Saturday, October 3, 2009
News Streetalk: Should smoking be banned in Piedmont Park?
Posted by Jeff Slate on Sat, Oct 3, 2009 at 2:54 PM
Craig: I think it's good [to ban smoking]. You got some cigarette smokers who are not responsible, some who don't care if there are kids in the facility. Also, in some places cigarette smoking causes forest fires. I smoke half a pack a day. Cigarette smoking should be illegal. If they didn't allow me to smoke it would be helpful. It was a stupid thing I got into. With some help, I'd probably be able to kick the habit. One thing you have to remember is your freedom may infringe on other people. Smoking in public places destroys other people's health.
Michaelyn: Absolutely. You come here for fresh air. Cigarette smoking has nothing to do with fresh air. Cigarettes give me migraines. I walk by someone who has one little bit of cigarette smoking and it triggers migraines. I was just walking in the park. I had to go fifty feet out of my way because I saw someone smoking. I knew I would get a migraine if I walked by. What if I came here for a run and I got a migraine? That's wrong. I want to go to my in my city to go running, but I can't because people come here to smoke.
Chip: That's absolutely ludicrous and absurd. I'm responsible when I smoke. I keep the butt and make sure it ends up in a trash can. I want to smoke in a park, and I do. It's no longer my problem if someone is next to me. Move away from me. It's absurd that someone's smoking is taking away their fresh air. It's a big fuckin' huge outdoor park. As long as I'm not bothering someone directly, I should be allowed to do what I want. This is America.
(Photos by Jeff Slate)
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
Smoking absolutely should be banned in the park. Just because it's outdoors doesn't mean that people aren't exposed to second-hand smoke, so it should be treated as other public places are. Second-hand smoke is a major health problem. Not to mention the seriousness of the problem of cigarette butts on the ground.
like
dislike
I'm pretty sure that being in a large outdoor space does remove the effects of second-hand smoke. The whole point of laws banning smoking indoors is to prevent health problems for people who must be around it all the time, but that's not the situation in the park. Furthermore, we live in the city, and sometimes that means bearing minor inconveniences. I refuse to believe that anyone could get a migraine simply by walking ten feet from a smoker - if that were true, then they'd never be able to go near a road, where cars pump out much larger amounts of noxious gases. Anti-smoking laws should be used to prevent health problems for non-smokers, not to prevent anyone from ever having to smell a whiff of smoke. If you want to avoid any chance of being bothered, go live in a gated community out in Cobb County, and stop using your own self-righteousness to promote your own selfish interests.
Latest in Fresh Loaf
-
Vernon Jones wants to return to the Gold Dome and other interesting qualification tidbits
Qualifying period ends, dust settles, campaigns begin
-
Suspects in Pittsburgh gay bashing slated to go to trial Tuesday
The men accused of beating Brandon White in Southwest Atlanta already headed to court
-
Film Clips: Men In Black 3
Men in black are back, Chernobyl's tourism industry is booming, and music festival romance all this weekend 'at the movies.'
- More »
