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Do you believe you have any chance of converting someone by being on the offense. Could I win souls if I approached people, armed, and tried to force my views on them? This is along that same vein...you wont convert them...they have to want to quit, and the more they are attacked, the deeper they will dig in their heels.

There are all kinds of "legal" addictions. Many people are "addicted" to Pepsi or Coke. I have a girl friend who can't start a day without her can of Pepsi.

Many people are "addicted" to running 10 miles a day, or "addicted" to hard work-outs at the gym.

Many people are "workaholics." Many people are "addicted" to chocolate. And the list goes on. I am sure you can add a lot of legal "addictions" of friends and family that you know.

Smoking has been legal for many years. Many of us grew up in smoking homes. We do not suffer from asthma and many of us are not "sickly" because we grew up around second hand smoke, and are now smokers ourselves.

Whatever happened to "live an let live?" I would no more try to tell anyone what to eat, drink, smoke, etc just because "I" do not agree with it. Hey! What's good for me might not be good for you and what's good for you might not be good for me.

I'm just sick to death of all these nanny's we have when it comes to smoking. I am a grown woman who makes her own choices in this life. Is it anyone else's business? NO!

I understand that perspective.

I certainly don't want big government doing such.

By the same token, I would be upset with someone who claimed to love me and who did not at least a few times to several times [in some cases, many times] try to discourage me from self-defeating, self-destructive behaviors and addictions of any type.

Not caring, hatered, apathy, insensitivity etc. walk on by on the other side of the street.

Not caring. Not love.

And, typically, folks insisting on the right to their own unpleasant behaviors tend to spout things like: "Your freedom to do your own thing stops where my nose begins." But with smoking, that somehow suddenly or no longer applies. That gets annoying and then some.

Many of us have serious respiratory problems which even, in many cases, merely the smell of smoke on a smoker's clothing is sufficient to set us off. I don't advocate forcing smokers to change clothes before going out in public AT ALL. That would be extreme and more than a little silly. But it does give an insight into the problem many of us face. I've met very few smokers with much appreciation for such problems. I'd guess maybe they are a fraction of 1% of all smokers. That doesn't exactly warm the hearts of the unwilling victims.

Thanks for your measured toned post.