Reply #45: It's sad that a law is even needed, but the lack of common sense/ courtesy dictates it.

[AngryOldDem]

Cigarette smoke, to most nonsmokers, is an irritant. Sorry, but it is.

Almost all of my smoking friends realize this, and always ask if I mind that they smoke, and that if their smoke becomes a bother to me, I am to tell them so. If I'm in an area where I can easily remove myself from the smoke, I do. I don't make an issue of smoking because it is a personal decision and I have no right to criticize such. Moreover, if I ride in a car with a smoker, they usually wait until we get wherever we're going to light up, or they make sure there is adequate ventilation as we ride. What underscores all of this is just basic common sense and common courtesy. My friends realize that I should not have to tolerate something that physically irritates me.

Parents who don't show the same regard toward their kids have made this law possible. Forcing a nonsmoker to breathe cigarette smoke in a confined environment such as a car, especially someone who cannot effectively speak up for himself, isn't so much abuse as it is just plain boorishness and selfishness on the part of the smoker. (And I think a relatively sound case has been made in the past of health problems of children who grow up in households whose members smoke, so I think it becomes even more of an issue as it concerns kids.)

Do I like the thought of the law? No. But it's not such a leap to consider that -- in some minds -- what common sense fails to dictate, government most certainly will.