Smoking bans....... your thoughts????

[Dar]

Smoking bans have been in place in Ontario for YEARS... and I love them even when I was a smoker (quit 3 years ago)..

I dont think smoking bans go far enough now...

I hate walking out of the mall (or the hospital thats the worst place) and having to walk through a cloud of blue smoke to get to my car.
I hate being at the park with my kids and having to move our pic nic spot because some jerk decides to smoke
I was picking my son up at school the other day and I had to close my windows because all of the students puffing on the sidewalk because they cant smoke on school grounds

What really burns my behind though is when I see parents smoking in the car with kids in there.

I know I am going to get heat for this but here goes....

In Ontario we are not allowed to have open alcohol in public... you drink in your home... or at a bar...NOT at the park... NOT on the sidewalk at school... NOT outside the mall ect....

Do the same with ALL tobacco products


Some are saying "let the business owners decide".... OK I can understand that... BUT what about the person who works there... who does not smoke and this was the only job that they could find?... Who is going to pay for the cancer treatment of that person?.. lets face it most bars do not offer medical benefits..

 

[pdsavage]

The town where my husband works did a smoking ban,one bar just moved outside city limits.Its the most popular bar there....

 

[backdoorchicken]

i laugh at the smokers all huddled in a corner on cold days trying to cook a cig in freezing weather. if only they could use that dedication to quit.

 

[Hoss1975]

Smoking bans for public places(bars,restaurants,stores)are fine with me,but when you get the "smoke free campus' " that what i can't stand!By golly if i have sky over my head and dirt under my feet i can smoke a freakin cigerette!

 

[backdoorchicken]

just dont smoke near me and we are cool. i quit 6 years ago after smoking for 15 years. i made that decision to improve my quality of life and i'll be darn if i am gonna let someone else take that away from me because of their poor decision to smoke.

 

[babylady4]

Wow! Thank you everyone for keeping things civil! I really liked the comment on peeing in the pool...... that is the best analogy yet!

The problem I have is that you never have just one person smoking; it is always more like 20 chain smokers. The air would be thick with smoke and you come home smelly and feel like somebody sat on your chest all night while you were sleeping. Allowing individual establishments to decide for themselves just creates problems since usually there is no alternative place to go and hang out where there is no smoking.

I have to run to work and I do hope this like remains open. I do thank everyone for their opinions!

 

[JustAChickenLittle&More]

I agree with Spookwriter. I am a smoker, and very considerate of others. However, I think in "all" things, we have coddled people too much by making this ban and that ban, and we don't hold people accountable as to whether they are sensitive to other peoples feelings at all. Another words, compassion for others has went out the window. Whether it be smoking or anything else. Just my opinion of course.

 

[chickened]

As an ex smoker it irritates my throat when I smell cigarette smoke. As for banning smoking I am not for it I simply go where it is not smoky or in non-smoking sections.

On another note why is it Governments business to ban the use of a product that Government benefits from?

 

[backdoorchicken]

when i quit i asked myself, "what do cigarettes do for me?"

with the exception of the buzz from the first cigarette of the day, nothing. its a waste of air and air gives you life.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I'm very happy about smoking bans. I have asthma, so formerly, if there was smoking in a place, I just had to leave. Or within an hour or two I'd be coughing and gasping for air, and it would affect me for days after.

But even before I had asthma, I felt smoking inside public buildings was a problem. I'm glad more and more states are banning it.

I feel sorry for smokers who have to go outside to smoke(some areas even ban outside smoking, though). However since my own asthma, which will probably kill me eventually, has as its number one risk factor breathing in second hand smoke when a child, I can't say that I feel smokers should be allowed to make others sick. It's debatable, too, whether they have a 'right' to kill themselves smoking - as it raises health care costs for the rest of us, and as mentioned is a big risk factor in non smoker's health as well.

I don't think one can swing a cat by the tail without hitting someone else. Everyone's interconnected.