I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about smoking in bars being banned in my home town. Of course I was excited about this. I am not against people that smoke by any means, just the lingering smell that comes with it. The smell that sticks to my clothes and I get a whole new whiff of it when I shower.
My main reason for supporting smoking bans really does not have much to do with the lingering disgusting smell. I have a lot of extended family members that smoke. I have been trying to get them to quit for a very long time now. It is not easy to see someone you care about do something so harmful to their body. My cousins have smoked ever since they were fifteen, and I can only imagine the extensive damage they have done to themselves. No t to mention the amount of money they have wasted only to ensure expensive medical bills down the road.
Watching all these new bands originated, I can only hope that this will lead many to quit the abusive habit. The once convenient almost social activity is quickly becoming an inconvenience to smokers. When they used to be able to pull a cigarette out and light one up right away, they must now plan when and where their next smoke break will be. The only place that allows smoking may be blocks away, is this now a big enough inconvenience to maybe skip this smoke break? Down the road will the inconvenience overcome the addicting habit? I can only hope.
Residents in New York City are awaiting the Mayor’s decision on the new smoking ban in parks, beaches, and plazas. Some say they are being treated like criminals, and that now it is getting “personal”. I do not honestly think that these smokers that feel like they are now being affected by their habit ever realized or thought about the fact that they themselves and their habits were affecting many people around them. As a nonsmoker, I know how inconvenient it can be to be minding your own business when suddenly you are engulfed in smoke. Why should I have to move because of someone else’s actions? I do not want to smoke, so most likely I do not want to smell it. I do not think that smoking should be banned everywhere, I mean we are in America. Do what you want, smoke if you wanna smoke, but I am glad they are starting to tend to the needs of non smokers.
All in all I hope these bans keep coming. I am sure smokers are annoyed by all these bans, and I am sure I would be too, but I am hoping that these bans will reduce the number of smokers. The reduction of smokers will eventually reduce the number of cancer patients and illnesses that come from smoking. So keep the bans coming, and keep making this harmful habit inconvenient!
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