factbat.com

While it is true that Starbucks, as a purveyor of people’s daily “fix”, is not known for its healthy food or drinks. However, amid the creamy whipped toppings, sugary snacks, cheese smothered and microwaved animal flesh, and cholesterol rocketing espressos there is a more immediate danger; the people who flock to their stores because they can smoke in crowds in close proximity to other patrons without so much as a sign to deter this illegal activity.

Starbucks locations in the South San Francisco area regularly cater to cigarette smokers by allowing them to flout the California Indoor Clean Air Act (CICAA) which prohibits smoking within 20 feet of a window or doorway.

Day and night these locations are shrouded by huge billows of acrid vocal flatulence in the form of toxic cigarette smoke exhaled from people who care more about their offensive habit than they do about the Constitution of the United States of America which demands that they respect the health and welfare of those around them.

The prevalence of smokers ignoring the law and the rights other patrons at these location is a direct effect of Starbucks’ refusal to discourage the behavior. They will neither place “no smoking” signs in the 20 foot proximity nor request that smokers move further from the business when smoking, and thus all of the outdoor tables cannot be used by nonsmokers.

Even a few seconds in the outdoor vicinity of these stores is enough to cause a nonsmoker to run for cover, choking. It really is that bad.

In an email from Starbucks Customer Relations -- responding to a complaint -- they state that “Starbucks strives to provide a great environment for our partners (employees) and customers…” -- which would be a hard sell to sexually abused teenage girls now suing Starbucks -- “…as well as contribute positively to the communities in which we do business. We are committed to ensuring that our stores comply with all applicable local and state laws.” However, this seems to be in word only, since none of the stores in South San Francisco do anything to actually comply.

The email goes on to say “please know that Starbucks partners do their best to politely and professionally manage and inform any customer who may be violating any law or statute pertaining to smoking restrictions,” then claiming they would share this concern with the management team that oversees this location for their awareness.

Be certain, anybody who works at the aforementioned location -- and any other -- is fully aware of the fact that their patrons in no way comply with the CICAA (California government code sections 7596 - 7598).

Furthermore, the employees themselves smoke in this same area in complete violation of the law.

So one must ask, why does Starbucks allow so many local patrons -- who are mainly college age regulars who frequent the establishment in suffocatingly carcinogenic droves -- to abuse the rights of others? The nonsmokers certainly are not infringing in any way on the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of these poisonous predators of pragmatic self pacification by patronizing the business.

Why must healthy, responsible and respectable citizens be forced to suffer this deluge of poison? Certainly the misfits who insist on sucking on flaming death do not pay any more for their double caramel vanilla frappachino than the conscientious environmentalists do their Tazo green tea…or do they ?

Starbucks certainly would not be the first business to circumvent the law or discourage health conscious patrons in order to appeal to a more depraved and generous clientele. Strip clubs and whore houses (excuse me, brothels) are the first that come to mind, but there are many. How rare is it to find a restaurant that will serve brown rice or fresh raw greens? Cheese smothered, charred dead animal flesh is most common. But I digress.

The truth is that cigarette smoking in any public place is unconstitutional and puts people at risk for health complications in varying degrees. Freedom is afforded everyone in this country equally and nobody has the right to infringe on another’s ability to live a healthy and happy life.

Smoking is a choice, and an extremely poor one at that, and the supreme law of this land states clearly that choices such as this are not allowed in public places.

The fact that some people do not want to be free, and thus treat their body like a cesspool refusing to accept the responsibility all citizens of a free country are born with, gives them no right to expect that others join in their complacency. It only proves that they would rather live under a dictatorial rule where they are not accountable for their own actions.

Cigarette smokers appear to be the type of people who would rather somebody coddle and control them so that they can spend the majority of their time on simpleton activities and self destructive instant gratification.

It is a shame that Starbucks, which enjoys a generous portion of the fruits of a capitalist free-market society, see’s fit to encourage Americans to continue ignoring the world around them in such a way that this freedom, so critical to their bottom line, is quickly eroding.