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From: albert@harvard.ARPA (David Albert)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.legal
Subject: Re: Smoking in public?
Message-ID: <105@harvard.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 8-May-85 16:49:28 EDT
Article-I.D.: harvard.105
Posted: Wed May  8 16:49:28 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 10-Jun-85 05:01:03 EDT
References: <473@nmtvax.UUCP>
Organization: Aiken Computation Laboratory, Harvard
Lines: 42

> I was hacking one morning (around 3:30am) with a friend, and someone came
> in the user area and started smoking.  My friend is very bothered by this,
> and asked the person to please stop (very nicely, I thought).  She flatly
> refused, saying "You're just playing games, I'm doing school work.  Nobody's
> going to stop me from getting my education!" (sic).  Two other people in the
> room agreed with my friend (including me) that it bothered them too, but she
> said that she would "chain-smoke" since it bothered us so much.  She even at
> one point half threatened us (with physical violence, even!)
> 
> Now what I want to know is: Is there anything we can do about this?
>
>                                 -Lautzy (Romulan)
>                               ...unmvax!nmtvax!guads

Well, legally, that depends on what city you're in, and who owns the
building you were in.  Several cities in my area, including Cambridge, MA,
have passed laws that prohibit smoking in "public places" (I don't know
the legal definition of that phrase) and in certain other areas.

However, it is generally very difficult to enforce these laws.  I have
been physically threatened on the Boston subway (MBTA) several times for
asking someone to stop smoking, including once, when I was twelve, by
an MBTA inspector!  Throughout the subway system are signs stating that
smoking in the stations or on the cars is punishable by Massachusets
general law, but that sure doesn't stop anyone.  I have never been able
to get an MBTA official to request that people stop smoking, although
I have heard them make announcements over the loudspeakers on the subject
a few times.

My view of the matter, although I am usually too shy/scared/whatever to
do anything about it, is that after I have asked someone to stop smoking
around me, whether or not it is legal for them to do so, they have an
obligation to stop.  There are exceptions to this rule:  in someone else's
house, they can do as they please (but I will stop visiting them), and
if I have no real reason to hang around where they are, I find it more
prudent simply to leave.  If they do not stop?  Well, one of my friends
carries around a water squirter, and I have seriously considered doing
the same.  Maybe I should.
-- 

David Albert
ihnp4!seismo!harvard!albert (albert@harvard.ARPA)