2006.02.15
As a non-smoker one of the best things about living in New York City is the ban on smoking in all restaurants and bars. Breathing second hand smoke was one of the most annoying things about living in Japan, where people can smoke almost anywhere. I wrote about one aggravating incident in Japan in the news section of my main web page. (If you're interested it's in the 2002.09.10 section of Old News from 2002, the third one down.)
Another story I like to tell is about when my wife's mother was in the hospital a few years ago. She was in a room with other cancer patients. Guess what was just outside the doorway in the hall. Yes, the hospital smoking section. Smoke was wafting into the patients' rooms. Things are changing though. I have heard that hospital no longer allows smoking inside anymore. Now some areas of Japan are actually stricter than New York. There is a neighborhood in Tokyo where you can't even smoke outside.
Smokers will complain that their rights are being infringed, but I feel no sympathy for them. Often the two sides will argue about whether second hand smoke actually is a health risk or not. For me however the health aspect is a secondary issue and not what's important. I think it's an etiquette issue. The smoke stinks! (I still don't understand why cigarettes smell so nasty with their sour smoke that is so different from cigar smoke, and the more incense like pipe smoke. It's all leaves from the same plant, right?)
Would you consider it polite in a restaurant or next to you in a bar, if I farted all night long so you could enjoy the stinky fecal smell? I enjoy the smell of cigarette smoke about as much as I do the smell of farts. (I don't even enjoy the smell of my own farts like many of you freaks out there.) If it is your "right" to produce such foul smelling clouds of whatever gaseous matter that accompanies your nasty habit, then it should be my right not to have to smell it. In fact farts are better in some ways. If I walk through someone’s fart cloud the smell doesn't cling to my hair and clothes for hours.
Today's interesting link is from a recent Slashdot post: The 10 Best Sci-Fi Films that Never Existed. I especially like his comments about The Matrix, and this observation about the Star Wars prequel is hilarious: "It's not just that we knew how the story ended when we walked into the theater (me, I would have killed off Obi-Wan in Episode II just to fuck with you). It's that this isn't the interesting part of the saga. Adolf Hitler's childhood wasn't interesting. So Darth Vader used to be a wooden, whining kid. Fascinating. The pre-rebellion galaxy was embroiled in a series of boring bureaucratic disputes. Great, George. Tell me more!"
--Old blog comments:
February 15th, 2006 at 9:32 pm
jer Says:
Washington State, where I make my home, just recently passed
the same type of law, banning smoking in (nearly) all public
places. I'm completely and utterly torn on this issue. On
the one hand, I'm outraged that the government is yet again
meddling in things that it doesn't need to be meddling in,
eroding civil liberties even further. On the other hand, I
hate smoke, and even more so the people doing the smoking.
I'm with you completely on your argument, I just can't follow you to the point that government needs to get involved. I'd much rather see people who don't like smoke to not frequent establishments that allow smoking, thus sending a message, eventually causing some restaurants to realize that there is actually a market for smoke-free places.
As for the bar workers suing (which was a big part of the case here) to have a safe workplace: I feel for them. I understand what it's like to want to work in a clean smell-free environment. the thing is though, when you make the choice to work in a BAR, you kinda have to put up with the things that one finds in bars.
As for the health issues, you're right, it really doesn't matter whether it is harmful or not. THe thing is though, no one can really argue that it ISNT bad for you; what's in question is whether or not anyone has been able to scientifically PROVE that it IS bad for you, and that has not yet happened. I'm confident that it will one day, because it OBVIOUSLY is bad for you. I mean come on, seriously.
The etiquette thing goes much further than smoking though Everywhere I go, people are inconsiderate assholes, whether it be having cellphone conversations in public places, smoking, driving poorly, yelling at people who deserve better treatment, treating people in the service industry like slaves, etc. I wish it were possible to legislate assholity, but sadly, it isn't. (And I wouldn't be in favor of that type of legislation anyway. I don't believe it is the government's job to be meddling in such things.)
-February 16th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
GNBenson Says:
I see your point in not wanting the government meddling, but
since it is something that I benefit directly from it's not
high on my list of government reforms. However, when I think
about another issue, such as noise pollution, I can see how we
do need government meddling. If your neighbor is blasting
their stereo at an unreasonable level can't we call the police
to complain? Am I infringing on the neighbor's right to play
music loudly? What about my right to peace and quiet? Isn't
that situation analogous to the situation involving smoke and
my right to breathe fresh air? I realize the situation changes
if you are talking about your home, a public space, or private business.
Years ago it was common for people to smoke in offices in the US. Now smoking is banned in all offices as far as I know. I could imagine a bar worker might want his workplace to join this trend. Is a smoky environment really a necessary evil of working in a bar? Does it really have to come with the territory, like the risk of injury from working on an oil rig or in a mine?
It also makes me wonder about diesel exhaust, which I think is worse (from a health perspective) than cigarette smoke. It's not like I can choose not to walk on the sidewalk where passing trucks are belching their fumes, like choosing not to enter a bar that allows smoking. In the trucks' defense, at least they are burning the fuel for some economic purpose. Cigarette smoke is produced by a needless addiction.
Maybe the government is overstepping its bounds by forcing private businesses to ban smoking when the consumers should make the decision. But like I said, it is an overstep that I can't help personally enjoying.
-February 17th, 2006 at 2:41 am
Georgie Says:
Um...i didn't think your farting at
the dinner table was very nice by the way...
so I'll take the smoking thing as a mutual
disrespect from me! HA! But then again...
you do owe me a couple of slights! I did
used to scream at your parents about porn and girls!
Let's talk about people who eat each other's food!
-February 17th, 2006 at 10:53 am
GNBenson Says:
Yeah yeah. I don't remember you smoking at the time. Are you now? If so, you should quit.