Should Smoking In Public Be Banned?

I believe smoking in public places should not be allowed.  My husband smokes about a pack a day so he may argue this topic with me.  With that said, he is also a considerate smoker.  He rarely smokes in public, especially if there are quite a few people around.    There are several reasons, in my opinion, why you should not be allowed to smoke in public.  One of the first reasons being that smoking is harmful to non-smokers.  I do think that smokers should have the right to smoke, just not at the expense of others.  If you chose to not smoke then you should be able to not have to subject yourself to that if you don’t want.  Being in public, there are times that you cannot escape the smoke.  I don’t feel that this is fair to those non -smokers.   A second reason I think smoking should be banned in public is that smoking causes pollution in the air.  There is a lot of research that shows that many kinds of gases are released by smoking and can be harmful for the environment.  Tar and carbon dioxide are two examples. Another reason smoking should be prohibited while in public is because there are other forms of nicotine smokers can use while in public.  There is nicotine gum and patches that you could use and would be more considerate of others and our air.

 For me personally, I think that smoking in public is more of an annoyance thing and I am around it every day.  My husband does go outside to smoke.  He has never smoked in the house or around my boys.  The smell of stale cigarette smoke is also another turn off, especially in public.  The smell tends to linger on your clothes and hair.  I will say again that I don’t believe smokers should have that right taken away from them, I just believe smoking in public should not be allowed.