The question of allowing people to smoke in public places seems to have a simple answer. Research has proved the effects of cigarette smoking as almost a menace to society where health is concerned. It smells bad. It leaves brownish yellow sludge on windows and walls. It causes cancer. Why should we even ask ourselves this question? No smoking in public places. Case closed, right?

As a smoker, I certainly see no problem with the bans associated with smoking in public. I chose to begin smoking and choose to continue smoking but that does not mean that everyone else should be forced to suck up my smoke if it is not their choice to do so. Given that tobacco products continue to be sold with minimal control, we need to set stricter guidelines in our society to make its use less acceptable. Bear in mind the lessons we are extending to our children here. This is not an issue about my rights as a smoker, if I in fact have any, but a matter of what message I would want to extend to rising generations of young people. If I cannot demonstrate a healthy and self-respecting lifestyle because I am a smoker, I can still support the measures we take to make a healthier society. Smoking in public places is not something I need to do as a smoker and to answer whether or not people should be allowed to smoke in public places comes down to one simple consideration. Smoking kills and I think we can respect one another a bit more than that.

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