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3760. Marc-Albert - 4/12/2006 1:29:08 PM Good luck with your anti-smoking ban, Alistair.
A total ban on smoking in all public places without exceptions will come into force in Quebec on May 31. I wonder how the smokers will take it, considering Quebec is called "Canada's smoking corner".
The City of Ottawa began enforcing such a ban in September 2001 (including a ban on what you call "sealed smoking compartment"). From the start, compliance was 95%.
But Montreal is not placid Ottawa, full of well-behaved civil servants.
3761. PelleNilsson - 4/12/2006 3:32:39 PM It apparently works quite well here. Beforehand there was a lot of grumbling among restaurant and pub owners who feared that their turnover would drop, but that hasn't happened. One consquence is that trottoir service has expanded both in size and in time. Many establishments have installed infrared or propane heaters and supply blankets for their patrons.
Whether it would work in France? Why not? It works in Italy (or so I'm told) and Italians are not famous for complying with rules and regulations.
Macnas may have something to add. 3762. Macnas - 4/12/2006 3:58:13 PM No problems here really, some bars are down a third in business terms, but other than that it's completly workable for smokers and non-smokers. 3763. alistairconnor - 4/12/2006 4:32:35 PM ... Supply blankets for their patrons... and snow shovels, perhaps? 3764. PelleNilsson - 4/12/2006 5:43:06 PM Well, almost. 3765. Marc-Albert - 4/12/2006 7:09:09 PM LOL. Monsieur de Villepin and the Health Minister have just announced that a decision regarding a total ban on smoking in public places would only come after "une large consultation" would take place in the comming months.
The "in" word in France these days: C O N S U L T A T I O N
"The more so that opponents to the smoking ban have already threatened to retaliate: We repeat our opposition to any ban imposed in an autoritarian fashion. Our society cannot function under endless bans: bans on salt, ban on fat food, ban on tobacco...., said André Daguin, président de l'Union des métiers et des industries de l'hôtellerie (UMIH). The buralistes (those who sell tobacco in France)are also ready to mobilise if their establishments are not excluded....
D'autant que les opposants à l'interdiction menacent déjà de représailles : "Nous réitérons notre opposition à toute interdiction autoritaire. Une société ne peut pas marcher à coups d'interdictions successives sur le sel, sur le gras, sur le tabac...", a lâché André Daguin, président de l'Union des métiers et des industries de l'hôtellerie (UMIH). Les buralistes sont prêts également à se mobiliser si leurs établissements n'obtiennent pas une dérogation, et à "signer une pétition nationale", "pour démontrer qu'il y en a un peu marre qu'on nous prive de nos libertés", expliquent-ils.
L'UMIH propose que des fumoirs soient réservés aux fumeurs. "Une interdiction de fumer dans les cafés, hôtels, restaurants, discothèques, n'est certainement pas le meilleur moyen d'atteindre les objectifs de santé publique."
3766. arkymalarky - 4/13/2006 4:34:09 AM Hey, if we Arkies (pdf) can do it, anybody can. 3767. arkymalarky - 4/13/2006 4:36:31 AM And (pdf again) vehicles if children six and under are in them. 3768. arkymalarky - 4/13/2006 4:37:00 AM Under six, that is--subject to legal restraint in a child safety seat. 3769. SnowOwl - 4/13/2006 9:15:25 AM Here, we now have to walk through clouds of smoke to get into restaurants and bars, as all the smokers congregate outside the doors.
Of course, it doesn't worry me in the least, since I'm a smoker myself, but I imagine it must be very unpleasant for any non-smoker. 3770. Adam Selene - 4/13/2006 3:21:36 PM I remember when my wife's hospital first launched their no-smoking rule... maybe 12 years ago. It was so funny to drive by and see all the doctor's and nurses hanging out around the front entrance smoking... 3771. Macnas - 4/13/2006 3:28:37 PM Jaysus yes, I remember smoking in hospital, but then, you could smoke everywhere back then. 3772. Adam Selene - 4/13/2006 7:30:28 PM Honda May Cut Hybrid Production
By DEE-ANN DURBIN, AP Auto Writer (on comcast.net)
56 minutes ago
NEW YORK - Honda Motor Co. may cut production of the Honda Accord hybrid because sales have been so slow, Honda Executive Vice President Dick Colliver said Thursday at the New York Auto Show.
Colliver was the second executive in as many days to question the direction of hybrid sales during media previews for the show, which opens to the public Friday. Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said Wednesday that hybrid sales appear to be slowing down, something he has warned could happen as consumers decide whether hybrids are worth their additional cost.
Colliver wouldn't give exact sales for the Accord hybrid, which went on sale in December 2004, but said they make up a tiny percentage of Honda's overall sales. Overall Accord sales were down 4 percent last year, according to Autodata Corp.
"We've had to reevaluate our position," Colliver said. "It's having a hard time in the market."
Colliver said a decision on the Accord will be made sometime this year.
Not all hybrids are suffering. The Honda Insight hybrid saw sales jump 15 percent last year, and Colliver said sales of the Honda Civic hybrid remain strong. The company expects to sell 25,000 hybrid Civics this year, or 8 percent of its total Civic volume.
Colliver said the problem with the Accord is that the hybrid system is paired with a V6 engine, compared to the smaller 4-cylinder engine in the Civic, and consumers aren't convinced it will offer them any fuel savings.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus luxury division is betting that consumers eventually will adopt so-called performance hybrids like the Accord, which give vehicles a bigger engine with better fuel economy and lower emissions.
The 2008 Lexus LS 600h, introduced at the New York show, is the first luxury vehicle to pair a powerful V-8 engine with a hybrid system. The combination gives the 600h the power of a 12-cylinder engine with the fuel efficiency of a smaller vehicle. Lexus said the sedan will have fuel economy ratings equal to or better than some mid-sized luxury sedans.
But Colliver said he's not convinced consumers will embrace performance hybrids.
"We're still looking at where's the best package for hybrids," Colliver said. "We're going to have to watch the market."
Jack Nerad, editorial director of Kelley Blue Book, an auto information service, said he also expects consumers will be slow to adopt performance hybrids because they think of hybrids only as fuel savers.
"The general public doesn't grasp there is such a thing as a performance hybrid," Nerad said.
Hybrids made up 1.5 percent of new-car sales last year, up slightly from the year before, even though there were new models on the market, according to J.D. Power and Associates. 3773. Jenerator - 4/13/2006 10:51:00 PM Alistair,
The coffee is fresher (and it's not Nescafe) and the capsules are cool. I am making everyone their Christmas presents out of them. Pretty cool, huh? 3774. anomie - 4/15/2006 11:53:14 AM "The 2008 Lexus LS 600h, introduced at the New York show, is the first luxury vehicle to pair a powerful V-8 engine with a hybrid system"
Technology gone wrong is what this is. Using hybrids to maintain excessive HP for needlessly large vehicles is silly.
3775. anomie - 4/15/2006 11:58:53 AM I drove a 1.6 liter Toyota Corolla for 10 years and it did just fine w/o a hybrid boost. Many cars in the UK have only 1 liter engines. I think we drive around with way too much unused power in our cars. I share the blame with my current car, so I'm not pointing fingers. But I think we can work to change some of expectations about what we need a car to do. 3776. wonkers2 - 4/15/2006 2:59:34 PM The car companies have wasted most of the improved engine technology they have developed on heavier, higher horsepower vehicles rather than improved fuel economy. SUV's now accelerate as fast as the sporty cars of the 1970s. Increasing U.S. gasoline taxes gradually to bring at-the-pump prices up to the level in Europe would be the best way to reverse this trend. Diesel engines are a better solution than hybrids in my opinion. In the long run hydrogen fuel cells appear to be the most promising solution although driving around with a tank of hydrogen might make some people nervous. 3777. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 4/15/2006 3:00:11 PM Scrotum Scrub (WMV)
3778. robertjayb - 4/21/2006 9:48:31 PM 
(via bartcop)
3779. Jenerator - 4/27/2006 9:58:53 PM I remember a flight to London when I was seated next to a woman who was a professed chainsmoker and "PROUD OF IT!"
She kept trying to engage me in discussion the entire way there, which was fine because she was smart and funny. But then she asked me if I smoked and I said no. It went downhill from there.
According to her, smokers created their own sub-culture. The bandits, the rebels, the intellectual mafia, the true workers, yes - the HEROS all met outside periodically during the day to smoke their camels and bitch about things.
They were part of an elite club that us non smokers just didn't understand.
This woman gave me a long, hard look and said something to the effect of, "I just don't trust non-smokers. They don't get it."
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