Smoking outside the entrance

[James The Dog]

I know I'm still at the con but I feel like I have to comment on this now because the situation tonight realy was bad. Large crowds of people smoking outside the entrance, the revolving doors wide open, the lobby really did fill with the smell of smoke and it wasn't pleasant. I was fursiting in the lobby and the smoke got right inside my suit head as soon as I walked in and it wasn't pleasant, and even sitting in the bar out of suit I could smell it in the air.

As it had already been tweeted this morning asking people not to smoke there (as well as one about not using e-cigs inside which seems to have been similarly ignored), but to use the areas outside the NEC & Health Club entrances, it made me feel even more annoyed that it's being ignored. Surely it's not unreasonable to ask people to smoke there, and not too hard for the smokers to oblige? It's not as if they'e being told not to smoke, just to do it where it's not going to affect people.

There are the things for stubbing out cigarettes at the far edges outside the entrance, and I imagine under normal circumstances at the hotel there's only a couple of people smoking there and it's not really an issue, but during this con there's been large crowds of people there, and big clouds of smoke hanging over hat you've had to walk through and has been getting sucked into the lobby when the door's open. Maybe removing the ashrays there during the con would help discourage people smoking there. But then people have been smoking in front of the "don't smoke in front of the entrance" sign anyway regardless.

Sorry that I'm posting this, and I have already tweeted about it to the CF twitter accounts, it's just that I'm really sensitive to smoke, people have been asked not to smoke there, it was particularly bad tonight and it really made my fursuiting unpleasant due to the smoke gathering in my head. I just need to get it off my chest... and hope that it won't be like it tomorrow night.

[Dhary Montecore]

Hello James and thank you for your feedback.

As a non-smoker I can understand your frustration very well, especially as there aren't that many smokers at the convention. This year we enforced the rules stricter than last year but it seems to be a fruitless effort. As I do not want to believe that some smokers blatantly ignore the rules I assume that they are just not formulated clear enough. E.g. what is meant with "left and right of the entrance". We tried telling people to smoke outside of the roof above the entrance and checked regularly. But when we came back 10 minutes later people were smoking right next to the entrance again.

I agree with you that this is a problem that seems to come with large events in the hotel. Yes, of course we could enforce these rules stricter, but I would rather find a compromise we can all live with. I respect the smoker's right to smoke but there is actually law stating that is is prohibited to smoke close to the entrance to a public building. And yes, we could keep the door closed, but then the lobby would become unbearable warm and fursuiters need to be able to walk outside without running through a cloud of smoke.

You see this is a rather complex problem, but I can assure you that we hear this feedback a lot again this year and we will look into a solution for next year, be it to allow smoking only at the back entrance, strict enforcement of the rules, setting up a small marquee for smokers away from the entrance, etc.

What I would really welcome would be the constructive input from smokers and non-smokers: What are your ideas to solve this issue? What would be a compromise you all could live with?

[Ginge]

How about a huge room filled with everything a smoker needs to relax away from all other guests? or the library, kings suite or the monarch area? but no you cannot smoke inside, but you can suit ANYWHERE in the hotel.

Can people stop moaning about the one place that we can smoke compared to the entire hotel area we can't

We have tested the marquee idea in the form of an open gazebo which failed miserably last year due to the weather and was not sufficient enough to cover all the smokers at any one time and keep them warm (which the two sides of the entrances does a bit better)

I understand people don't like the smell of smoke, but we don't force you into that area, you are free to move about the entire hotel area as you wish, but we cant do this.

my two ideas on this
1) stop moaning and move yourself to another part of the con space/hotel area
2) actually get a marquee like they was building on the last day of the con (not that big) but enough to cover two parking spaces with chairs in there for us to sit down with sides on as well to stop the wind/rain getting to us.

Just remember the con has an area for suiters, drinkers, dancers, gamer's ect but no one will take into account the smokers im sure if you put a poll out about who smokes during the con you will find there will be a large number of people who do.

By the way, this is MY view/opinion as a smoker

[tinka]

Yes we are moaning about the 'one place' because after all it is the main entrance to the hotel where everyone meets, gathers, want to take photos etc. So the 'one place' where smokers can smoke should be somewhere else - anywhere else that isn't so central and important to the rest of the attendees.

Now you are absolutely right that nothing will change by just moaning and enforcement isn't the solution - after all we should all have fun - even the fursecuted smokers >;3 Your suggestion about the marquees outside on the parking lot with perhaps a set of deck chairs and a table would easily attract the smokers to socialise comfortably together and doesn't require great expense or organization. In fact if we non-smokers moan enough you smokers might actually get your comfort zone for next year ^^' 

[James The Dog]

Besides it wasn't the "one place". As they said they asked people to smoke using the shelter outside the healthclub entrance, and the bit outside the NEC entrance, both of which were undercover, and both out of the way enough to not bother people (the problem with people smoking where they were is it floated into and filled up the lobby- which wouldn't have happened in either of the other places). Surely it's not unreasaonable, or any effort, for people to go and stand there?

Maybe people like me should be more tolerant towards smokers, but then smokers also need to be more understanding of exactly how unpleasant their habit is to people who don't partake in it.

And one of the reasons the issue affects me so badly at Confuzzled is because while I was at Confuzzled 2012 my aunt, a heavy smoker, was taken into hospital and never came out. I had to drive straight from the con to the hospital to see her dying with all sort of tubes sticking out of her struggling to breathe. So it's something ALWAYS on my mind when I'm at CF, and as a result it's an issue I'm always more sensitive about than usual.

[Matt the Lion]

Hello,

I'd just like to let you all know that we are looking into what solutions we can put in place to provide a comfortable area for those who wish to smoke outside which is a short distance away from the entrance, yet provides sufficient cover and shelter.  I can't say at the moment what form this might take, but we want to find something which is amicable to everyone.

Please try and keep the comments constructive, it is much more useful for us to hear your suggestions on what we can do to improve the situation for everyone. We would like to find a solution which ideally doesn't significantly disadvantage either the smokers or non-smokers.

As an aside, on the subject of marquees, if the structure has more than 50% of the sides enclosed, that is still covered by the smoking regulations, so it's actually not possible to provide a full marquee, but we can certainly look into something which has walls on two sides.