Should smoking be banned in all public places?

I think it should be left open to the business owner if they want to allow smoking in their establishment. More and more of our rights are taken away from us by government be it local or federal, and I'm sick of it. People argue that they shouldn't have to be around the smoke when they don't smoke, but smokers have to endure cold outdoor temps to smoke. We are happy to go to a smoking section. People will argue both ways-- but bottom line to me is let it be up to the establishment owner rather than yet another forced ordinance. People can choose to not go to places that allow smoking just like smokers choose to go to places that do. There have been several businesses that have went "non smoking" and I have stopped going there because of it. Leaving it up to the owners gives people on both sides (the potential customer and the business owner) the choice which is where it should be, and is the simplest solution.

"All things being equal, the simplest solution tends. to be the right one." Occam's razor

Yes, smoking should be banned in most enclosed public spaces for the same reason that shooting is banned in cities and towns, innocent people can be hurt - and that is hard for me to say as I am a smoker. I can see making exceptions for establishments that are adult-oriented such as drinking and establishments to leave the option with the owner. Adults have the choice as to whether they enter these establishments as either employee or patron, with children that decision is made for them but may affect their lives.

If you don't smoke, don't start. If you can quit, do it. Don't waste your breath telling me that I can quit, I've been quitting for years and have tried everything. I know the research and the indications of peril. I know that smoking will be the end of me in some way.

Old, tired argument. Bear in mind that supporting bans of any kind is setting precedents for future regulation of your own lifestyle choices. As of January first, there were over forty thousand new laws passed countrywide, mostly on local levels of government, banning diet, activity, etc., things the government has deemed unhealthy... and they are always more than happy to do your thinking for you. Most importantly, you should bear in mind that what little economic success Brazil has been enjoying is due largely to the city of Greencastle chasing their own residents accross the county line in search of some common sense and a decent dining experience. Lack of money is far more dangerous to your health than second hand smoke.

Oh how wonderful it would be to have non smoking in all food establishments.A lot of states have gone this way so Mitch should step up to the plate.He keeps taking job's away from the state and gives them to his privatized friends .This is something really important that he should stick his nosein.I think more resturants want this ,but don't want toot make the decision.So let the state make up thier mind for them.This is no different than making people wear a seatbelt.

Ninesy you are on it! I believe that second hand smoke could cause lung cancer but then there are more people who are diagnosed with lung cancer that have never been exposed to second hand smoke...never smoked....blah blah blah. So if our law makers are going to DECIDE for us using the old second hand smoke argument, they really need to come up with more compelling evidence. I believe that the establishment has the right to decide for the business's sake which way to go....Smoke free or have a smoking section with adequate ventilation so the smoke will not travel in the direction of the no smoking section. But those cry babies out there who stand firm for everything being smoke free will probably get their way.....taking away another right for free Americans! Yes, it's our right to smoke or not smoke! It's our right to frequent establishments that allow smoking or are smoke free. We have the right to make a conscious decision....if we don't like the smoke, don't go there or sit near the smoking section. It really is that simple.

As far the the city, state, and federal government office sites/facilities go, if they want them to be smoke free, which they already are, I don't have a problem in the world with that. It is their right to decide but don't force it on the establishments that should be able to choose for themselves which way to go.

cat811.....please feel free to patronize those no-smoking establishments. There are plenty of them to choose from but don't force the smoking ban on those that choose not too. No cat811 I am not picking on you or anybody else but you have the choice to go to a smoke free establishment or not.

Have a great day!

Yes and outside if you are to close to a neighbor that smokes.Should outlaw cigerettes all together.

Well, what is good to smoking? It makes your hair, clothes, and not to mention your breath stink- like an ash tray! Yum, huh? And to think I USE to smoke. I had a family member pass from lung cancer and to watch someone pass from that is heart wrenching. She wished she never picked up a cigarette. I despise the smell now.. I don't like my children being around the cigarette smoke. Now that we ALL know what smoking does..it should not be permitted anywhere.

It's funny how we ban smoking ads from tv but promote drinking and sex. Drunk drivers and STDs kill more people than smoking.Yes, I smoke .But I have no problem not smoking in a public place and I respect people who don't smoke by not smoking in thier homes or cars unless they give the ok.Have you ever watched the movie waterworld? The smokers are the bad people. LOL

people that continue to say leave it up to the establishments is a cough out do you really thing the establishments are thinking about your health

if all restaurants go non_smoking then the problem is over

city _ county just do it and stop asking for our approval

going into a restaurant that has half smoking half non smoking __ you are still smelling it and breathing in the smoke

Most definitely smoking should be banned from all public areas. I couldn't care less if you smoke in the privacy of your home. However, I have asthma and I can smell a cigarette several feet away. Your "right" to smoke does not supersede my right to breath. If you don't agree, then I hope I am sitting next to you when you light up. Then you can get firsthand experience of how I choke, cough and spit up mucus caused by your cigarette. Believe me, it's not pretty. Nobody wants to pay good money to be exposed to your cigarette or my subsequent reaction.

I work with people how cry about people smoking and how bad it is for them to be exposed to second hand smoke, As soon as they would get of work the first place they would go is to a tavern or night club were the smoke is so thick that a smoker can't stand it, they would be in there for hours on end and not say a thing bad about the smoke. Than they would leave drunk and that is a ok with them.

I am so sick this tired old arguement. I understand not smoking inside, I am a smoker and I don't even smoke in my own home, but any outdoor public area is a different story. If you can smell my smoke while I am outside them you are way too close to me. Get over it.

I am not a smoker and feel that if you smoke you should be respectful of other people. There are a lot of people who have health problems that really CAN NOT breath around smokers. I personally do not like smelling like smoke from smokers. I think that having cigarette butts all over streets and sidewalks are disgusting. I think smokers should be fined for throwing their butts around. No one would get away with dumping their trash where ever they felt like it so treat the cigarettes the same way. That being said, I do believe it is a persons right to smoke or not. And in banning smoking is taking away from your constitutional rights. I just would like to paint a picture in smokers minds for one moment... imagine a man lying on a bed gasping for breath... not being able to breath... to fill smothered and have no air what so ever going into your body... imagine pain... imagine your body slipping away as you find that you have died. Imagine within 15 seconds later blood gushing out of your eyes, mouth, ears, and nose. Your organs have pretty much exploded due to the cancer that has ravaged your body. Imagine how your family feels seeing blood gushing out of you like that... family that has taken care of you because cancer has taken every part of your life... just imagine......... I don't have to imagine because i lived it when my dad died of lung cancer.

I smoked for over sixteen years, my father and my brothers smoked, so I grew up thinking smoking was cool. What wasn't cool was having bronchitis every year, being out of breath just walking up stairs and reaking of cigarette smoke. I tried everything to quit-patch, gum, hypnosis, anything that was available. What finally did it was mentally convincing myself I could do it. Well, it's been five years now, and I'm smoke-free! I would never, ever smoke again even if my life depended on it. When you smoke, you are paying to kill yourself. It is a dirty, nasty habit. I don't want to smell like cigarette smoke, therefore, I don't go to bars or places where it is allowed. I don't understand the smokers who throw out their cigarette butt from their car, into the street or my yard, it's not allowed in their vehicle, but they are putting this deadly, harsh chemical inside their body. Doesn't make sense, does it? Plus, when you throw out that butt, you are LITTERING! That is correct, you are breaking the law! Who do you think is going to pick up your nasty, old butt? It is estimated it takes SEVEN years to decompose a cigarette butt, so why would you just leave it on the street? Anyone who throws out butts should be fined for littering! And, yes, smoking should be banned! Cigarettes should cost $25 a pack, see how many people would be paying to kill themselves then!

Well, if we're going to live on our knees,let's do it right. From now on, all pedestrians will be required to wear bright orange safety cones on their heads to prevent accidents with automobiles. C'mon, no big deal, just like wearing a seatbelt. If you're pregnant, you have to wear two. If you're overweight, you have to pay a higher rate at the gas pump because of the extra fuel your car burns carrying your dead weight around and you'll have to pay a higher sewer bill as well for the dangers of second hand food. If you're ugly, wear a bag over your head and if you're stupid, don't vote...

Cigarette smoke travels a LONG way. I think smokers aren't aware of this because their senses have been dulled by inhaling so much of it. I can tell if there's a smoker in front of me on I 70 if his window is open as it drifts right back to my car. Insurance premiums are higher for those who smoke. That pretty much says it all. It isn't only the cost of that pack of cigarettes. It's the cost of one's health. Nicotine is said to be more addicting than alcohol. I feel badly for people who have that addiction but I still don't want to inhale their smoke. If I go to a restaurant or pub and smell smoke, it's the last time I go to that restaurant. The taste of the food is ruined for me if I have to breathe the smoke along with it.

No smoking should not be banned in public places. It should be left up to the businesses owners whether they allow smoking or not. I, for one, am sick of the government deciding for me how I am going to live my life. I am an adult in every way possible and can make those decisions for myself. I do fear where will this kind of thing end? West Forty made some excellent points. Bobbito, really???? People with your mindset scare me. What if childless people (by choice) don't want to live next to children, should the people with children not be allowed to buy that house? Should the childless people be allowed to punish children for coming in their yard or keeping a toy that happens to end up in their yard? What about animal lovers versus non-animal lovers? Where will it end? I understand if you do not like smoking and if you would decide not to visit a place that allows smoking, but what about smokers rights, because for adults smoking is legal in this country. I think what everyone needs to understand, if we continue to allow government to make laws to suit some, then one day they may enact a law that will effect what you enjoy doing or, as an adult, decide to do. Please think about the long term effects of allowing this to happen. JMO.

I think smoking should be banned from all public indoor places and 50 ft from doorways. I personally avoid restaurants that allow smoking or have smoking areas with no physical separation from the non-smoking areas. It's not health concerns, though; it's because it makes my clothes and my baby's car seat stink for days, and it's a smell I find sickening.

It's not a "right" that you can smoke. And if you insist to think of it as your "right to smoke," then what about my right to not have to breathe your smoke?

A smoking ban is not a forebearer of signs to come either, although I would like to see westforty wearing an orange safety cone on his/her head. And I agree with the statement, "if you're stupid, don't vote," but voter turnout is low enough as it is and that's a different topic.

I've read arguments before that claim that banning smoking in restaurants will decrease business. The truth is that in many cases business actually increases, especially in places where people often have to wait for a free seat. The reason is that smokers don't stay as long, which frees us seats faster. The more people a restaurant can seat, the more food they can sell. Search Google or Bing for "restaurant sales increase after smoking ban" for more information.

I agree that the Govt. has mort important things to worry about than public smoking. for example $1.trillion.

The problem , I see is we don't care what others think or feel. "If you don't like it than leave" This is bleeding over to our children. welfare, homeless, hungry, gay marriage, lawnmowers & golfcarts used as cars, is excepted now.

When it comes to taxing cigarettes, don't you think there is enough taxes?

If we are going to tax addictions, 80% of all americans are over weight , food is addiction, drinking, extreme sports, come on lets tax them all.

I am tired of the Govt. telling us how to live too, law was had to wear helmet to ride a bike, 55mph saves gas, gas prices still going up, now you can drive 70mph on us 70.. there is alot double talk from the Govt. and we still buy into it.

Please ..smokers ..think of the people whom don't smoke before you light up!

I don't smoke , I might add.

Yes smoking should be banned in public places.Smoking is a very dangerous bad habit to the indivdual and the people around him or her.

Stop complainin. People smoke! get over it! Smokers have rights too!

If by public places you mean private businesses, like Wal-Mart, the answer is NO.

The people who wrote our U.S. and State Constitutions could have never immagined that any government in a free society would have the power to make such regulations. Rather, such decisions should be made in the market place.

Consumers will vote with their dollars on such decisions and owners, whether shareholders or partners, will react to the outcomes of those decisions. The free market is much more likely to create an environment that pleases the most patrons than the government.

Charles Hear

yes, smokers have rights, but so do non-smokers. we have the right to not have to worry about having an asthma attack while we're out trying to enjoy our selves. we have the right to not have to go home smelling like we've licked an ashtray.

We all have rights.

And I think the business owners should have the right to make their own decision as to if they want to allow smoking in their establishment... but in a designated area.

That said, I also believe that smoking should NOT be allowed in public buildings. (for example the Library & the courthouse). but there should be a designated area outside the building, away from public entrances, for people to go to if they need a cigarette.

IT IS WHAT IT IS. Let's ban it altogether since it is so unhealthy and unfavorable among everyone as a society. Stop manufacturing them and importing them and then we can all sit in resturants, get fatter, and drink legal booze before we drive home.

What most people seem to over look is, if I don't smoke it does not change the rights of someone that does smoke. But, when you smoke, it does change my right to breathe clean air. Smokers are just wrong but can't see the light through the smoke.