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deemed not-right for whatever reason (spurious and half-spurious health claims seem to be a favourite nowadays) by those in authority.

Coming back to passive smoking, then; on one side we have a right of a non-smoker not to suffer inconvenience and unpleasantness of tobacco smoke. On the other we have a right of a smoker to use his drug of choice, which so far remains legal.

I do believe that both these rights need to be given consideration.

Just because we deem something wrong or inherently misguided or because something is unhealthy doesn't mean we should be going round making the activity in question illegal.

Just because something is legal doesn't mean it needs to be allowed everywhere and at all times. This calls for a discussion of the specific cases.

I think smoking by personnel should be banned in places of work, but I also think that special smoking areas should be designated inside or outside the building so people who want a cigarette should be able to have one without walking a mile away from the office and hiding. And yes, I think it should also apply to schools and hospitals.

I think smoking should be also banned in all places where people go with a definite purpose in order to buy something, obtain a service etc. These include shops, banks, doctors' surgeries, hairdressers, inquiry offices as well as town buses and trams and short haul flights. The inconvenience for a smoker is minimal, while a lot of non-smokers are kept happy.

The third category of places are enclosed places of entertainment and travel where people do spend more time but where cigarettes could be a fire hazard: cinemas, concert halls, museums, underground trains and stations. Long-distance coaches are problematic because it's difficult to separate smokers and non-smokers and thus giving smokers a right to their fix would inconvenience the non-smokers. I would suggest a stretch-legs and/or fag breaks (and this seems a policy that usually applies nowadays). Long-haul flights are perhaps the biggest point of contention here. I could imagine simply having smoking/non-smoking flights or alternatively having a separate, well ventilated section of the aircraft: I personally have never been on a smoking flight as I never flew long haul and short haul flights were all non smoking in my lifetime. Overall though, long-haul flying is not something many people do on a very frequent basis and I would think smokers could bow down and survive with help of Nicorette if needs be. I do think, though,

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