> I'm surprised to find that sentiment on HN, even most smokers seem to agree that their smoke may harm others and are considerate about it. The question is no

> I'm surprised to find that sentiment on HN, even most smokers seem to agree that their smoke may harm others and are considerate about it. The question is not whether people agree that something may be true; the question is whether it is. As it happens, it's not. > Do you really want to go back to the fifties where smoking in the office, public transport, or in public buildings was commonplace? Yes. When I was a boy I remember going to a hospital that had ashtrays next to the elevators. I remember loving it whenever we went (my parents & their friends didn't smoke, and smoking wasn't allowed in my school, so I could only smell tobacco rarely). > The reason smoking is banned in the workplace is simply because many workers do not have the luxury of simply quitting their job to work for an employer that doesn't allow smoking on the premises. That line of specious pseudo-reasoning could be used to justify just about anything, to include mandating smoking in places of employment. > Freedom is about the balance between one person's freedom to do something and another's not to be unduly burdened by it — unless you are an anarchist. No, freedom is about doing what one will, where one's will holds sway. My will should hold sway where I am the proprietor, to include my place of business.