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I, too, as a non-smoker, am very sensitive to second-hand smoke, to the point where it makes me dizzy and physically nauseated (even if I am outside on a sidewalk with a smoker walking in front of me -- although I think they have the right to smoke there -- I always end up quickly passing them and going on my way). I don't believe in abusive taxes on cigarettes, and while I don't care if people choose to kill themselves and indeed have the right to do so, it's not fair for me to be physically sickened by having second-hand smoke inflicted on me. I also resent the smell of it on clothes,furniture, etc., and is one reason I would never go to "happy hours" with friends after work when I was younger.

I wish more smokers would realize that many of us non-smokers literally become physically sick around their smoke -- it is NOT an issue of us being judgmental, prissy, or dictatorial. I am a defender of personal freedoms to the nth degree, but that doesn't mean I should have to put up with upset stomachs, dizziness, headaches, etc. from nearby smokers. It is an issue of courtesy.

One of the happiest days of my life was when they banned smoking on the commuter trains to NYC, in Penn Station, and in NYC office buildings (in the mid-'80s). And, ironically, it was ALWAYS the smoking cars on the commuter trains which would forever be barely occupied, while 80% of the rest of us riders were crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the non-smoking cars of the trains, packed like sardines for the entire commuter ride to the City. I also used to get angry waiting for up to an hour for a restaurant table in non-smoking, while half of the entire dining room, reserved for smokers, would be barely occupied.

I also think you were justified in asking your father to smoke outside, and it was gracious of him to accommodate you. My mother used to smoke three packs a day when I was little, and I used to beg her to quit. I also couldn't stand the smell of it, even as a child. She finally did stop, but only after I went to college.

You poor, poor sensitive flower! If smoke on the sidewalk makes you ill, all those nasty buses and trucks with their deisel engines must drive you straight to bed with the vapors, dearie.

I don't believe in abusive taxes on cigarettes, and while I don't care if people choose to kill themselves and indeed have the right to do so, it's not fair for me to be physically sickened by having second-hand smoke inflicted on me.

The word "fair" is nowhere in the Constitution and for good reason. Get over it.

I also resent the smell of it on clothes,furniture, etc., and is one reason I would never go to "happy hours" with friends after work when I was younger.

Two things:
1.) Do you actually own any of the items whose smell you resent or does your prissy resentment extend to the property of others? (No real need to reply to that, as we're all aware of the answer)
2.)I'm willing to bet that none of your co-workers really wanted a bright light like you along on their after-work jaunts. In fact you're probably one of the main reasons they drank.

You are spineless, weak and a drain on the gene pool. Do not reproduce.

I, too, as a non-smoker, am very sensitive to second-hand smoke, to the point where it makes me dizzy and physically nauseated

Once, while walking with my wife, became unsettled by the mustache of an approaching man. As he passed us, I glanced at the mustache and became nauseated when I discovered what had had me unsettled. It wasn't a mustache at all. It was long, untrimmed nostril hairs protruding several inches from his nose. Now what? Was his grooming responsible for my nausea? What's to be done? Are laws needed to save me from feeling ill.

Point of fact: your exaggerations, over-reactions, prissy tantrums, and out and out lies aimed at denying liberty are making me sick.

BUMP (but they will not)

And, ironically, it was ALWAYS the smoking cars on the commuter trains which would forever be barely occupied, while 80% of the rest of us riders were crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in the non-smoking cars of the trains, packed like sardines for the entire commuter ride to the City.

This is a lie. I was born and bred in NYC, and rode the LIRR for years. The smoking car was packed each and every day with people. We were as tightly packed as you were, I assure you. When they banished us from our one little car they claimed "the smoke SEEPS into the other cars." What a crock of BS, especially when you consider what other interesting odors were eminating all over the place.

I never liked living in NYC anyway, and have moved out to the Island. But I'm not far enough away quite yet.

Regards,