TN finally passed the law (after years of attempts and 80% of the residents wanting it), even though it's traditionally been a tobacco state.
This is an issue that gets me pretty riled up...
I love it. From the standpoint of my health, I like being able to breathe air in public places that is free from avoidable carcinogens. I don't appreciate being forced to have my chances of lung cancer and other repiratory ailments dramatically increase, not to mention have my clothes and hair stink, when I go out simply because someone near me indulges in an incredibly unhealthy habit which detrimentally affects everyone around him/her.
The argument of "well, non-smokers can just not go to those places," is just plain stupid because when pretty much every public restaurant allows smoking, it's impossible to avoid cigarette smoke. What should non-smokers do, never go out and enjoy a nice meal? Either healthy people subject themselves to someone else's dangerous habit and have their health threatened or stay locked up at home and never go out? That's ridiculous.
I also think it protects babies and small children from idiot smoker parents who take their children out in public, sit in the smoking section, and proceed to chain smoke in front of their kids, making the kids breathe in that cancer. That's child abuse, imo, and those parents should be prosecuted. Hell, I've even seen morons bring babies into the smoking section of restaurants and puff away. Even seen some pregnant women who are stupid enough to smoke (they obviously love cigarettes more than their own unborn child). Those people don't deserve to have kids.
Also, from the standpoint of running a restaurant, the ban's been a lot better for business.
So, I'm all for those bans in public places. My conscience is totally clear. If a person wants to get lung cancer, great. They can do so either in the privacy of their own home or at designated places with other cancer lovers. But, it's thoughtlessly inconsiderate and selfish, if not inhumane, to unwillingly subject everyone around them to a similar fate.
This law isn't to protect non-smokers from the polite, considerate, intelligent (well...questionably so, since they smoke
) smokers who make sure that they're not infringing the rights of nonsmokers. It's to protect us (and their kids) from the inconsiderate morons who couldn't care less who is negatively affected by their behavior.