Nonsmokers shouldn’t be forced to share your habit

Every so often you’ll see an article somewhere in the news about a government or private company tackling the public smoking issue. California has pretty much banned smoking everywhere unless you’re in a sealed box a half-mile from any other human being and are willing to take a loan out for your pack of cigarettes. Washington state isn’t far behind.

Here in Alaska, we see the smoking rules in Anchorage have forced several people to travel to bars in the Valley on the weekends in order to enjoy their smokes. But even here, I’m seeing more establishments voluntarily take a no smoking stance. I’ve heard the remarks regarding how these businesses will drive away customers, lose money and eventually collapse since apparently all their customers smoke. In reality, the owners I have talked to say they’ve seen an increase in business and new customers.

By now you’re thinking I’m one of those people pushing hard against smoking. Nope. I grew up in a home with a smoker, dabbled with it off and on as a young man and currently enjoy a large group of friends who smoke. Heck, I even go outside in the middle of winter to hang out with them when they smoke a cigarette. On occasion, I’ve also been known to enjoy a cigar with friends.

But I don’t push the anti-smoking thing on people because I have yet to meet anybody who doesn’t have their share of bad habits. For instance, I can’t say no to a nice, fatty cheeseburger. Just like those people who enjoy cigarettes, eating fatty foods or candy is a choice. But other than that, the analogy falls flat. Because to compare it to smoking, we’d have to imagine that when I eat the cheeseburger you’re the one who gets fat. Better yet, we’d have to pretend that while I’m eating the fat is drifting off the burger, floating through the air and jamming itself up your nose. Hmm, no, come to think of it, I’m sure more people would be apt to agree that the odor of a bacon cheeseburger is better than cigarettes.

So how about this; let’s say I have this fascination for flatulence. I enjoy releasing as much of it as possible in the privacy of my home or in public — it doesn’t matter. So, I expect restaurants to create a “flatulence section” just for people like me. As long as I’m indulging my habit within my section, surely I won’t disturb your meal, will I? Just like the smoking sections, there will be some magical barrier that surrounds my section that is able to contain the smell.

It cracks me up when I hear somebody argue that if you don’t like it, then go somewhere else. It seems to me that argument cuts both ways. If you must smoke while you eat, you are just as able to make choices regarding where you do it. After all, it was your choice to take up the habit. Why should the rest of us clear a path because of this decision you made?

Another thing I’ve noticed about smokers is that, apparently, cigarette butts enjoy some sort of exemption I’ve never heard of regarding littering. During my workday commute to and from Anchorage I see countless cigarette butts being thrown out of car windows. Sometimes they bounce off my window (gee, how I love that). What is it that makes tossing these things out the window acceptable? Is it because they’re small?

Imagine how just one driver tossing two or three of those things out the window each morning over the course of a year would add up. Now multiply that by a few thousand drivers who smoke. That’s a mighty big pile of butts. And last time I checked, those filters aren’t biodegradable. Even the dry weather doesn’t seem to slow them down, when a single cigarette butt is all it takes to start a fire. I’ve often wished troopers would begin cracking down on people tossing their butts out the window. If anybody out there has ever heard of somebody being pulled over or fined for that, let me know because I have yet to ever see that happen.

I guess my point is, I can’t be judgmental and run around squawking to people about the perils of smoking. I think it’s a safe assumption most everybody realizes it’s unhealthy. And many of the people I see point their fingers at smokers are the same people who drive like maniacs, eat junk food by the bucket, drink coffee by the gallon or have other bad indulgences of their own. But since smoking stands out as a habit that affects those around you, it only makes sense to me that there is some understanding. It’s just logical that the rest of us shouldn’t be forced to share your habit with you.

Ben Compton is a Palmer resident and publishes his column under the tagline “Compton’s Corner,” the same title used by his grandmother, Phyllis Compton, a longtime Frontiersman columnist.