Smoking in a Public Bus Shelter Against Law?
Teachers Slammed for Smoking in a Pulbic Bus Shelter
Six teachers use a bus shelter outside their school as smoking shelter regularly, but they have never been aware of the angry of local residences who use the bus.
One man made a series of complaints to the city councils. In the complaints, the man found smoking in a bus shelter is "diabolical" and quit "offensive", he doesn't want to "catch cancer" in this "massive smog of smoke", and it's him not the teacher who use the bus.
Among all these strong evidence he gave out in the complaints, he wrote: "They are in their 30s and 40s, they should know better." Look at this carefully, and think about it, I suspect that this one is the main and true reason why this man made a complaints, his motive of complaints might be just want to slam the TEACHER, because they are teacher they should know better.
Is a Bus Shelter an Enclosed Public Place?
This man told a local newspaper reporter that he will fight his case. I don't know if he will win. The smoking laws introduced in July 2007 deemed all enclosed public spaces, and work places a smoke free zone. But what is a public spaces and most importantly what is ENCLOSED? The city council said that determining what is an enclosed public space is "fairly gray area". So how can we say a structure is ENCLOSED? A structure which has the front, sides and back covered up can be called enclosed? Then how many sides, one side, two sides, three sides or four?
Sometimes if it's windy, I will hide in a telephone booth, and pretend to make a phone call, then light a cigarette. I found smoking in an enclosed area much better than in a windy passage or on the road, because wind will not blow away most of the smoke and you may inhale much more smoke, that means less nicotine are "wasted". But did I breach the smoking law?
Certainly a telephone booth is an ENCLOSED public area, because a phone booth has three sides covered up with a door on the fourth side. But how about a bus shelter which has only one side?
I have come across a bus shelter which has only two sides covered up but with a smoke free sign on its wall, says: It's against laws smoking in this bus shelter. Just because of this sign, I had to smoke in the rain outside the bus shelter when I was waiting for the bus.
I really want to know if this man will win his case.
