Should smoking be allowed in public places?

I do think that it is a good idea that people should not smoke in public places. I do not think that it is fair to allow someone to harm someone else's health. In the case of drinking, most of the time, people are not harming others with their actions. Drinking is also not a bad habit if it is done in moderation. I think that when someone gets drunk, it is not harmful to others. If the person drives while intoxicated, that is another story, but if they do not, they are probably not harming others. If a person smokes in public, they are releasing carcinogens into the air and leaving adverse health effects for others. I do not think it is a matter of the habit itself compared to what the habit is doing to others.

I dunno about this.. i dont smoke so i am happy that i can go into a bar and not have to smell smoke and have a drink.. but i know people who smoke like to smoke while they drink. . i dont know if there is a way to make everyone happy. I smoked for ten years and am happy i stopped. I hope someday everything that is as bad for us as smoking will be removed from our environment.

I am from Kerala state,south India and in my state smoking is not allowed in public places.if any one violate this law,they were fined by the police.

I am one of those that agree with the no smoking in public places. Now I am not trying to step on any toes. We each have our own opinions. The reason that the no smoking in public places is important to me is because I should not have to have smoke curling up at me when I am eating a meal. Smokers talk about their rights but non smokers have rights to. The other bad habits that you are talking about don't cross the boundry into anothers table. This is my opinion and I don't want to step on anyones toes but this is the way I feel about it.

The smoking law has applied in Canada for quite sometime now. There's no smoking in shopping malls, bars, restaurants and now they may even pull the plug on smoking in your own vehicle. I don't really know why they are hard on just this law and not other ones. That's a good question. Have a nice day

perhaps it would take a long time to this , as you know, there are lots of country don't have the law or rules to forbidden smoke on public still. i also hate those who smoke on the bus, train..the smell is really terrible...

I believe that drinking is only allowed in designated areas. I believe that people should only be allowed to drink at home though. For the simple fact that if they drink at home, then they don't have to try to get home, after drinking. That would totally cut down on the drinking and driving catastrophies that we witness and become victim to, so many times a year.

I believe both smoking and alchol should be criminal. Both are bad for the user and other people not using. Maybe if they were made criminal people will go stay inside their own domain to partake and not harm any non users health or life.

I don't smoke so I would vote against smoking in public anytime. But I do have friends who smoke and I know that the do it not to irritate non-smokers like me, but because they're hooked! I used to think that smokers were bad people because they ruin other people's health and pollute the environment, but they don't do it willingly. The public is a free space, so smokers should smoke responsibly. Meaning they should move away if there's a baby or a pregnant lady and they should dispose of the butts properly. But otherwise, banning smoking in public sort of goes against their rights.

In my opinion I guess banning smoking other than drinking in public is mostly because of its impact and effects to others. Drinking maybe a bad habit like smoking but the direct effect of it (healthwise) is exclusive only to the person itself, while smoking can harm not only the smoker but also those arround him, thus it has more harmful effect than drinking. But this doesn't mean that drinking as well is permissible.

I am a smoker, and I do not have a problem with smoking being banned "INSIDE" public places, like malls and restaurants. But, I do take issue with smoking being banned in bars. I think bar owners should have the option to allow or ban smoking themselves, not be forced to lose a lot of their business because of a non-smoking ban. I also do not see a problem with smoking outside. Granted, there are smokers who are inconsiderate, but walking down the street, seriously people, how much second hand smoke are you going to get when you pass a smoker? Since when does outdoors belong to the government or a group of people? I think smokers civil rights are being violated in some cases!

What you say is right. Why you should ban only one bad habit in the public. But think smoking spoils other's health. But other bad habits like drinking will not spoil the other person's health. I do not smoke. But still I am a passive smoker because all people around me smoke. i.e., when I walk, when I go to public place etc. Now that I am happy atleast in public place it is banned so that we are saved from health hazards. It is good if they ban other bad habits also in the public. Hope the government will take right action at the right moment.

In my country, INDIA, smoking in public place is banned. i wish the same rule is implemented all over the world taking into consideration of the health of the people in general. it is a bad habit. so promotion of sale should be banned then the rest as wished for banning smoking will happen.

smoking in public should be banned coz it effects others who r staying next to that person.it may show its impact on children also ,watching those scenes kids may cherish to smoke.its better to ban drinking also in public.if possible we should have bann every bad habit in public then only this world become plesent world.

I see your point, but the smoke that is generated from public smoking of others is a nuisance at best and a health hazard at worst. Public drinking does not have such an immediate effect, and if the drinker has a designated driver it might not be dangerous at all. I am very much in favor of all public smoking being abolished. It bothers me a great deal.

Here you can't drink in public like on the street or beach or boating as well as not drinking and driving. Smoking is a health hazard posed to everyone by every smoker. If places like bars and places people drink required the keys to be turned in or a ride provided its not as much as a hazard to the majority of the population. Its not the habit they are concerned with but the health of the population...and the cost of health caRE.

Many place ban drinking. Most beaches have a no drinking law. Many town have a no drinking on the street law. Almost everywhere has a no being drink in public law. If you are drunk and annoying on the street you can get arrested. Bars are meant for drinking. People who want a drink can go there, drink, and not bother people who aren't drinking.

If a person drinks and does not get drunk, he/she puts no one at risk. They say that secondary smoke is as harmful as the smoke the smoker inhales. Maybe that's why smoking is banned and drinking isn't.

Good thought. There are many questions in life that are yet to answer. We should ask no other than ourselves, why did we create such rules? As to your question, I don't think smoking should exist in life period.

I live in Pakistan and here is no control of Government, people do what they want smoking and other all things ppl do openly no one can stop them :S