Should smoking be more/less regulated?

[Halicia]

I'm a non-smoker, but I voted No. At least in regards to America, there should be freedom of choice, and the increasing "Big Brother knows whats best" role of government against victimless crime is turning the country into an orwellian farce.

[gr4vitas]

That's a boring option, since almost anyone would say "yes, I would like people to be considerate of others". This isn't about what people should do - that's not something we can change. People have to change themselves. Laws, we can.

Laws do not change what people do.

[damntree]

I don't smoke and don't care if someone smokes around me. If it's inside I prefer they smoke in a specific section.

[Deleted]

I'd say let the people who are dumb enough to either smoke, or not seek means to quit the filthy habit, smoke. It's their life and their health that they're slowly ebbing away at with each puff, but being so unforgivably ignorant and stupid as to smoke near other people and subject them to your second hand smoke should be tantamount to an abuse/offence in my book.

My father smoked for over 20 years, and the very day he found out my youngest sister had asthma, he stopped dead in his tracks. The wake-up call came a little late, but it came nonetheless and he did what any reasonable man would do. My grandfather too one day, calculated how much on average he spent a year in cigarettes, and simply went cold turkey too. I've little sympathy for those with little self-control, be it in indulging in the habit, or failing to quit it.

[Deleted]

Why not ban unhealthy eating habits? They kill more people than smoking.

[Duridi]

Nah, it's poison, but it's not a problem. A smoking restaurant is a higher-risk environment than a non-smoking one. The same could be said about an air show. It's a risk that people are informed about, and if they want to willingly assume that risk, the government should not stand in their way.

When is leaving the room not an option?

It's not a problem because you are a smoker. You have no idea what a problem this is for many non-smokers.

If you want to get an idea of how intruding smoking is on a non-smoker, I can tell you it would be the same as if I ate a chocolate and spilled it on your clothes on purpose while eating it. Except that would be better if you are one of those who would get physically ill from smoke.

Smoking is your personal habit, and your personal habit should stay within personal space.

Even farting a really smelly one in a random crowd would be better than smoking. Because fart doesn't stick to your clothes and hair. Nor does it cause physical pain or allergy reactions.

[Seegtease]

That's why places like that tend to have designated smoking areas.

Not in my experience. The laws in Oregon require a piddly 10 feet, which is a ridiculously short distance. It's from anywhere that smoke might enter the building (vents included).

You can smoke 10 feet from the hospital doors here (and people do) and all the people who enter the hospital have no way to avoid it. The smokers have the right to smoke, but the non-smokers don't have the right to fresh air on their way in.

That's not fair, and that's why laws need to regulate. By one person having rights to a luxury, another person loses rights to a necessity.

They should have designated smoking areas, but they don't.

---------- Post added 2012-01-26 at 06:26 PM ----------

Why not ban unhealthy eating habits? They kill more people than smoking.

The problem with smoking that makes almost any other comparison fail is that smoking affects more than just the smoker.

[nixcookies]

If I could be completely selfish then I would ban it everywhere, as I think it would be in everyone's best interests although people would hate me for it.

But I will settle for smoking being restricted to outdoor, open spaces so that the people around you don't suffer as much from second hand smoke.

[Deleted]

Why not ban unhealthy eating habits? They kill more people than smoking.

Unhealthy food doesn't do any harm in moderation, or eaten sparingly. Every single cigarette/smoke does you damage. Look up what's in the stuff you're smoking, it's not pretty.

[Seegtease]

Laws do not change what people do.

Of course they do. Because we have speeding laws, people are less likely to speed. Because it's illegal to murder, there are less murders.

Or do you actually think that if we got rid of speed limits and laws against murder, rape, and theft, that these crimes wouldn't shoot up in frequency?

[ryotte]

My answer would be "Yes, but at the discretion of that particular business." For instance one bar (restaurant/park/etc) should be allowed to ban smoking while another is smoker-friendly...and both should place a sticker or sign that shows whether they are smoking or non so that patrons can use that info when deciding which to visit. That way it'd be entirely up to the person who owns the business whether people smoke in their establishment, whether they want to create a smoking section, or whether to cater only to the people who do not want to smell/see/have the effects of smoke.

Personally I don't see why people can't wait till they get out of a crowded place to smoke, since it can make others sick. I used to be a smoker and I never felt that I HAD to smoke in a restaurant or park...I could wait. It's called self-control...you don't NEED to smoke; you WANT to. You can wait, too.

[troyus]

Smokers are like any addict. No reason where the drug is concerned.

[Deleted]

I've smoked since around 17, Although i'm growing tired of it, I really don't see a problem with someone smoking outside.

I plan on cutting down to one or two a day eventually, that would be ideal.

That's one wierd way to use the word ideal.

Edit: OT: Voted for banning smoking, nothing good can come of that habit. I also see smoking as a sign of weakness, but maybe that's just me.

[xenaros]

It's rude to smoke infront of others in public without asking their permission, it's as disgusting as me scratching my naked balls infront of you. Plus, fag butts being all over the pavements is not a nice sight. Most of the time I don't mind inhaling other people's smoke, but it should be my choice and not enforced by other's habits.

Smoking is restricted in workplaces in the UK to designated areas, and too right, what I don't like though is that smokers are 'entitled' to smoking time during work hours, yet if I go to stand outside the smoking shelter for the same period of time for some fresh air, I'm somehow slacking?

[Seegtease]

Not exactly the way I'd word it but pretty much this is my thoughts.

No one should be able to tell you want you can and can not do to your body.
What if they put a ban on tattoos because a bunch of people don't like them?
What if your no longer allowed to drink coffee because it get linked to liver disease?

You start with one soon you give up more and more freedoms because someone else don't like it.

Almost every argument against smoking isn't because it hurts the individual, but because it hurts others. And not just annoying, like bad music or ugly tattoos, but it actually harms them. It makes them sick and damages their lungs.

It's not because people want to tell you what you should be allowed to do to yourself, people are just telling you what you shouldn't be doing to others.

[gr4vitas]

I'm glad I chew tobacco.

[Granyala]

It annoys me extremely that wherever I go I see some human smoke and I'm forced to inhale it passively. Imho smoking should be limited to YOUR home.

[Pert]

It's not a problem because you are a smoker. You have no idea what a problem this is for many non-smokers.

If you want to get an idea of how intruding smoking is on a non-smoker, I can tell you it would be the same as if I ate a chocolate and spilled it on your clothes on purpose while eating it. Placing my mark on you. "Hey, if you don't like it, get out of my way".

Smoking is your personal habit, and your personal habit should stay within personal space.

Even farting a really smelly one in a random crowd would be better than smoking. Because fart doesn't stick to your clothes and hair. Nor does it cause physical pain or allergy reactions.

I'm not a smoker. I understand completely that if I go into a bar in my area (where smoking is not banned), I will come out reeking of cigarette smoke.

Fortunately I also understand that I do not have a right to force the patrons in the bar to stop smoking.

Is it that foreign to you that I might not immediately support outlawing an act simply because I do not partake in it?

[Deleted]

The problem with smoking that makes almost any other comparison fail is that smoking affects more than just the smoker.

Only if look at it from an individual standpoint. The fact is unhealthy eating habits is a greater burden on society than the damage smoking does. And really what are the dangers of walking through a cloud of tobacco smoke at a bus stop?

[Foosha]

You know what? I just had a brilliant idea. I have asthma and smoking bothers me to no end...but what if you made nicotine/tobacco in the form of an inhaler?

*Patent Pending*