This letter is in response to a letter by Robert Dorian concerning the "childishness" of nonsmokers who attempt to influence the actions of smokers.
I find it humorous that someone would attempt to say that nonsmokers are being childish in this way when smokers are quite obviously influencing nonsmokers by, well, smoking.
In the 28 years of my life, I've been to a bar once. I never went again because the 30 minutes spent in that bar resulted in me almost vomiting because of smoke inhalation.
You see, I happen to be allergic to cigarette smoke. I can't spend five minutes around someone who smokes without feeling nauseous. My question is simple.
Do I not have a right to go to a bar to spend time with friends, shoot some pool, and generally enjoy myself simply because smokers feel the need to pollute the air with their nicotine addiction? Personal rights go away when they start to infringe upon the rights of others. This is why people should be polite. You know, people should consider the others around them before they act.
People should ask, "Is something I am doing going to cause someone else trouble?" In the case of smoking in public, the answer is almost always yes.
Now, I know some people are probably thinking that I'm just some California liberal tree-hugger spouting bleeding-heart garbage. Well, here's some news. I'm a pretty serious conservative. I come from North Carolina, a state that leans about as far away from Californian ideals as it can.
The simple fact of the matter is that a smoker's addiction is simply disgusting.
I think I'm being fairly adult with wanting nothing more than for public smoking to go away. After all, I don't have a right to tell people what to do in their own home.