Vietnam Bans Smoking in Public: Great Idea or Too Extreme?
SodaHead News
2012/06/19 18:00:00
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Some countries are taking strides to cut down on smoking by banning it in schools, in the workplace, at bars... But Vietnam just took a giant leap by passing a law that completely bans smoking in public, and outlaws all tobacco advertising. According to Agence-France Press, the law passed by a vote of 440 out of 468, and will go into effect next May. It will be a tough pill to swallow -- about 47.4 percent of Vietnam's male population smokes.
The crackdown is meant to supplement a 2010 ban on smoking in public places like schools and hospitals. Though that ban has been in place for two years now, few pay it mind. The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance projects that by 2030, tobacco will kill 70,000 people per year in Vietnam if something isn't done to curtail the habit. But is completely banning smoking in public a little too extreme?
The crackdown is meant to supplement a 2010 ban on smoking in public places like schools and hospitals. Though that ban has been in place for two years now, few pay it mind. The Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance projects that by 2030, tobacco will kill 70,000 people per year in Vietnam if something isn't done to curtail the habit. But is completely banning smoking in public a little too extreme?
Why must I answer to one extreme or the other?
Regarding Vietnam's smoking ban, It's their business, not ours.
I personally think that people that are obese are offensive to see. However, I tolerate it, give them the respect they deserve, wouldn't dream of putting them down, or vote to deny them access to certain places. Equating guns with cigarettes makes absolutely no sense at all.
I know a lot of smokers like to think that they should have the right to smoke anywhere, but as someone who has asthma (though I have never been to Vietnam), I request air that doesn't cause my bronchial tubes to swell, making it feel like I'm breathing through a straw. You may like that, but I don't.
I know not all smokers are like that, but I do wish people with lung problems were taken into consideration more than we are.
Now, I do have friends who smoke. If I wish to be around them while they smoke (usually I leave or stand downwind from them), that's my own prerogative, but it shouldn't be forced upon me because you need to get a quick fix and can't be bothered to consider others.
I wonder how many of those 70,000 killed each yr. by smoking, are children?