I’m really pleased at how much better smokers have become in the last twenty or thirty years.
I grew up in a smoke-free home, in the 60’s & 70’s. My father had smoked but quit; my mother never did (unusual for her age, turning 20 during WWII). She used to rant about her bridge club, inventing ways to get even with the evil smokers (in jest, of course … well, mostly in jest.)
I have asthma and smoke exacerbates it. At my worst in the 90’s, I remember often passing someone in the hall at work who had gone outside to smoke, come up 6 stories in the elevator, and the residual smoke on his or her breath as we passed would cause my bronchii to start to clench up … I hated that but I could hardly blame the smoker.
Smoking used to be entirely the problem of the nonsmoker. People were blithely unaware of the wind direction and would light up without a thought no matter who was nearby, or how small the room was. Thank goodness those days are gone!
These days, while I pass by a smoking spot on my way to lunch (holding my breath) I actually feel sorry for the smokers. First, I could take another route and avoid, but I like the one that’s more outdoors. They only have two spots per building where they’re allowed to smoke, and when the weather’s nasty, they aren’t nice places to hang out.
Today, I find most smokers do pay attention to where their smoke is going. Of course, it’s a big blessing that smoking is no longer allowed in public venues, and in most workplaces. As a musician I hated coming home smelling of smoke after playing a gig or jam, and I never have a problem with that anymore. Nobody expects to smoke inside during a private party: they head outside. What a huge improvement over the 70’s! (In the 80’s, we asked people not to smoke inside, and that was usually well-received. Usually. In particular my wife’s brother’s wife ignored our requests and used a coffee cup for an ashtray. Grrrr. Good thing she rarely visited.)
I think the pendulum may have swung further than it needed to against smoking in public. I benefit from that, so I won’t make a big deal of it. I’ll be happy when smoking is mostly a thing of the past. If only we could convince schoolkids that it’s stupid, uncool, not adult, and disgusting so they wouldn’t be tempted to try it – but, good luck with that.
I still remember the day my son was disciplined for smoking in high school. I was beside myself with anger at him that he was smoking at all, and it turns out he was smoking regularly. He finally quit in his late twenties; I can only hope he stays on the wagon. Life has enough problems without adding unnecessary cost and health issues.