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I think that reality has made this question moot. Whether people should be allowed to smoke in public places is no longer a matter up for debate, as most cities have passed laws banning smoking except in a very few public places. In addition, the cost of cigarettes has skyrocketed to the point that in ten years no one will be able to afford to smoke anyway. Then local, state, and federal governments will have to find a way to replace all the taxes that are lost as a result, and non-smokers will finally have to share some of the burden that smokers have carried for so long.

At this point, I should probably confess that I am a smoker, so my viewpoint is slightly biased. I agree completely that there are some public places where we should not be allowed to smoke (hospitals and schools leap immediately to mind). I also don't object to having smoking and non-smoking sections in restaurants, as much as a courtesy as anything else. But this move recently to eradicate smoking from nearly every situation that might offend a non-smoker is out of control. One city in Texas successfully made it illegal to smoke on a public sidewalk, even if that sidewalk happens to be in front of your own house. Apparently the civil liberties we all hold so dear don't apply to smokers.

It is true that smoking causes certain respiratory diseases as well as heart disease and some cancers, and there is some evidence that second-hand smoke can lead to these things. It is also true that being obese can cause heart attacks and diabetes, but no one is suggesting we should outlaw All-You-Can-Eat buffets. Perhaps the rise in cancer is related not to smoking, because the rate of smoking has decreased over the years, but rather to the fact that we sit for hours a day on congested highways breathing the emissions from thousands of automobiles. Either way, we shouldn't be making cigarettes the whipping boy for all of the ills of our society.

I have no problem with protecting the health of the general public. I don't even object to having to go out in the heat, cold or rain to engage in a habit that has fallen out of favor. But we should not simply focus on smokers when so many others add to our healthcare costs by living unhealthy lifestyles. Besides, if we don't get this regulation insanity in check, eventually there will be an ordinance that prohibits driving your car in public. Of course, given the cost of gasoline, that might not be such a bad thing after all.

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