There just is no reliable "downwind". Whats downwind at one moment is upwind the next when you're at sea. Pendling I see people trying to stand "downwind" all the time at bus stops and train stations. They're wind tunnels, circulating air. Half the smokers dont even think about wind they just walk away a bit in some direction, apparently reasoning that smoke will rise straight into the air or just waft away. That is unless they are the first to arrive, in which case there will always be one person hogging the shelter if it rains, the shade if its too warm and that sunny places when its cold.
The only question is: Do you feel like you should make real considerations for non-smokers or not.
My personal view is that given the nature of smoke its just a very hard position to really defend from a point of view of reason. People farting or smelling of sweat may mostly be termed accidental, and (mostly ;o) not a health issue. I'm not arguing that such logic should always run our lives but smoker/non-smoker are not relativistically equal positions in that regard. Just something to consider as we progress in our negotiations of personal space.
To me, actually the health issue is a minor concern and I have no moral qualms whatsoever about the whole thing. It just very literally sickening to me to be exposed to the smell and feel of tobacco smoke, as I have been for most of my life, without ever letting smokers know how radically it affected me - that was some forced adaptation if you wanted to be part of social or professional life. Its just so people know what they're asking when they say "Mind if I smoke" - or just go ahead with a few symbolic "precautions" topped off a spread of after-rationalization.
Smoke away if you must - I would usually not be inclined to say anything, but lets be real about what it entails is all.
The only question is: Do you feel like you should make real considerations for non-smokers or not.
My personal view is that given the nature of smoke its just a very hard position to really defend from a point of view of reason. People farting or smelling of sweat may mostly be termed accidental, and (mostly ;o) not a health issue. I'm not arguing that such logic should always run our lives but smoker/non-smoker are not relativistically equal positions in that regard. Just something to consider as we progress in our negotiations of personal space.
To me, actually the health issue is a minor concern and I have no moral qualms whatsoever about the whole thing. It just very literally sickening to me to be exposed to the smell and feel of tobacco smoke, as I have been for most of my life, without ever letting smokers know how radically it affected me - that was some forced adaptation if you wanted to be part of social or professional life. Its just so people know what they're asking when they say "Mind if I smoke" - or just go ahead with a few symbolic "precautions" topped off a spread of after-rationalization.
Smoke away if you must - I would usually not be inclined to say anything, but lets be real about what it entails is all.