Should Smoking in Public Places be Allowed?

This will continue being an issue for decades. On one side, yes it is a persons right to decide if they smoke or not. It is also their constitutional right to be able to smoke. On the other side, second hand smoke is a dangerous thing and non-smokers have the right to not have to inhale it. And this is how we always end up in a limbo of who’s rights take precedence. I don’t feel we should take the rights away from either side. Why can’t we come up with a compromise?

When I was in the military you were only allowed to smoke in designated smoking areas. That guideline applies to all U.S. Military Installations. So why can’t something like this be used in public places? There is no reason showing that this wouldn’t work. All that needs to be done is have business, public parks, and public places of all natures pick a remote place to designate as a smoking area. It can be placed off to the side of buildings, even fifty to a hundred feet away from the entrances, in a location that isn’t in a direct path of people. If smokers are caught outside of these designated areas they could be issued a ticket, and that in turn would add extra revenue to cities and states. That is only one of the benefits. Another would be the likelihood that there would be less cigarette butts thrown on the ground since they would have receptacles in the smoking areas.

There are obvious benefits to doing things this way and I don’t understand why the two sides can’t come to an agreement that would benefit both sides. Smokers could still smoke in public places and non-smokers wouldn’t have to inhale second hand smoke. Isn’t it time we stopped simply discriminating against smokers and just use democratic means to solve this issue. Instead of a yes or no answer to one side it is time we respected one another as human beings. Just as it is an American’s right to decide if he wants to be a gun owner, it is also an American’s right if he wishes to smoke. Even if this isn’t written down in the constitution it is still something that should be understood by simple common sense. As I stated before, why can’t these two sides find a happy medium and compromise with each other.