HW: HW off smoking in public venues

[M Holmes]

Muad'Dib writes:

> if there are smoking areas they should include a provision for industrial
> level ventilation.

That seems to work well in parts of the US.

It could have worked here too. The problem is that "nonsmoking areas"
had been set up in pubs in ways such that nobody explained to the smoke
that it wasn't supposed to travel to the immediately adjacent and
non-separated nonsmoking areas. After years of this the bars, faced with
the ban, are whining that they could set up proper smoking areas with
real separate ventilation, nobody believes a word of it. I think a
separate problem in Scotland is that once winter sets in, the bars tend
to switch off all ventilation because it drags in cold air and forces
either much higher heating costs or the punters leaving because it's too
cold.

As far as I'm concerned, people can take whatever drugs they please.
They simply have the responsibility not to dose or otherwise
inconvenience others through their drug use. Smoking in public clearly
breaks both those caveats. If someone should want to wear a nicotine
patch or take snuff in public, I'd have no objection. If the bars want
to keep selling nicotine, perhaps they should figure out how to put it
into a drink. If it's possible to make cannabis tea and beer, what's the
problem with using tobacco leaves instead?

FoFP