The smoking ban
I believe that smoking is a hazard to my health. So I do not smoke.
Some of my friends smoke. I respect their choices, and I don't persuade them to quit. They can smoke as much as they wish in their own privacy. They will bear the full consequences of their actions. They aren't doing any harm to my health. It's none of my business.
Some of my friends who smoke respect my choice, too. Before they light up in front of me, they ask if I mind. They know that their smoking poses a hazard to not only their health, but also the health of the non-smokers around them. Most of the time, I tell my friends to go ahead. I choose to bear the consequences of my actions. We like this arrangement. It is harmonious.
Not every smoker consults the non-smokers around him before he lights up in public. Many smokers don't bother asking their own friends, let alone strangers. Left unchecked, many smokers who smoke in public will continue to pose health hazards to the non-smokers around them.
This is precisely why smoking needs to be banned in public places.
It's not about denying people the right to smoke. You can smoke as much as you choose to in your own privacy.
It's not about smokers already paying exorbitant taxes on cigarettes. Taxes alone will not prevent smokers from posing health hazards to non-smokers in public places.
It's about smokers posing health hazards to non-smokers in public places.
It's about health hazards that smokers do not bear the full consequences for.
It's about protecting the non-smokers from these health hazards.
It's about time.
Some of my friends smoke. I respect their choices, and I don't persuade them to quit. They can smoke as much as they wish in their own privacy. They will bear the full consequences of their actions. They aren't doing any harm to my health. It's none of my business.
Some of my friends who smoke respect my choice, too. Before they light up in front of me, they ask if I mind. They know that their smoking poses a hazard to not only their health, but also the health of the non-smokers around them. Most of the time, I tell my friends to go ahead. I choose to bear the consequences of my actions. We like this arrangement. It is harmonious.
Not every smoker consults the non-smokers around him before he lights up in public. Many smokers don't bother asking their own friends, let alone strangers. Left unchecked, many smokers who smoke in public will continue to pose health hazards to the non-smokers around them.
This is precisely why smoking needs to be banned in public places.
It's not about denying people the right to smoke. You can smoke as much as you choose to in your own privacy.
It's not about smokers already paying exorbitant taxes on cigarettes. Taxes alone will not prevent smokers from posing health hazards to non-smokers in public places.
It's about smokers posing health hazards to non-smokers in public places.
It's about health hazards that smokers do not bear the full consequences for.
It's about protecting the non-smokers from these health hazards.
It's about time.