Tuesday, November 17 2009
Press-Telegram, Long Beach, CA
With a recession and record unemployment in full swing, with furloughs of city employees and the negative effect on their family budgets hanging over the heads; with revenue shortfalls threatening even more cuts; with all these and more, it's no wonder some residents hanker for
a good cigar or a toke on a tobacco hookah.
The concern is smoking lounges where people can, well, smoke to their heart's detriment. The City Council today will try to clear the air over smoking lounges, which are legal in the city. They will look at sensible regulations for the 12 smoking and hookah lounges that already dot the landscape, along with the 27 tobacco paraphernalia shops the business-friendliest city has attracted (perhaps not the kind of businesses the city would prefer, either). Smoking paraphernalia shops can be frequented by users of medical marijuana dispensaries, since paraphernalia such as cigarette paper and hookahs can't be sold at dispensaries.
Letting smokers smoke continues at presstelegram.com...
