Freedom Of Choice Cuts Both Ways (Should smoking be banned in public places?)

Member Name: al1892

Product:	Should smoking be banned in public places?
Date:	14/02/06 (1549 review reads)
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No doubt it will be obvious but I am a non-smoker just thought I'd add my tuppenny worth to the debate.

First of all I'd like to say that I do believe in freedom of choice, in so far as one cannot simply ignore laws because we choose to. And freedom of choice should be applied in this case aswell as smokers keep saying. Let them choose to kill themselves, with the exception of charvers and alike, they are old enough to make these decisions for themselves. I can see that for those who smoke and have it in their systems it is relaxing and part of the daily routine.

I also don't believe that you will be able to change people's long term habits simply by saying there you go it's banned now, stop smoking! I wish!

Further there is the enforcement I for one don't want a repeat of some of the other policies such as litter where they say that they are clamping down on it but in reality noone actually goes round and gives out the £50 fines or whatever. Certainly when I've been telling the schoolkids to walk the (literally) two feet to the bin rather than hoying their rubbish on the floor like filthy pigs there's been noone there slapping a fine on them. So next day they'll be back with their friends doing the very same. Ok in danger of talking about litter instead : / You can guarantee that people will still be smoking here there and everywhere. not right, but true.


However....

As the title says freedom of choice cuts both ways. Surely everyone has the right not to be surrounded by smoke. To be able to stand in the bus queue without having to be driven out by smoker(s) who can't even manage to stand away from people, even children.

Reality is if a smoker bothered to ask if I minded them smoking I'd feel too polite to refuse them and would suffer in silence, but that's the trouble 99.99% don't bother asking just light up right next to you. Where's the choice there? and no I'm not losing my place in the queue just so they can indulge themselves.

There are so many reasons why smoking should be confined to people's own homes. Don't expect to stop people smoking,they have all the information they need to make an informed decision and they choose to smoke so let them that's their business. But do it in their own homes where the only people they affect are themselves and, if they see fit, their families. They are their repsonsibilities but other people's health should not be.

Suffering now and then from Asthma a waft of smoke can really make things unpleasant, your chest gets tight and it's much harder to breathe. This is no exaggeration, merely a statement of fact. There is no reason why anyone should have to feel this way just because someone else likes to smoke.

It winds me up no end to see smokers happily puffing away in front of children, their children, other people's children, who cares it's only their health we're talking about?!

All of that is without even touching on the fact that it stinks and is messy (my dog quite happily picked a butt up and started chewing it, luckily I noticed, don't want that crap going down).

Summary
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All I would say therefore is that i believe smoking in public places should be banned at least until smokers can show the common courtesy to not surround others with it. In reality the only place that this is truly possible is in the privacy of your own home.

That is just my opinion and no doubt people would disagree but hey that's what makes it a debate isn't it : ) thanks for reading my thoughts on the subject anyway.

Summary: everyone should have a choice.