Public Cigarette Smoking

Here in the States, some individual States have adopted public smoking only outside of buildings. No smoking inside....period. No ventilated rooms for tavern or restaurant patrons are allowed. 

I am a former smoker, and I don't enjoy smoke filled rooms. However, I think laws intended to save people from themselves are ridiculous. I can see no smoking in an office, or other work environment. For a place like a bar, or restaurant, it should be left to the owner. The proprietor should be able to choose whether to allow smoking or not. Non-smokers do not have to patronize smoking establishments. The market will decide how many should exist.

Here in Maryland you can't smoke in any public building,bar or restaraunt.Now they are trying to totally ban smoking outside in public.

As someone who is extremely sensitive to smoke (I feel nauseated and sometimes have trouble breathing when exposed to it, which can be really scary) I absolutely would like to see it banned from public places.  Smoking is fortunately banned indoors in my city and at my school, but when I walk along the pathways and sidewalks around here I can't help but inhale smoke, which is bad for my health and makes me feel very ill.  Your right to make yourself sick does not extend to a right to make any person who passes you on the sidewalk sick.  Smoking should at least be banned on sidewalks because nonsmoking pedestrians have no choice but to walk through the smoke; I'd be more okay with permitting smoking in larger open spaces.

I don't smoke and don;t plan on starting(tobacco at least) but I find tobacco smoke rather pleasant. And it's definitely better outside than in buildings. It should be banned in public buildings(it already is in most) and private businesses can do whatever they want. Out in the street however, people should be allowed to smoke.

The first option of course! I HATE smoke from cigarettes!

Businesses should have the choice whether to allow/ban smoking in their establishments. The government has no right to set such a standard for private institutions. I say this as a non-smoker who hates the smell of smoke, but the principle here is of more importance than the inconvienence it causes me.

It doesn't violate my rights, but if we are going to be so sterile, when we go to another country, we will suffer and we will seem like soft, ignorant Americans.

micky wrote: smoking is a choice ...not a right....

StyLaZyn wrote: Here in the States, some individual States have adopted public smoking only outside of buildings. No smoking inside....period. No ventilated rooms for tavern or restaurant patrons are allowed.    As a former smoker, I think the laws have gone overboard.   While I understand the rights of the non-smoker, I always did my part to not be next to someone who chose not to smoke. Common courtesy, you know. Things seem to have swung completely the other way and smokers have some rights being violated, in my eyes.   Not to mention, nothing went better with a beer than a smoke.

I know ... smokers tend to think that just moving farther away from non-smokers solves the problem ... it doesn't. Banning smoking inside buildings (and at the entrances of buildings) is the only way.

And about your rights: Ok, kill yourself ... but not others.