I think this is an awful idea. And, I am not saying this as a smoker, nor am I going to go down the path of "smoker's rights."
I am against this because I feel that this takes away freedom of choice. I get the fact that people don't want to be around a cloud of smoke. As a smoker, I am very, very careful about where and when I light up. However, I understand that by smoking, I am making a very unhealthy choice. But, that is just it. It is my choice.
I feel that by Bloomberg doing this, he is making a path toward totalitarianism and eliminating the choice of people who do smoke, to do so.
One of the Councilman quoted in The Times, said that while he would describe himself as a marathon runner and a nonsmoker, he is against the idea because it eliminates choice.
I don't think that I have ran into a single smoker who doesn't realize that what their doing is bad. But, that is their choice.
Also, if you place a fifty dollar fine on people who do smoke, say, in the Times Square Mall, how many people do you think are going to pay the fifty dollar fines? I mean, let's be realistic in saying that in that particular space, more tourists are there than locals. And, I doubt, that a tourist isn't going to go out of their way to pay a fifty dollar fine to The City Of New York for a small violation that happened while they are on vacation.
I think that Bloomberg is someone that has been loosing popularity for a while, and, as a result, he is trying things that will gain that popularity back. Eliminating freedom of choice, seems to be one of those things.
"If you try to shag my husband while I am still alive, I will shove the art of motorcycle maintenance up your rancid little Cu**. That's a good dear"
Tom Stoppard's Rock N Roll
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