I have never smoked..
I have, however, been exposed to a LOT of second-hand smoke. My parents didn't smoke, but my grandparents did. When I was a kid, I probably spent about half my home and indoors time at my grandparents' house. They only lived one block away, so why not? Everyone in that house smoked -- all the time for like 50 years. My grandfather's brother owned the house before my grandparents bought it, and I'm pretty sure they smoked. I KNOW my grandparents smoked day in and day out for the next 50 years. Now, my aunt lives there, and I know that she and at least one of her kids (an adult kid, although not when she started smoking) smokes. My grandma died last year and my aunt bought the house. My dad was in there doing some work for her (the floor tiles in the bathroom) and he said the tar that had built up *underneath* the floor tiles was disgusting. We're talking some serious smoking going on in this place. If you walk inside for 5 minutes, your clothes come away smelling like smoke. It's insane. My mom and I both have really bad reactions to smoke, too. Our eyes get all red and burny and watery and we have trouble breathing and get headaches. Over the years, it definitely cut down on my visiting time with my grandparents. That's sad. :-(
As much as I hate smoking, I think people should be allowed to do it. Actually, I think any recreational drug use should be legal as long as people don't plow their cars into others or exhibit other dangerous behaviors. I also think that businesses should be allowed to set their own policies. Patrons vote with their dollars. If the majority of patrons want to smoke in a certain business, then non-smokers should either deal with it or go elsewhere. Likewise, if the majority of patrons don't want smoke in certain business, then smokers should suck it up and go elsewhere. I don't see why we need laws that literally tell everyone how to breathe.
I do, however, think it should be banned in public facilities. Patrons have a choice. The folks going to the DMV to get their state licenses or going to the post office or the social security office or going to the courthouse to get their marriage licenses can't really pick an alternative location for those things. In such cases, the smoker should have to go outside -- and NOT hang right by the door. Smokers have the right to put into their bodies whatever toxic chemicals they choose to put into their bodies; however, they do not have the right to blow poison into *my* lungs just because we both need to renew our tags that day and the lady in front of me is getting jittery. You never know who might be allergic to smoke (like my mom and I seem to be) or who might have lung cancer or something.
