Smoking is bad. Everyone knows that; there have been enough antismoking campaigns on television and in the media to last a lifetime. There is an abundance of compelling evidence linking smoking to cancer, among many other horrendous diseases. If you have a problem with smoking, that is completely justifiable and logical. However, this problem is one that you experience on a personal level, and as such, should be kept to oneself.
Smokers know what they are doing; they know that smoking is detrimental to their health and that they are at risk for numerous illnesses and a shortened lifespan. Not a single smoker picks up a cigarette and is confused about the risks they are taking every time they inhale. Yet for some reason, anti-smokers seem to question this knowledge, and their distaste for smoking becomes a hatred for individuals who do smoke.
It is perfectly fine to not purchase cigarettes and to hold tight to the fact that smoking does, in fact, kill. It is perfectly fine to excuse yourself from a group of people that offers you a cigarette or a group that is blowing smoke in your face. It is perfectly fine to express your opinions, however, it is not fine to proclaim these opinions as if they are a law that all must abide by. It is not fine to condemn smokers as disgusting individuals who partake in an, albeit, unfortunate and unhealthy habit. Smoking is a dangerous habit, but people who smoke are entitled to make these decisions for themselves, and are not bad people because of it.
People take up smoking for a number of reasons, including stress, hardship, a lack of concern for their health, or simply the fact that nicotine is a highly addictive substance that makes you feel good in the moment. Regardless of their reasons, smoking is a personal choice, as is choosing to not smoke. It is wrong for non-smokers to enforce their decision to abstain from smoking on smokers, just the same way that it is wrong for smokers to enforce their decision to smoke on anti-smokers.
In general, it is wrong for us to enforce our own decisions on anyone, because each one of us is different and is entitled to make decisions for themselves, by themselves. Of course, you can express concern for the health of those who do smoke, and you can encourage them to quit. But make no mistake; there is a difference between concern for an individual and forcing your ideals on someone. If people treated smokers as people who engage in a habit that they may not agree with and express concern rather than general apathy towards smokers, people who smoke may be more willing to listen.
Smokers are only harming themselves, and as such, it is not the responsibility of those who do not smoke to condone or condemn their behavior. Your opinions are valid, yet they are not universally valid and may differ from the opinions of someone else. All we smokers ask is that you keep your opinions to yourself, and we will gladly do the same.
