There is an argument that people have a right to do what they want, as long they’re not hurting other people. In other words, freedom.
One could perhaps argue that second-hand smoke does, in fact, hurt people; there is copious evidence to support such a position.
To my mind, that’s the main difference between nicotine / cannabis and alcohol. It is very difficult to use a product one smokes without polluting the air, and thus the lungs, of people downwind.
Of course, we do this all the time by driving, but that doesn’t make it right.
But they are unknown and not clear.In secondhand vape, scientists smell risk | American Heart Association
“There is evidence to suggest that e-cigarette use is associated with respiratory conditions and cardiovascular diseases,” she added. “As more evidence becomes available, we may see that this association is causal, both for e-cigarette use and for exposure to secondhand vapor.” Note the “we may see”.
and from your cite-While we are still learning about the effects of
aerosols produced from e-cigarettes, the initial
research suggests that the aerosol produced is not
safe.
Sure, not safe. But SHS kills 40-50000 Americans a year, mostly kids and the elderly.
Sure, but see above- smokers not only hurt but kill tens of thousands of Americans a year with second hand smoke
Not an argument. SHS kills. Period. Proven. It kills over 10K in the UK alone.
It has been estimated that domestic exposure to SHS in the UK causes around 2,700 deaths in people aged 20-63 and a further 8,000 deaths a year among people aged 65 years and older .
Cannabis is mostly harmless. Mostly. It can be habit forming and driving while high is a bad idea.
Booze does hurt second hand- drunk driving and of course ruined families.
Not so much for cigs. Due to the fact that the addiction can be handled by smokeless, nicotine gun or patches, and vaping.
Oh, and here is the Ops cite for them-
Britain proposes ban on cigarettes for younger generations | Reuters(,sales%20of%20major%20tobacco%20firms.
It would only block the sale of cigs, altho maybe pipes and cigars, but that article didnt mention them, altho Vaping could be restricted.
Agree. But if I’m on my deck, 1/4 mile from the nearest neighbor, the harm is pretty small to everyone but me.
Personally I despise smoking and would like to see it go away. I prefer public health approach to prohibition, however.
18, since 2007.
This was the clinching argument in Yes, Prime Minister about 40 years ago. They didn’t provide figures either - it would be interesting to see them but not sure it flies as an argument now.
I was against the UK smoking ban before it came in, despite not being a smoker - personal freedoms and all that. However, no-one (even smokers) can deny the vast and almost immediate improvement in the atmosphere inside venues like pubs and clubs when it happened, and I wouldn’t go back. There is also a clear public health benefit.
On this issue I’m torn between on the one hand this probably will reduce smoking (by making it less accessible), and on the other the fact I believe all drugs should be legal, on the grounds that more harm is caused by making them illegal.
And it may harm the developing brains of teenagers (as long as we’re talking about “smoking age”).
To a point (I almost wrote pint) I agree. Smoking away from others? Yes. Driving w/o a helmet? No. It varies.
This is a good summary of my feelings as well: I think people should have the right to smoke, but their doing so really does make the world worse for the rest of us: the stench lingers, the litter is omnipresent, and the contamination of indoor spaces is something awful. I sometimes ride the bus with smokers who don’t wash their jackets (this goes for cannabis smokers, too): unpleasant to be around!
So I’d like fewer people to smoke, ideally none, but the only way I can see to make that happen is robust public health messaging, punitive taxes, and restrictions on the behaviour in public.
As for minimum age, I really would need to know more about addiction. I don’t like the idea of restricting adults from things, and there seems to be an increasing trend to say that 18-year-olds aren’t really adults. But how addictive is casual smoking for a teenager? I’ve heard plenty of scare stories but I don’t know how to assess them.
Am not!
Just yesterday I was eating at an outdoor table adjacent to the door to the storefront eatery. Several patrons came and went who absolutely reeked of cannabis. Nasty. Now that we don’t (much) smell tobacco smoke wafting off people, the explosion in cannabis-stink is really obvious and really offputting.
To be clear, this is not about folks actively smoking either product. This is just about the lingering stink on them and their clothing and hair. Although I rather bet these folks had been blazing in their cars just before getting out to go into the eatery.
Actually the prohibitions on where you can smoke have been enormously effective in cutting down smoking in general. Moreover it largely moots the question of secondary harm. We should stop there for the reasons so clearly spelled out by @Beckdawrek.
I sat behind a cigarette smoker on an airplane once. Of course smoking on the flight was banned. But the odor combined with his off putting aftershave and general b.o. was awful.
I think I’d have rather smelled smoke.
I seriously considered pulling out the oxygen thingy.
I shower once or twice a day and am careful about hygiene in general. But I smoke cannabis daily and maybe I smell of it. When I smell it on others, I react in a positive manner, however.
While I find the odour unpleasant, most people aren’t really obvious unless you get very very close. It’s just the few that smoke a lot wearing the same outerwear, or sometimes a bag / backpack that doesn’t get washed enough. It’s more obvious for the nicotine users just because their smoking is more frequent throughout the day.
I would also argue that inhaling cannabis smoke, like any combustion products is very bad for the lungs. As more studies come in on vaping it isn’t looking too good either.
Its use has been inappropriately both demonized and sanctified. Like anything with consequences its not all good or bad.
Not even close. The deaths caused by Second hand Smoke are mostly cause dby smoking in the home, around children and the elderly.
You’d probably smell ok to me @kayaker 
My Daddy smoked a pipe. I loved his aroma. It was stale cigarettes I smelt on the plane guy.
Yeah, so did my dad. Mind you you dont wanna be in a room with several pipe smokers puffing away, but a whiff of pipe smoke isnt nasty like cig smoke.
So let me tell you my BIG beef with tobacco.
Chewing tobacco!
The absolutely disgusting most horrifying addiction short of heroin.
It is a true obstacle course to walk through Walmart parking lots around here to avoid the spit, lumps and puddles of its leavings.
And oh so lovely when they smile at you. Makes me want to vomit on their feet.
I wish that stuff was so outlawed.
Skoal type stuff, as well.
Rant over.
It is nasty. Not that we have seen that around here. But there aint no such thing as second hand chaw.