I think we should also give smokers a bit of credit in that, I don't think they would die from a few hours on a dive boat without a cigarette. Some would, yes, but most won't and largely, that won't affect business to the same degree as the entire smoking population.
I can't believe I'm going to compare the two because it's so incredibly stupid but it seems for you all to understand this, it's the comparison I feel needs to be made. If someone releases weaponized toxic aerosol into the air you run for cover because it will kill you. Why is it such a huge reaction when someone who doesn't smoke or isn't used to a smoker, reacts the same in some respect? If it was your right to release weaponized chemical agents would the expected response from the many who don't like it come into question? Even when someone is not smoking, many non-smokers and ex-smokers can smell it on your cloths, depending on the frequency of which one smokes, this can be quite disgusting and nauseating. Aside from such a trivial, small matter that can annoy someone who is in close proximity of others the fact is smoking is harmful and even if the repeated exposure doesn't kill you or give you cancer it makes it hard to breathe. Since I'm a Canadian I'll also include that this makes my taxes go up because I in turn pay for the health care to treat you and your medical issues such as cancer and deal with the long term affects of it. You do too, but to say there's only a few issues and it's no big deal is incorrect. Your choice affects everyone, greatly. Now, while I respect everyone's decision to smoke privately, as it is your right, calling those who have differences Nazi's and other names is silly. If I were a Nazi I'd demand that you took a full shower and changed your clothes into fresh ones from vapour-sealed bags in a decontamination zone so I didn't have to smell the stuff, but because we don't live in socialist hyperbole we can throw that out the window. I guess it's your right to murder someone if the desire hits you, but there's always backlash and consequences, don't be too surprised when people don't share your habit aren't on board with your habit when it affects them. As per boat fumes and other carcinogens, those are things we have a bit less control over because they're harder to fix; they relate little to a thread related to smoking, it's a clever miss-direct to point out other unhealthy features of a boat but it's not under scrutiny. Both smokers, non smokers, crew and everyone around the boat are affected and none of us like it. If we can, we move away or choose options which affect us less. See the correlation?
No, smokers aren't some poison or stain on the world. Most smokers 'accidentally' started socially and because it's addictive find it nigh impossible to stop. My parents are smokers and they're nice people outside of their habit, they're not polite smokers but I do understand those also exist which I've witnessed and appreciate. In fact there are a good quantity of smokers who actually do respect the opinion of the nonsmoker and in some way try and modify their habits, given this is airborne and its harder to escape however, people still have an opinion on it even when the other side is trying. Unfortunately it's easier to complain and focus on the negative than look for small positives. I'm not asking anyone to stop smoking, smoke to your hearts content. I'm addressing the proximity in which it affects me personally, I can't really even speak for non smokers but we all have that in common and there are a few shared opinions. Personally speaking, the same obnoxious arrogance that some smokers have is the same non smokers have when they try and dictate what other people do. It's a personality flaw, not related to the issue. At some point we're going to have to mutually accept that smoking is no longer something many people want to be apart of or around, almost like racism or anything else that we progressively move away from. As time goes on, we'll drag society kicking and screaming from both sides to whatever the future ends up being, we could try smiling at one another in the process and realize we're all human and maybe on a human level we could actually appease each other and not always put our own needs first.
