Writer's Block: Smoke screen

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I personally would never smoke tobacco. I'm too aware of the health risks, and it just doesn't sound that pleasant to do, frankly. (I think it's one of those things where you have to be addicted to it to like it and you become addicted to it by trying it, but if you never try it in the first place it remains gross to you. I feel the same way about coffee). Plus its popularity has been decreasing and so the reasons for doing it in the first place are all but non-existent: it doesn't really look that cool anymore.

I generally tend to be of the opinion that people can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, so while I'd certainly advise against it, in principle I believe anyone else can smoke if he or she chooses as long as they don't harm anyone else. And that's where it gets tricky. I don't believe smokers have the right to smoke in public indoor locations where people cannot escape them, such as city offices, libraries, museums, schools, theaters, or public transit vehicles (including cabs!) and stations. The dangers of secondhand smoke have been well researched, and even minimal exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions (like asthma) in passersby. Plus smoke can linger in places after the smoker has left. (Hence my issue with smoking in cabs or box karaoke booths, etc). It's a health risk, one that non-smokers have to face by no choice of their own. If you're going to smoke, do it in your own home, in designated smoking areas (I definitely approve of separate smoking cars on trains and separate rooms in restaurants-- and walled-off ROOMS, not just the other side of one room, etc), or outdoors in an open space where the smoke can easily disperse. If private businesses wish to keep their establishments smoking-tolerant (what would a bar or bowling alley be without the pervasive scent of smoke! :-P) that's their prerogative and it becomes up the consumer as to whether they do business with them, but I definitely think indoor public locations should be smoke-free.

It gets even trickier when it comes to health care and insurance. Now, I have some sympathy for older smokers who began before people were truly educated about the dangers of smoking, and while part of me says that they should be well-educated enough now to know how to stop, I understand it is an addiction and for many of them it's too late to prevent the health risks anyway. However, if you were born within the past two decades or so, you know exactly what you're doing. The education is out there, required in public schools, shown in public service announcements all over TV, in the fine print in the ads, on the Surgeon General's warnings on the merchandise itself. When you buy a pack of cigarettes these days, you're pretty much asked, "Are you okay with the fact you might die from this?" and you accept that. Smoking is a choice, and while I don't think anyone should be denied treatment for health problems, that's one of the few insurance price-hikes I can see validity in.

Writer's Block: Smoke screen

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I personally would never smoke tobacco. I'm too aware of the health risks, and it just doesn't sound that pleasant to do, frankly. (I think it's one of those things where you have to be addicted to it to like it and you become addicted to it by trying it, but if you never try it in the first place it remains gross to you. I feel the same way about coffee). Plus its popularity has been decreasing and so the reasons for doing it in the first place are all but non-existent: it doesn't really look that cool anymore.

I generally tend to be of the opinion that people can do whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt anybody, so while I'd certainly advise against it, in principle I believe anyone else can smoke if he or she chooses as long as they don't harm anyone else. And that's where it gets tricky. I don't believe smokers have the right to smoke in public indoor locations where people cannot escape them, such as city offices, libraries, museums, schools, theaters, or public transit vehicles (including cabs!) and stations. The dangers of secondhand smoke have been well researched, and even minimal exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions (like asthma) in passersby. Plus smoke can linger in places after the smoker has left. (Hence my issue with smoking in cabs or box karaoke booths, etc). It's a health risk, one that non-smokers have to face by no choice of their own. If you're going to smoke, do it in your own home, in designated smoking areas (I definitely approve of separate smoking cars on trains and separate rooms in restaurants-- and walled-off ROOMS, not just the other side of one room, etc), or outdoors in an open space where the smoke can easily disperse. If private businesses wish to keep their establishments smoking-tolerant (what would a bar or bowling alley be without the pervasive scent of smoke! :-P) that's their prerogative and it becomes up the consumer as to whether they do business with them, but I definitely think indoor public locations should be smoke-free.

It gets even trickier when it comes to health care and insurance. Now, I have some sympathy for older smokers who began before people were truly educated about the dangers of smoking, and while part of me says that they should be well-educated enough now to know how to stop, I understand it is an addiction and for many of them it's too late to prevent the health risks anyway. However, if you were born within the past two decades or so, you know exactly what you're doing. The education is out there, required in public schools, shown in public service announcements all over TV, in the fine print in the ads, on the Surgeon General's warnings on the merchandise itself. When you buy a pack of cigarettes these days, you're pretty much asked, "Are you okay with the fact you might die from this?" and you accept that. Smoking is a choice, and while I don't think anyone should be denied treatment for health problems, that's one of the few insurance price-hikes I can see validity in.