Hate Smoking, Not The Smoker

Let me get something off my chest. I hate smoking. I hate coming home from a night out smelling of smoke. I think that public smoking is a selfish and incredibly rude habit. Tell me something Dear Constant Reader, why do people think they have the right to smoke around me? Because Dear Reader... they do. I hate to say it but if obnoxious people have the right to stop me in the street just to say "God you are tall aren't you?" and if I have the right to get stupidly drunk and irritate others then why don't smokers have the right to be selfish and rude??

The idea of banning smoking is so illiberal it hurts. I loved the fact in San Francisco I could go out and come home still smelling fresh. But is that worth someone else losing part of their freedom? No it's not. This Government has done quite a few good things, especially for us moxes. But it has down far more bad things... plans for ID cards, ASBOs, a massive increase in police powers and caused a panic in the face of a terrorist threat from inside our country (despite the fact this country has a long history of fighting internal terrorism and hasn't had to panic before...). Banning smoking is just another sign of this behemoth of a Government taking our freedoms away "for our own good".

If people didn't like people smoking near them they should turn round and tell them that. If your friends smoke around you without taking your feelings into account dump them!! We don't need more legislation... we just need to be a bit more proactive.