Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Calabasas, CA is passing some sort of law...
...outlawing smoking in public areas. This includes parks and even while driving. Apparently, if you are smoking in your car with the window down, if a moped or someone walks near your car, you need to roll your window up.
The extent of the law may sound ridiculous, but it makes a good point. The ACLU extend the power of civil liberties to the extent where another person is somehow threatened. Despite polar opinions of the harm of second-hand smoke; it is still a nuisance and there have been a handful of recorded cases of second-hand smoke being the primary cause of lung cancer.
While the letter of this law may be a bit extreme, I still believe that a little common courtesy should be extended to others.
If I left the gym smelling of sweat and doom, I wouldn't whip out a fan on rotate and blow that smell near the entrance of a public building. At the least, I would do so in an area such that people can freely enter the building without inhaling my annoying (yet not proven to lead to terminal illnesses) smell.
Smokers -- please have the courtesy to not stand in front of the entrance at Chili's and smoke. Please move to the side so that I may enter the restaurant without forcibly inhaling the fumes. If a crosswind blows my way, thats unfortunate, and I accept that. If you casually blow your plume and I smell the strong part of it (read: not a mere hint of it), then you're too close. I respect your right to smoke; respect my right to walk in a building and not get the brunt of it. I can't avoid it by entering another way; you can walk another 10 feet away from the door and I'm not challenging your civil liberties.
The extent of the law may sound ridiculous, but it makes a good point. The ACLU extend the power of civil liberties to the extent where another person is somehow threatened. Despite polar opinions of the harm of second-hand smoke; it is still a nuisance and there have been a handful of recorded cases of second-hand smoke being the primary cause of lung cancer.
While the letter of this law may be a bit extreme, I still believe that a little common courtesy should be extended to others.
If I left the gym smelling of sweat and doom, I wouldn't whip out a fan on rotate and blow that smell near the entrance of a public building. At the least, I would do so in an area such that people can freely enter the building without inhaling my annoying (yet not proven to lead to terminal illnesses) smell.
Smokers -- please have the courtesy to not stand in front of the entrance at Chili's and smoke. Please move to the side so that I may enter the restaurant without forcibly inhaling the fumes. If a crosswind blows my way, thats unfortunate, and I accept that. If you casually blow your plume and I smell the strong part of it (read: not a mere hint of it), then you're too close. I respect your right to smoke; respect my right to walk in a building and not get the brunt of it. I can't avoid it by entering another way; you can walk another 10 feet away from the door and I'm not challenging your civil liberties.
Comments:
Post a Comment
