Family Friendly Countries.

[RoJoHen]

Question them is that because there is a State or Federal law banning smoking, or because the school/college/university/bar etc... have implemented their own ban?

It varies from state to state, and within states it varies from city to city. Here in Virginia restaurants and bars can technically still allow smoking, but the law says there has to be a non smoking section completely separated from the smoking section and with a separate ventilation system. Very few places meet that requirement.

I remember up until I was in third grade, teachers could smoke in the corridors. Then the local law changed and they could only smoke in the teacher's lounge. Years later in high school, they were banished to the parking lot. Now, as I understand it, they have to leave school grounds altogether to smoke. These were all city ordinances that came a year or two before similar state laws.

So it's not like in the UK where smoking is banned in all enclosed public spaces.

Some states yes, some states no. There is no national law, only local ones.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I'm curious about the charting on "Is smoking banned in schools?" For America it says no law, but that's obviously not true. I mean, most places you can't even smoke in bars, and you certainly can't in schools.

I felt like a lot of the questions provided misleading results for the US, since our laws on these issues tend to be state-focused rather than federal. I would say that at least half of the answers given for the US do not match what is law where I live. The US just isn't that homogenous and so the results in this study are not really conveying the true situation.

 

[tomalak301]

I'm curious about the charting on "Is smoking banned in schools?" For America it says no law, but that's obviously not true. I mean, most places you can't even smoke in bars, and you certainly can't in schools.

I felt like a lot of the questions provided misleading results for the US, since our laws on these issues tend to be state-focused rather than federal. I would say that at least half of the answers given for the US do not match what is law where I live. The US just isn't that homogenous and so the results in this study are not really conveying the true situation.

I was about to post something similar. I got to the smoking question and when it said no law in the US, I was surprised. I think a lot of what these maps don't consider is the various provinces and states/cities have their own laws (And in the US, that's specified in the 9th and 10th amendments). Smoking may not be banned on a national level, but I've never seen schools allow smoking. Also, being in California, it's a state law that in bars/restaurants or just general public gathering areas, you can't smoke in those buildings. That's not the case in Nevada.

 

[MacLeod]

But isn't it just giving an overview, the map is showing countries as a whole. So whilst it might vary from state to state in the US, as a whole the US has no law in place to say ban smoking in certain places.

 

[tomalak301]

But isn't it just giving an overview, the map is showing countries as a whole. So whilst it might vary from state to state in the US, as a whole the US has no law in place to say ban smoking in certain places.

But this thread is about Family Friendly countries and the data that those maps provide are inconclusive at best.

 

[MacLeod]

Inconclusive for all countries or just the US?

 

[tomalak301]

Inconclusive for all countries or just the US?

I'm assuming all countries, but I don't know various countries' laws like I do for the US.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Yeah, I'd say pretty inconclusive, at least in terms of Canada. I think for this to be effective, they need to have a second map that shows by province/state. Sometimes there isn't anything on a national level because it's left to provinces/states. A good example is gun laws, where one state might be strict while another lax, but with nothing yet on a national level. Focusing on a national level gives an incomplete picture and ends up generalizing things too much and skews the results.

 

[MacLeod]

But do most of the countries regulate these ata national level or a regional level. I suspect it would be the former. So it might not be 100% accurate but that doesn't mean it's inacurate overall.

 

[RoJoHen]

I think, and I've thought this before, that a lot of the world doesn't really have a good grasp on just how large the US is. We have 50 fairly independent states, many of which are larger than a lot of other countries. So many of the laws in this country vary from state to state because simply have no federal regulation for them.

 

[iguana_tonante]

I think, and I've thought this before, that a lot of the world doesn't really have a good grasp on just how large the US is.

I think, and I've thought this before, that a lot of the US doesn't really have a good grasp on just how large the world is.

 

[MacLeod]

^Touché

 

[RoJoHen]

I think, and I've thought this before, that a lot of the world doesn't really have a good grasp on just how large the US is.

I think, and I've thought this before, that a lot of the US doesn't really have a good grasp on just how large the world is.

I grasp that, too. I just think some people view the US as one big country where everything is the same. People unfamiliar with the states may not realize just how different things can be from one state to another, even though they're technically in the same country.

This is something I've mostly observed from posters on this board. I never claim to be an expert on the world. I live in the US, and I haven't even been to half of the states.

 

[MacLeod]

But is that down to how topics are taught? The higher the level the more detailed knowledge you get. So at say High School level you might get general knowledge with more detailed information about country/area in which you live.

But don't we learn by exchanging information and ideas?

 

[Owain Taggart]

But do most of the countries regulate these ata national level or a regional level. I suspect it would be the former. So it might not be 100% accurate but that doesn't mean it's inacurate overall.

See, that's the thing. I think it's mixed. Focusing on the national level is too narrow a view. You have to be able to see both the national and federal level in order to formulate a more complete picture. There are just too many variables otherwise.

 

[RoJoHen]

But do most of the countries regulate these ata national level or a regional level. I suspect it would be the former. So it might not be 100% accurate but that doesn't mean it's inacurate overall.

See, that's the thing. I think it's mixed. Focusing on the national level is too narrow a view. You have to be able to see both the national and federal level in order to formulate a more complete picture. There are just too many variables otherwise.

Agreed. It simply depends on the laws being discussed here. In the US, for example, the federal laws are merely a baseline, but states are free to make said laws more strict if they choose.

The legal purchasing age of alcohol in the US is 21, but there are certain "dry" counties throughout the country where alcohol is completely prohibited, regardless of your age.

Or things like minimum wage. The national minimum wage in the US is $7.25/hour. In Illinois, where I live, minimum wage is currently $8.50, well above the legal minimum.

Or states like New Jersey, where the legal driving age is 18 (I believe).

 

[marksound]

If you go strictly by the US Constitution, and not by case law, local and state law should take precedence over federal law except in cases of civil rights, interstate commerce, foreign trade, and national defense. It's been turned around to be the opposite. Our basic civil liberties (i.e. the Bill of Rights) have been usurped by special interests and politicians blinded by greed and ambition.

In my opinion, of course. :/

 

[Spot's Meow]

But isn't it just giving an overview, the map is showing countries as a whole. So whilst it might vary from state to state in the US, as a whole the US has no law in place to say ban smoking in certain places.

But let's say all 50 states have a law that being naked in public is illegal. But there's no federal law that states that. Based on the way these maps are compiled, if we had a map here for nakedness, even though the entire US operates under this law, the map would show the exact opposite. An "overview" for countries with distinct provinces or states just isn't possible, in my opinion.

 

[Owain Taggart]

But isn't it just giving an overview, the map is showing countries as a whole. So whilst it might vary from state to state in the US, as a whole the US has no law in place to say ban smoking in certain places.

But let's say all 50 states have a law that being naked in public is illegal. But there's no federal law that states that. Based on the way these maps are compiled, if we had a map here for nakedness, even though the entire US operates under this law, the map would show the exact opposite. An "overview" for countries with distinct provinces or states just isn't possible, in my opinion.

Yep, and therefore the maps are somewhat misleading. If someone is going to choose where to live based on what they see on these maps, they'll have surprises.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The idea that smoking isn't banned in schools at least through high school in the United States - because there's "no law" - is absurd. It's damned near banned everywhere.

And we apparently have no laws in place banning employment discrimination based on ethnicity. Right.