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Let's face the fact that by smoking in public places, these people are getting away with murder.

It has been debated so many times in the past whether passive smoking, the inhalation of second-hand smoke from the cigarettes of other people, is dangerous or not. There had been studies, conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services no less, which show that indeed, second-hand tobacco smoke falls into the "known carcinogens" category.

Now, putting that into perspective, if people continue to smoke in public places, wouldn't that be similar to letting a horde of murderous maniacs run loose in a city full of would-be victims? If these smokers continue to be unaware of the dangers of passive smoking, then there's nothing which stops them from doing so. As for the non-smokers, they just have to live through the fear of getting lung cancer, pulmonary emphysema, and other respiratory illnesses.

It's not surprising that tobacco companies strive hard to conduct their own private tests which can disprove the dreary results. Over the years, this debacle has spiraled into a controversial battle between the tobacco companies and the non-smoking public.

When you really think about it, these companies aren't going to lose that much when there would be a public smoking ban. If they would only give way to this policy, it's practically a win-win situation: Smokers can still avail of their products and non-smokers won't have the fear of getting cancer from second-hand tobacco smoke if they're in public places.

The question which continues to bug me is why some smokers insist on smoking in places where there are crowds of non-smoking people when there's nothing hindering them from smoking in the comforts of their own home (or in designated smoking areas, for that matter)!

It's almost as if they're begging for the public's attention. It seems to me that they're completely aware of how annoying it is for us non-smokers to have to inhale a lungful of their smoke and they choose to ignore it. Of course, it's not a question of freedom, of whether they are free to smoke or not, it's their life and they're free to live it whichever way they want. But somehow, they have forgotten that where their own freedom ends, another person's freedom starts.

As a final message to all the smokers out there: Somewhere in the world, another kid dies of lung cancer caused by inhaling second-hand smoke, think about that the next time you light your cigarette in a public place.

Learn more about this author, Julius Albert Custodio.
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