I'm a smoker and sat next to two guys who got drunk on the plane.
The flight attendants pushed the booze because we were delayed one hour before take off.
They were well on the way before we even left the ground.
I would have had a much better trip(10 hours) if they had been smoking.
Would you consider those 2 men selfish people the way you consider smokers?
Yes I would. I don't blame you for finding them annoying. One difference, you didn't have to drink with them. Smoke is different in that it goes into the air and can be a real problem for some people. Ten hours may be a long time for a smoker, but it is also a long time for someone allergic to smoke, or just extremely bothered by it.
For the record, I'm not saying government intervention is a good thing. I'm just saying if people behaved better, it wouldn't get to this point.