It’s always the same story. The city wants to ban smoking in public places. Smokers cry, “What about my rights? I have a right to smoke!” The city says studies show secondhand smoke causes cancer. Smokers say other studies say it doesn’t.
There is a fundamental problem in the way we discuss this issue. Smoking isn’t the problem. Stinking is the problem. One smoker in a restaurant can cause 100 other patrons to stink.
Suppose I load up my squirt gun with skunk stink. I go into the bar and shoot you with it. Yuck. It stinks. It grosses you out. It makes your eyes water. Even your dry-cleaner can’t get the stink out of your clothes. It doesn’t matter whether studies show that skunk stink does or doesn’t give you cancer. It is still awful. But I have a right to own skunk stink.
See, the problem isn’t smoking. The problem is stinking. I support your right to smoke. I oppose your right to stink. The city doesn’t need to ban smoking. It needs to ban stinking.
