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# I think it does negatively impact on others.
If someone lights up in front of me when i'm walking down the road I have to make sure i'm not down wind as i think cigarette smoke stinks like fuck. When spending evenings in pubs/gig venues/peoples houses where there are smokers I invariably end up leaving with a sore throat and smelling like an ashtray.

You would complain if I farted in your face so I respectfully ask you to keep your noxious fumes out of mine.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:26, archived)
# No, I would not complain if you farted.
This is because I understand that everyone is different and that other enjoy things which I do not.

I do not smoke, but I resent the fact that being a minority makes it a target.

A slight odour does not count as significant discomfort for others.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:30, archived)
# The significance of the discomfort
need not be a consideration.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:36, archived)
# Well, to go back to JSM, if I may
offense is not harm
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:42, archived)
# Well, that's not clear.
Mill thinks that it isn't. I'm not so sure - and by this I do mean that I don't know. I've been toying with the idea of writing something on offensiveness for a while now.

Whether or not it is, though, you're presupposing that it's the outcome of an action that makes the difference. It might be that you can be wronged without being harmed at all, or that any harm is wrong to the same extent, and that the degree thereof is a mere detail.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:47, archived)
# Indeed, I agree with the theory
but I have personally addressed the questions and believe that the level of offence and harm IS important.

Aside from this, I believe that intent, rather than effect, is the governing factor in behaviour, but that does not apply to this argument.

Lunch, however, does.

Cheerio!
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:51, archived)
# Christ!
Lunchtime already!

T'ra!
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:55, archived)
# I am happy for people to enjoy smoking
but being in a smoky environment does diminish my enjoyment of an evening.

It's not targeted because it's a minority, jugglers are a minority but they're not targeted. It's targeted because it's not good for you or the people around you. Or do you doubt that second hand smoke is dangerous?
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:40, archived)
# I doubt that second hand smoke in a unenclosed environment
is measurably detrimental to your health.

Yes.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:43, archived)
# That was a wonderful answer to a question I didn't ask.
A fine politician you'll make.

I agree mind you on the point that it isn't harmful in open air. Yet to your original point I still feel a negative impact is still there.

You've gone from negative impact to significant discomfort to harm. These are not synonyms. Smoking in the open air indeed may not harm me but I do say it has a negative impact. Smoking inside does harm and cause significant discomfort. Which effect would you like to argue?
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 13:03, archived)
# Racists are negatively impacted by blacks.
I am talking about smoking in unconfined spaces or alone. I am talking about harm.

My answer perfectly matches the question you asked in the context of the thread. It may not have matched the question which you intended to ask, but I cannot reasonably be expected to make inferences based upon oblique implications.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 13:33, archived)
# Walking around is dangerous, you might barge into somebody.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:44, archived)
# So in summary, let's ban farting.
Everybody must wear some kind of gas-filtering nappy, by law. The police will perform routine checks to make sure we are wearing our nappies. Cans of beans, which must by law be unattractive, will carry large labels stating "this food WILL cause flatulence", and somewhere underneath, in smaller print, "baked beans". They will be heavily taxed. This will make the world a better place.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:36, archived)
# This would be good for some people I know.
but i think we're safe just sticking to the generally accepted social convention that it's not polite to fart in someone's face.

That's all that I would ask of smokers, a little consideration for those non-smokers around you.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:47, archived)
# Aha!
Now, consideration is an issue here, not smoking.

There are twats out there - they need to be stopped, but lumping all smokers in with the arseholes is not reasonable at all.

'Some smokers are idiots. Ban smoking!'

'Someone used paint to write on a wall. Ban all paint!'
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:53, archived)
# I would still rather see smoking disappear entirely.
but one has both ideals to reach for and realistic goals.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 13:09, archived)
# I'd like to see golf disappear entirely.
Our opinions on other people's hobbies are worthless. Except of course that smokers tend to be irrational, perhaps more so than golfers. This much I can say with confidence is a bad thing. Whether rational smoking is good or bad ... well, I've never found cigarettes appealing. I've also never found avocados appealing. I'm not confident in my ability to say whether these things are good or bad for other people, I suspect the issues may be too complex.
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 13:26, archived)
# Expecting consideration is perfectly reasonable
(Being perfectly reasonable is considerate. Blargh, tautologies.)
(, Wed 10 Dec 2008, 12:54, archived)