti-semites.


Well, ok, Adolph Hitler was an anti-smoker/crusader but his paramour, Eva, like to take a puff or two.

But it's very nice anyway to be treated to a lecture on the difference between illegality and enforcementYou very welcome.

[christianpfc]

His name is Adolf Hitler, no alternative writings.

Whereas "Alfons Maria Mucha, often known in English and French as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech Art Nouveau painter and decorative artist,..." (wikipedia)

Mother Teresa is another one often misspelled.

From Adolf Hitler to Mother Teresa in one post! What do Adolf Hitler and Mother Teresa have in common? They are often misspelled.

Good Things that Hitler Did: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NpU79frGRM

[francois]

His name is Adolf Hitler, no alternative writings.


Thank you for correction. There was one only Adolf Hitler! And only one Mother Teresa , but linking/comparing the two in one sentence is incongruous.

[Smiles]

His name is Adolf Hitler, no alternative writings.
Thank you for correction. There was one only Adolf Hitler! And only one Mother Teresa , but linking/comparing the two in one sentence is incongruous.
Incongruous? I don't even get what he means by the first sentence: "His name is Adolf Hitler, no alternative writings"(Uhh ???). What is that?

Interesting though. Catwampuscat got it right ... the talk has now 'Gone Nazi'. Forget nicotine :-o

[neddy3]

'No alternative spellings' was likely the intent.

[Maxx]

What's not to love ? :ymparty:

[christianpfc]

'No alternative spellings' was likely the intent.
Yes.

[egel]

What's not to love ?

From a well known saying...it would be like kissing an ashtray. What a waste.