San Francisco Politics

This asthmatic thinks it's ridiculous that smoking has been outlawed in public parks and other outdoor areas.

 

Now, don't get me wrong. It's great for me. No pesky smoke to irritate my little lungs. No ugly cigarette butts dropped all over the ground for my dog to try to eat. But we've already outlawed smoking in restaurants, bars and any other public buildings. That ought to be enough.

 

The outdoors is the only place left for people to smoke, other than inside their own homes. Ventilation is better outdoors, and smoking there reduces the risk of secondhand smoke problems for children living with smokers. In a town that advocates legalization of drugs (and in fact, it's perfectly legal to smoke marijuana in parks), this constraint is pretty ridiculous. Outlawing smoking at outdoor gatherings such as concerts makes sense, as in that setting, secondhand smoke becomes an issue. But this ban is in effect on all public property, at all times.

 

We already tax the hell out of smokers and have driven them out of our public buildings. I can make the sacrifice of tolerating them in parks in the name of personal freedom.

 

BTW we are not supposed to drink in parks, either. :-S

 

Thoughts?

Done