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Originally Posted by willravel
If you want to smoke inside, smoke inside your house. Second hand smoke is dangerous. If you drink in the same room as someone, they don't get drunk.
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I could understand the merit of that argument if you were in a room filled with smoke. I know that this does occur - before the smoking ban went into effect here in Ontario, the local bingo hall would become filled with smoke to the point of restricting visibility on a busy night. I'll even concede that banning smoking within a school dormitory isn't wholly unreasonable; while one smoker inside his room with the door closed may not cause a problem for the entire building, if you have dozens of smokers leaving their doors open (as college students often do, judging by my admittedly limited experience of college dormitories) I could understand how that would adversely affect non-smoking students who have to share those hallways and other common areas.
Hell, I'll even concede the minimum distance rule. Non-smokers have to use the same entrances and exits and smokers and while I don't see how having to walk past a smoker (or even a group of them) could be a reason to get up in arms, I also figure from the smoker's perspective that walking an extra 10 feet for a fix isn't that big a deal.
That's as far as the argument logically extends, so far as I'm concerned.
I remember a few years ago when Keith Richards caused a stir in Scotland by lighting a cigarette on-stage. Scotland has a strict smoking ban in all public places. This, to me, is totally unreasonable. Who the hell was Keith hurting? The only person close enough to him to even smell the smoke was Mick, and between the two of them they've done enough drugs that I hardly think an extra cigarette will cause any serious harm.
To bring the argument to a more reasonable level, I do not understand in the least why banning smoking out of doors is even considered. It's the same thing on a smaller scale. I should think there would be sufficient room on an outdoor campus that any non-smokers who are sufficiently bothered by the habit would have no need to approach a smoker. Why banish them even further? What purpose does that serve?
I'll support reasonable restrictions. When dealing with enclosed public spaces that are shared by smokers and non-smokers, limiting where a smoker can light up makes sense. On the other hand, what does banning smoking from a college campus accomplish, aside from alienating a large group of students? What harm does someone smoking on a public street, or inside their own vehicle cause to anyone other than themselves?
I still believe in personal liberty. Smoking may not be a wise decision in the strictest sense, but as has been pointed out already it's not illegal yet. Allowing someone to enjoy their habit doesn't seem unreasonable to me.