smoking policy

[BURTONxBLUNT]

so last friday i was sitting down from eating and this guy had an electronic cigarette and the security guard saw that and told them they couldnt smoke outside designated areas and kicked him and his friends out....
what is your opinion to this....do you think they should have been warned knowing it was electronic and wasn't a real one or do you think the security guard did the right thing? i think it was wrong knowing it wasn't even a real one and didnt't effect people around him!

[coasterkidd100]

Did the person tell the guard that it was an electric cigarette?

[Johnny.Ink]

A security guard that is following the rules, I doubt would care that it is an electronic cigarette. It's now a different thing, and the rules would have to be adjusted for that, but I think they will make those cigarettes subject to the same rules.

If they didn't then guards would have to be checking to see if it's a real cigarette or an electronic one.

A reasonable guard would have talked to the person, and possibly warned them. But, as long as they didn't get a banning - I find it a little extreme to kick out the whole party for one person.

[BURTONxBLUNT]

A security guard that is following the rules, I doubt would care that it is an electronic cigarette. It's now a different thing, and the rules would have to be adjusted for that, but I think they will make those cigarettes subject to the same rules.

If they didn't then guards would have to be checking to see if it's a real cigarette or an electronic one.

A reasonable guard would have talked to the person, and possibly warned them. But, as long as they didn't get a banning - I find it a little extreme to kick out the whole party for one person.

i dont understand the fact that when the park first opened these for guys were smoking electronic ones to and a security guard warned them that you can't smoke them outside designated areas but than another person had one and she talked to them about it not being aloud and said that you guys need to leave the park and she escorted them out so i find it plane ridicouless that one guy doing it got his whole party kicked out but 4 guys doing it got warned. it doesnt make any sense. (no it was not the same people)

[FParker185]

You can legally smoke E-ciggerettes indoors in IL. There are no state or federal laws pertaining to their use since there is no smoke, it's water vapor, and actually the only reason you can't smoke one on an airplane is for the same reason you can't use a cell phone on an airplane. I think security was completely in the wrong here, unless of course company policy prohibits them as well, though I think this guy and his group will have an easy time at least getting a refund along with some compensation from the park if there is no company policy against E-Ciggerettes.

[Coaster Justin]

You can legally smoke E-ciggerettes indoors in IL. There are no state or federal laws pertaining to their use since there is no smoke, it's water vapor, and actually the only reason you can't smoke one on an airplane is for the same reason you can't use a cell phone on an airplane. I think security was completely in the wrong here, unless of course company policy prohibits them as well, though I think this guy and his group will have an easy time at least getting a refund along with some compensation from the park if there is no company policy against E-Ciggerettes.

Really? I thought the reason you couldn't smoke on a plane was either fire alarms would go off, or there is no way to remove the smoke from the plane.

[FParker185]

The air is changed inside a modern plane about every 3 mins on average, even real smoke would clear out quickly, but there is no smoke, it's a harmless water vapor that users exhale from an e-cig.

I remember back before the newer FAA rules and smoking was allowed on planes, was on a flight to Italy in 97 and about half the plane was heavy smokers and it really didn't get all that bad inside the plane unless someone was smoking like right on top of you.

[w00dland]

You know what the security guard could have done? Asked him to stop.

[scott2608]

WOW that is just wrong and they will let line jumpers stay as long as they want.

[Johnny.Ink]

You know what the security guard could have done? Asked him to stop.

And we have a winna. Common sense, give the person a warning, have a conversation, and then escalate if needed.

Hey, it sounds like you have been trained in dealing with people Woodland

[Ace]

Giving warnings and zero tolerance for smoking dont jive. I think if this guy adequately explained his situation he should have been allowed to stay and is entitled to a refund. However, he probably shouldn't have even put himself in this situation.

[Goku1910]

Giving warnings and zero tolerance for smoking dont jive. I think if this guy adequately explained his situation he should have been allowed to stay and is entitled to a refund. However, he probably shouldn't have even put himself in this situation.

Agreed, it is zero tolerance like the line jumpers.

Oh I love it when I see Line Jumpers getting caught.

[cab0218]

This is what happens when people let power get to their head.

[Ace]

I really dont think its power going to the season security persons head. Their training says zero tolerances they saw the situation and took care of it according to their SOP. They should have re-evaluated the situation as they were made aware of it however. Who knows, Great America may have a ban on these as well. It does effect your perception of the park if people are smoking throughout the park even if it is electric.

This was an ill defined gray area. But I cant fault the initial reaction of the security staff to eject the offending guest.

[CoasterZ]

Six Flags Smoking policy from website.

SMOKING

Six Flags allows smoking only in areas identified as designated smoking areas. All other areas in the parks are smoke-free, and smoking is strictly prohibited. Guests smoking outside of the designated areas will be ejected from the park without refund.

they need to define smoking now that there is use of electronic cigs. E-Smokes do not hurt anyone so i am not sure what the deal is. If it is the Perception they do not want that is fine but i do not belive they should of been removed from the park. if i was the people involved i would contact customer service and demand a refund since they have no policy on them.

Six Flags coyuld set a exapmple and ALLOW e-smokes and try to work on those who smoke to be smoke free. that is a good first step for some people. Who knows ought to be interesting to see if something happens.

[UWW-10]

So, according to the policy....security did what they needed to do. Smoking is smoking....whether or not it's an electronic cigarette. They weren't in a designated smoking area, got caught and were ejected without refund. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Should the security guard have kicked the entire group out, probably not....but who knows the real story. Odds are that if one in the group was kicked out and they arrived together...perhaps the others just decided to leave as what would the point be in staying.

Zero Tolerance does work.....until society creates these barbaric loopholes because heaven forbid someone was inconvenienced. Great America says No Smoking period except in the designated areas.....why should they re-write a policy to say "but if you choose option B, C, or D...then you're fine...but option A is a no go"

I teach and up until a few years ago it was No Cell Phones, iPods/Electronic Devices in classrooms or during the school day....leave them in your locker and they can be used before the bell to signal the start of the day and after the bell rang at the end of the day. Parents/Guardians could contact the main office should an emergency arise. And it was zero tolerance. Now we adopted a "Bring your Own Device (BYOD)" philosophy that says "No Phones...BUT we should allow them to use the internet or apps to do school work, BUT absolutely no texting, facebook, twitter, MySpace, ect. So they signed a "technology agreement" that stated they wouldn't do these things until parents came with these nonsense stories as to why students needed those social media outlets and you couldn't "deny" them that use.

So now...it became "No Social Media/Texting Unless.....(and it listed criteria where it would be allowed). Kids aren't stupid and can easily float their way around a policy that was totally "Black and White" that is now grey-area material.

Bottom Line: You either have a rule or you don't....you can't have a rule with that grey matter.

[aesthyrian]

Smoking is smoking, yes. But how is a e-cigarette smoking? It does not produce any smoke.

I am not a smoker, and hate second hand smoke, but an e-cigarette does not have any secondhand effects. I think the park should promote the use of such devices, I would rather that then they make those who choose to not smoke their tobacco suffer in those smoke zones with people who are actually smoking. The park should just completely ban smoking in my opinion, but how they have treated e-cigarettes in this case is ridiculous.

[Goku1910]

It's because it gives an impression. If one person sees another "smoking" then they will think it's OK too....Whether the smoke is fake or not.

[aesthyrian]

So the policy is not in place to protect the health of their patrons but rather to protect the image of their park? That's nice..

They sell booze and let people smoke in open area's next to bathrooms. An E-Cig is not the problem here.

[Goku1910]

^I did not say that. It could be a health reason....like restaurants for example, they divide smoking with non-smoking right? Same thing here. I simply said that when a smoker sees someone outside the smoking area they will think it's ok for them to do it too. It doesn't matter whether it's an e-cigarette or not.

[Coaster Justin]

In my perfect world, The only spot to smoke in the park would be in the overflow parking lot.

[Goku1910]

^Last year it smelled like weed....but they're are so many skunks living around that area it's hard to tell.

[aesthyrian]

^Isn't that the whole reason they let you go back to your cars?

That brings up a good point, if Cigarette smokers don't like their smokes enough to go to their car to smoke like the many potheads that visit six flags do, well then I guess they don't like smoking enough. I never mind going back to the car, it's a nice break from the not so enjoyable parts of Great America(like anything besides actually riding a coaster)

[FParker185]

Majority Rules/Minority Rights seems to be an extraordinarily difficult concept for some.

[CoasterZ]

So, according to the policy....security did what they needed to do. Smoking is smoking....whether or not it's an electronic cigarette. They weren't in a designated smoking area, got caught and were ejected without refund. Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Should the security guard have kicked the entire group out, probably not....but who knows the real story. Odds are that if one in the group was kicked out and they arrived together...perhaps the others just decided to leave as what would the point be in staying.

Zero Tolerance does work.....until society creates these barbaric loopholes because heaven forbid someone was inconvenienced. Great America says No Smoking period except in the designated areas.....why should they re-write a policy to say "but if you choose option B, C, or D...then you're fine...but option A is a no go"

I teach and up until a few years ago it was No Cell Phones, iPods/Electronic Devices in classrooms or during the school day....leave them in your locker and they can be used before the bell to signal the start of the day and after the bell rang at the end of the day. Parents/Guardians could contact the main office should an emergency arise. And it was zero tolerance. Now we adopted a "Bring your Own Device (BYOD)" philosophy that says "No Phones...BUT we should allow them to use the internet or apps to do school work, BUT absolutely no texting, facebook, twitter, MySpace, ect. So they signed a "technology agreement" that stated they wouldn't do these things until parents came with these nonsense stories as to why students needed those social media outlets and you couldn't "deny" them that use.

So now...it became "No Social Media/Texting Unless.....(and it listed criteria where it would be allowed). Kids aren't stupid and can easily float their way around a policy that was totally "Black and White" that is now grey-area material.

Bottom Line: You either have a rule or you don't....you can't have a rule with that grey matter.

understand your point but he wasnt "smoking" he was sucking water vapor. They need to revise there smoking policy to include e smokes if they do not want them.