No Smoke(ing) without Fire

Even though i'm in a different time zone, I do make the effort to keep in touch with the UK news - and was quite pleased to hear of the recent moves towards a ban on smoking in public places made over the other side of the pond. It is rather fortuitous that the same issue is something of a hot topic here in Charleston, South Carolina and, to some extent, the USA in general. Now, being a non-smoker, it's pretty obvious which way my feelings lie - i am of the mind that, if someone wishes to pay for the privilege of shortening their lifespan through smoking, then it's their decision entirely but i don't see why a) I should share in their habit when they blow smoke in my face, or b) should have my clothes and hair stinking of smoke whenever i go out to eat or for a drink. Now you could say that going out to a bar, you should expect people to smoke - given that people often smoke when they're out relaxing - which, i guess is fair enough. However, if i'm out eating, i really don't want the taste of the food that i'm paying good money for marred by the couple of hundred chemicals or so in cigarette smoke.

What is surprising over here is the sheer momentum of the pro-smoking lobby over here - especially for the politicians. Actually, this is perhaps not so surprising - when you take a look at where a lot of donations for said politicians come from (hint: it's not Greenpeace). I guess this further reinforces the idea that so long as you have enough money to throw in the right direction, you can pretty much influence anything. So much for democracy, eh? Anyway, what is even more surprising is the sheer rudeness that people are often greeted with when asking smokers to direct their smoke elsewhere. When i worked in a bar in the UK, i often used to ask people not to blow smoke over the bar top - and was often met with profuse apologies. Over here, when i asked someone the same thing, i was basically told that 'If it bothers you, move!'. Not to be outdone, I politely informed the other customer that a) I was there before him and b) i would make sure to name him in a lawsuit if i ever developed lung cancer. Wadda' y'know, he moved.