Saying No in Public Places
Your hotel room smells like stale smoke and you wake up coughing and sneezing.
The sign says "No Smoking." Still, smoke is so thick inside the
sports arena that you cannot enjoy the game. Cigarette smoke from other
tables makes it hard to relish-or even taste-your restaurant meal.
In some cities and towns, smoking is forbidden in most public places, and
many restaurants are completely smoke-free. Yet in other localities, restaurants,
bars, sports centers, bowling alleys, theater lobbies, waiting rooms, and
other public places, remain smoke-filled. Of course, enforcement of smoking
bans is often lax.
How can you avoid other people's smoke in public areas? Take full advantage
of nonsmoking spaces and limit the time you spend in places that don't protect
nonsmokers.
Here are some ideas:
- Always take the "nonsmoking" options that are available. Today,
many restaurants have nonsmoking sections and hotels offer nonsmoking rooms
and floors. You can even get a nonsmoking rental car. If one place doesn't
offer nonsmoking, choose another that does. The strongest statement against
smoking in public places is made by taking your business elsewhere.
- Don't accept what you can change. If a restaurant puts you at a table
near smokers (even if you're in a non-smoking section), ask to move. If
smokers don't obey nonsmoking rules, ask those in charge to enforce the
rules. When people near you are smoking, ask them politely to either stop,
move the ashtray, or hold their cigarette away from you.
- Keep children out of smoking areas. Choose "non-smoking" even
if people in your group smoke. They can smoke outside or go into the smoking
section if they need a cigarette. If there are no nonsmoking sections, go
someplace else.
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