Please Take Your Butt Outside

Please Take Your Butt Outside

"A smoking section in a bar or a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a public swimming pool, the pee just like the smoke will spread, and there is no way of escaping it," said an anonymous author. Smoking affects many people's lives each and everyday. For example, I can not even count the times that I have been in a restaurant in a "non-smoking section" and still not been able to enjoy my meal because of the smokers on the other side of the restaurant. Smoking in public places has become a controversial topic over the past several years. Many places, such as California, Montana, and the United Kingdom have tried to ban smoking in public places for years in order to protect the air and the citizens. Although, many smokers strongly disagree, I believe that smoking in public places should be banned.

Of course banning smoking in public places would cost businesses as well as take away from people's rights as American citizens. Business owners who ban smoking in their restaurants could in the long run face decreasing money coming into the business. For example, those who smoke may decide to go to another restaurant that allows smoking rather than those restaurants that have banned smoking. Other costs to the business owner would be signs that would have to be put up to inform people of their non-smoking policies. In addition to costing businesses, many people would argue that banning smoking in public places is unconstitutional. Thomas Humber, president of the National Smokers Alliance says, "By banning smoking, all California has is prohibition again." However that is a poor analogy, prohibition banned the consumption of liquor everywhere. The law banning smoking only outlaws public indoor smoking, meaning that no one will be arrested for smoking on the street or in their homes.

Smoking in public places such as bars, clubs and even some restaurants encourage others to smoke. Tobacco use usually begins in early adolescence by either experimentation in public places, or solely by peer pressure. In fact, very few smokers are known to take up smoking on their own; they are almost always influenced by others. For example, a non-smoking college student who goes to a bar with friends who smoke is more likely to smoke because of the social smoking atmosphere. Besides taking up the habit of smoking in public places; one smoker causes many other smokers to also smoke. For instance, when one person in a restaurant smokes it seems as if every other person in the restaurant who smokes also lights up. Smoking not only encourages others but it also hurts others who are stuck in these situations.

Banning smoking in public places will not only help others from not smoking but it will also help the smoker. Smoking is very dangerous to the smoker. At least 3,600 people below the age of 65 die each year from lung cancer,