A smoking section in a restaurant is kind of like a peeing section in a pool.

One ought to have the right to threaten or damage their own health, but when one's actions begin to affect the health of others that right should end.

Smoking should be banned in public places because of other people. Not everyone wants to breathe smoke into their lugs.

I think non-smokers' right to get a clean air is more important.

Smokers have agreed to get their lungs sick, but others haven't.

Smoking should defiantly be banned in public places. The places they do allow smoking might lose a bit of money, but it will also help with the health problems that occur. Most people believe that someone who is not in the smoking area of the public place will not be affected by the smoke, but smoke is able to spread in a room and affect the people around. Smoking causes alot of problems not only for the smoker, but for the people around. If someone were to put together a protest for those to stop smoking in public, I bet that every non- smoker would say they should.

I doubt that the bars are shutting down JUST BECAUSE smokers choose not to go. Oh and by your logic, if someone is a pyromaniac and always has the need to light fires that its OK for them to run around in public with fire, the non pyromaniacs just need to avoid the fire. No big deal right?

Of course smoking should be banned in public areas. Not only does it affect the smoker, it can also hurt other people. People will breathe it in and then it's in their lungs. That is especially bad for people with asthma or something else with their lungs. A lot of people have died for second hand smoking. It's a problem that needs to be stopped.

People can ignorantly make the argument that smokers can do what they want - it is their choice to smoke, and their choice to harm themselves.

This is naive. Smoke from cigarettes doesn't just get breathed into one persons lungs and, when breathed out, become safe. That smoke travels all around the space you're in, and everyone around you will be breathing it in, and be effected by it.

Passive smoking is a real problem - the components of cigarette smoke will harm individuals apart from the actual smoker. The gaseous tar will be breathed in, restricting the air ways and clogging the lungs. The carbon monoxide gas will reduce the carrying capacity of others red blood cells, leading to increased blood pressure. The nicotine, in high enough volumes is likely to cause passive smokers to become addicted, without ever smoking a cigarette.

Everyone around you. Everyone in your vicinity. Will be effected by the smoke from your burning cigarette.

You don't get to choose the lifetime of others. Keep your smoke to your homes, or just give up, and prolong your own life - this is one time where you can be selfless, and still help yourself.

Yes.

Smoking is noxious not only to the smoker but the people around him also.

I agree that it is the individuals choice whether they decide to affect their health or not, but when it begins to have an impact on others' health I must draw the line. Inhaling second hand smoke is just as bad as smoking a cigarette. Some young children may be unaware of the health risks that come with smoking, but when witnessing another person smoke, they may find it 'a cool thing to do'. They may then go on to start smoking themselves in order to look good, little do they know that they will most probably get addicted and make themselves very ill in the future. If people chose to smoke then I understand, but do not influence others or have an impact on their health in public - keep it to yourself.

Yes, smoking should be banned in public places. I was reading the book, Fads, Fakes, and Frauds: Exploding Myths in Culture by Tomasz Witkowski. According to Witkowski smoking does more harm than the entire medical profession does good put together.

We should focus on subtraction of detrimental ideas in lieu of adding positive. Yet, humans are much more adverse to loss. This is why there are compulsive hoarders. Why the lost of $100 hurts us more than the positive emotions from the gain of the same amount.

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

Tobacco kills 480,000 people in the United States and 8 million worldwide annually. Smoking is still more deadly than covid-19. We should go further and follow New Zealand's example.