Smokers expericene prejudice
Issue date: 4/15/08 Section: Op/Ed
Tim Cooper
Reporter
It all started when we gave them the airports...
A long time ago a person could step off of an airplane and light a cigarette as soon as they arrived in the terminal. Lets face it folks, that first drag is incredibly delightful after being crammed into a shoebox with wings and being surrounded by annoying strangers who have seemingly taken pleasure in discovering ways of disturbing what little peace one can find in between destinations.
In today's world, however, I can't have a cigarette at the airport, most don't even have designated smoking areas. If a soul were to be daring enough to light a cigarette in the airport, they wouldn't even have a chance to get arrested before being accused of bothering one of the same non-smoking passengers that made life untolerable for the duration of the flight.
So non-smokers won the airports (and airplanes for that matter), but that wasn't enough for them. In more recent years it has been common to see restaurants adopt a strict non-smoking policy.
For some reason, patrons of the dining industry have come to the conclusion that simply keeping us in a separate, virtually quarantined area wasn't degrading enough. Again, instead of a smoker's section, restaurants have begun to find it more appropriate to remove the smoking population completely.
We can't travel, we can't eat in public, at least we can enjoy a cigarette at our favorite drinking establishment (those who are old enough, of course) right?
Guess again.
To protect the health of all the drunks in bars across our country, we have found it necessary to ban tobacco. I guess scirossis of the liver isn't that big of a concern to these people.
Forget smoking inside, at least we few remaining criminals can at least go outside for a relaxing drag. But for how long?
Our school has a policy that prohibits smoking within 25 feet of any entrance, but when will the easily offendable finally put a stop to any smoking on campus?
How long will it be until people think it's necessary to ban smoking from people's automobiles?
What other asinine restrictions are going to be placed upon us, we belittled smokers, when all along, all we have been trying to do was make non-smokers a little less irritating?
Perhaps, one day, people will finally have suffered one too many insults about their personal decision to smoke, and begin banning non-smokers from their restaurants and bars.
Until that day, I'll be outside, on display under the scrutiny of all you self-righteous "healthy" people. Hopefully it's not raining.
Reporter
It all started when we gave them the airports...
A long time ago a person could step off of an airplane and light a cigarette as soon as they arrived in the terminal. Lets face it folks, that first drag is incredibly delightful after being crammed into a shoebox with wings and being surrounded by annoying strangers who have seemingly taken pleasure in discovering ways of disturbing what little peace one can find in between destinations.
In today's world, however, I can't have a cigarette at the airport, most don't even have designated smoking areas. If a soul were to be daring enough to light a cigarette in the airport, they wouldn't even have a chance to get arrested before being accused of bothering one of the same non-smoking passengers that made life untolerable for the duration of the flight.
So non-smokers won the airports (and airplanes for that matter), but that wasn't enough for them. In more recent years it has been common to see restaurants adopt a strict non-smoking policy.
For some reason, patrons of the dining industry have come to the conclusion that simply keeping us in a separate, virtually quarantined area wasn't degrading enough. Again, instead of a smoker's section, restaurants have begun to find it more appropriate to remove the smoking population completely.
We can't travel, we can't eat in public, at least we can enjoy a cigarette at our favorite drinking establishment (those who are old enough, of course) right?
Guess again.
To protect the health of all the drunks in bars across our country, we have found it necessary to ban tobacco. I guess scirossis of the liver isn't that big of a concern to these people.
Forget smoking inside, at least we few remaining criminals can at least go outside for a relaxing drag. But for how long?
Our school has a policy that prohibits smoking within 25 feet of any entrance, but when will the easily offendable finally put a stop to any smoking on campus?
How long will it be until people think it's necessary to ban smoking from people's automobiles?
What other asinine restrictions are going to be placed upon us, we belittled smokers, when all along, all we have been trying to do was make non-smokers a little less irritating?
Perhaps, one day, people will finally have suffered one too many insults about their personal decision to smoke, and begin banning non-smokers from their restaurants and bars.
Until that day, I'll be outside, on display under the scrutiny of all you self-righteous "healthy" people. Hopefully it's not raining.
Be the first to comment on this story