New York City outdoor smoking ban begins - CNN
I know it's not the first and certainly won't be the last but it is silly to not be able to smoke outside 100 feet away from someone cause the second hand smoke may harm them isn't it? I can understand planes, taxis and restaurants by c'mon isn't this going a bit too far?
I'm happy to see these smoking bans pop up. Not lookin' to kill anyone's right to smoke, although I do consider it to be one of the worst choices a person can make for their own health. However, it's VERY difficult to smoke without providing to smoke to others, especially in a city. Unless one is smoking in a private DETACHED home or in a closed car, other folks are having to deal with that smoke whether they want it or not.
I work in a non-smoking building. The smoking area is at the rear entrance of the building where much of the employee parking is. Smokers do their thing RIGHT there, so I pass through a cloud more often than not. Would love to not have to suck that in anymore.
At my home, I routinely pick up cigarette butts discarded by neighbors and passersby that gather in my front yard and driveway. You'd think that I was a smoker with the amount that I have to deal with sometimes. Apparently a great many smokers enjoy sharing their discards with the world at large.
Driving on on a major highway a couple days ago, the driver in front of me ashes his cig out the window, smoke winds up in my car as I drive through it. Wanna smoke in the car? No problem, but why won't they KEEP IT in their car?
Many riders have stories of catching ashes from leading drivers.
Many times I've parked and stepped out of the car to find that a smoker has considerately dumped their ashtray.
In warm weather, it's not unusual to catch the smoke from the car next at stop light or the car in front or behind at a drive through.
For all the "We have a RIGHT to smoke!" rhetoric, far too many smokers see that as a one way street that they feel gives them a RIGHT to force others to deal with THEIR habit.
This is no different than anything else: Loud music, drugs, loud pipes on cars/bikes, littering, etc. It all comes down to being considerate and courteous of each other. If folks don't do it on their own, then eventually, the majority will make laws in an attempt to create the consideration that most want. If all smokers recognized/acknowledged the impact of their habit on others and made the effort to truly keep it away from non-smokers, bans wouldn't even come into being. The bans are here b/c enough people have had it with the minority that refuse to be considerate.
Again, no interest in telling someone that they CAN'T smoke, but many smokers don't seem to be at all concerned with allowing others to NOT be impacted by their habit. Bring on the bans!