Common Sense and Smoking

Personal pollution permeates the premises.

Opinion page by Duane Alan Hahn.

On Nov. 28, 2001, John Stossel did a short Give Me a Break! piece on ABC's 20/20 about smoking in the home called Smoking Bans: Going Too Far To Restrict Smokers. He reported that the county council in Montgomery County, Maryland voted for a measure that would outlaw smoking at home if the smoke bothers a neighbor. That occurs to the modern American as an extreme measure, but Mr. Stossel's accusations that a ban is "going too far" distract from common sense, which, as far as I'm concerned, indicates that smoking should not occur in the home when children are present. That should also include automobiles. Almost everyone in the U.S. has seen low-rent people in a smoke-filled car with a baby and a couple of kids in the back seat.

As drastic as it might sound at first, when we really think about it, might smoking around children be considered a form of child abuse? Children are subjected to this indoor pollution without having a choice — whether you think secondhand smoke is dangerous or not, shouldn't your kids be respected, just in case they might disagree with you if they knew all of the statistics? Shouldn't you give those who caution us about the possible dangers the benefit of the doubt, just in case you might really be stifling your kids' health? These are, after all, your children! The days of treating children like property are over. Parents do not have the right to do whatever they want to 'their' children, and I believe that smoking should be added to the list of things parents cannot inflict on them.

It's pitiful when common sense is not used when dealing with matters such as these. Here are some guidelines you might like to use if you're a smoker and are common sense challenged:

If you smoke, keep it away from others unless they smoke too.
Only smoke in your home if you're the only one living there or all other people living there are also smokers. If you have children, smoke outside, no exceptions. Once you're out there, be sure not to smoke next to an open window. This guideline also applies to vehicles.
If you smoke outside, especially if it's not windy, avoid smoking near others.
If you work for a business such as a grocery store or department store, don't smoke out front. It looks trashy and customers have to wade through your cloud of poisons just to get in the door. Some potential customers may choose not to go near the store because of your actions. That means you're hurting business. Stores should have stopped their employees from smoking out front a long time ago. It gives the store a bad image.
I've also seen many nurses smoking in front of hospitals. There should be no question that smoking in front of the entrance/exit doors of a hospital should be discouraged, whether it's employees or the public.
The large center area of a mall is not the same as being outside. Go outside away from the entrance/exit doors before lighting up no matter what they say you are allowed to do.
If you smoke outside, don't throw your cigarette butt on the ground. Make sure the fire is out and dispose of it properly. It's bad enough when smokers drop their cigarettes and step on them, but it's even worse when they just flick these flaming fire hazards anywhere they feel like it. I repeat, it's a fire hazard and it's littering. Don't do it.

Smoke 'responsibly' or don't smoke at all.

If people followed these guidelines, respected each other and respected their kids, nobody would have to talk about changing the law. Bans wouldn't be an issue, because the threat wouldn't be so great. But it seems to me that they can't be trusted to exercise caution on their own.

You may say, "I love my family, but it's my house and I'll do whatever I want!" The truth is that love involves action, not words. You can say that you love somebody all you want, but if your actions don't show it, it's just words.

If you love someone, you want what's best for them and you want them to be as healthy as possible. When you let your vices come between you and the ones you love, which do you think you love more?