The arrogance of smokers

You can be sitting at a table outside at a cafe or restaurant in South East Asia with no smoking signs at all the tables and you can bet someone will grab a seat alongside you and light up. Once upon a time in Australia that would happen too until the government changed smoking laws; this was, without doubt the best legislation even enacted. The arrogant minority could no longer do as they pleased at the detriment of everyone else.

Their lame arguments that this would destroy the entertainment industry were without foundation. No longer would we come home from a hotel or nightclub with our clothes drenched in smoke. We felt better because we no longer engaged in passive smoking and we weren't poisoning our lungs with second-hand exhaled smoke. The stench of stale ashtrays that once dulled our sense of smell were gone and the cigarette butts littering the footpaths, walkways and common areas have greatly declined. While arrogant smokers walk down the street puffing on a cigarette still throwing their butts on the ground littering the natural environment, I take a certain comfort in knowing their days are numbered.