I live in California and I think smoking should be banned, they smoke everywhere, in front of every store and restaurant, at all the bus stops, all the park benches, they hang their cigarettes out their car windows and all their smoke comes into our car windows, they walk down the street smoking and you can't even walk down the sidewalk without smelling that awful smoke. They take a big puff and then blow the smoke out inside the store or restaurant or bus. When the neighbors smoke outside it all blows over to my house and I can't even go outside. When it is in an apartment it comes into the other apartments and it smells so bad it is just awful. And the nonsmokers get cancer and other diseases from the smoker's smoke and it should not be legal to kill people with smoke or anything else. And if anyone says anything to them about their smoke they threaten them with physical harm and harass them every time they see them and shove their cigarettes in their face and ask them if they would like a cigarette and it just never ends and if smoking was just banned it would stop all these problems. And save a lot of lives. And their poor kids, having to breathe all that smoke in the house or apartment and in the car and everywhere. That is child abuse. Why don't they just ban smoking everywhere? And they throw their cigarette butts all over the ground and throw them out their car windows and start a lot of fires and they start fires in apartments and motels, etc, by falling asleep with a lit cigarette and burn the place down and kill a lot of people.

how could the cops enforce such a law? it would bankrupt the government. get real. now talking on a cell phone and driving is illegal. how can they enforce that law. its insane. plus smoking pot in public has less of a priority than a barking dog that is too noisy for the neighbors. if all tobacco products were pulled off the shelves, then people would go berserk. nicoteen addiction is one of the worst addictions to try and get over. alcohol would have to be taken off the shelves. then all the starbucks would have to close because everyone would switch to caffeen. and after that it would be sugar. we would have to ban sugar from the markets, no more donuts. that would send the police department into a tailspin. it would be better just to start smoking. you might enjoy it.

It will never be illegal. Not in my lifetime anyway. The government earns way too much in taxes to even consider such an option.

I'm not American but I'm close, Canadian, people who smoke should pay the tax now before we are sick from the harmfull effects of smoking. In Canada we don't have to pay like our american cousins but realistically we the smokers are taking away many valuable dollars that would go to some one who did not have a preventable sickness. Heart and lung disease is the #1 killer and I will not say all of these people who get sick from heart and lung disease are preventable but for us smokers we should pay realistically $30 pack to help pay for our care in the future cause the odds are if you smoke we will die a horrible death that is preventable. I swear i quit on the 1st of august for smoking and that is it.Quit while you can because it will be to late.

I think it would interfere a little too much with rights to flat out make it illegal. Its too large of a business for it to be stopped now. Taxing it however, I say raise em! More money for schools and other people that need it.

Yes, although I myself was a smoker with a 2 - 3 pack a day habit for many years, my personal opinion is that cigarette smoking should be banned and their manufacture made illegal in the US. We should be the healthiest and most intellient people in the world, if our government were running this country right and various departments of the government actually functioned to do the jobs they were originally set up to do, such as to protect the public's general health and safety. http://www.fda.gov/oc/history/historyoffda/section2.html Just as it is not lawful to manufacture and sell poisonous substances and offer them for the purpose of ingestion by humans, the manufacture of cigarettes should be recognized as the production of harmful and toxic substances and banned. There are over 4000 toxic substances in cigarettes, 43 of which are carcinogenic. http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/news/story.asp?newsId=1108 It is estimated that a heavy smoker who consumes one to two packs a day inhales every year up to 150,000 doses of poisonous smoke. http://www.stopsmokingsteps.com/2008/01/04/how-cigarettes-harm-our-health/ It has been known since the 1950's that cigarettes are addictive and cancer causing, and the manufacturers were allowed to buy people off and to lie, even before congressional committies, for the sake of the huge profits they were making. Although the manufacture and sale of cigarettes is still hugely profitable, most cigarette manufacturers have diversified into other areas to make up for the revenue lost since the admission that cigarettes do indeed cause cancer. http://www.who.int/tobacco/media/en/TobaccoExplained.pdf My mother nearly died twice last year from cigarette related lung disease and has to carry around bottled oxygen wherever she goes. Cigarettes offer people only a multitude of smoking-related diseases and ultimately death. http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotineinhaler/a/cigingredients.htm

No they shouldn't. There's no good reason to make smoking illegal.

I don't think smoking should be illegal. Since it has never been illegal, why mess with a new law? I see reasons why one shouldn't smoke, but no reason that there should be a law made against it, as it would result in the same manner as did prohibition and alcohol. No, leave things are they are and ALLOW people to be free to make their own decisions and mistakes.

We are not saying to make smoking illegal, only to ban it in public places so we don't have to smell it and get cancer from secondhand smoke. Sex isn't illegal but you don't do it on the streets and buses and everywhere in public. Going to the bathroom isn't illegal but you don't do it on every street corner and bus and so forth. We just don't want smokers smoking everywhere and smelling up the place and making us smell their smoke and get cancer, etc. If they want to smoke inside their homes, they can. But not outside where everyone can smell it. When they smoke outside next door it blows over to my front door and when I open the front door I have smelly stinky smoke in my face and I can't go outside until they are finished having their cigarette break. It smells so bad they don't even want to smoke inside their house because of the horrible smell so they go outside and then, lucky us, we get to smell it. Make them stay inside. Even motels have nonsmoking rooms and if they smoke in the rooms it gets into the drapes and carpet and everything and makes the windows all sticky and the walls and all this yucky brown stuff runs down the walls and car rental agencies have non smoking cars or else it gets into the car and ruins it and gets all over the windows, etc. Restaurants that have banned smoking noticed no more yucky walls and drapes, etc. Smoking is a bad thing.

no i don't think it should be illigal.

Ya, it will just like when they made alcohol illegal. Everything turned out fine. Oh..wait

The U.S. cant even enforce any of its prohibitions that it has now. Why do people want to create laws to legislate things like stupidity or an anoyance? Just because someone dosent like somthing dosent give us the right to ban it. I guess its the 'ol "whats good for me is good for everyone" mentality. You want to agrue a safty issue? Cars kill MANY people and have contributed in part to global warming. I bet these anti-smoking nuts still drive to work and use some lame excuse for it. these are the same people that want to ban guns but dont think twice about making phone calls while driving. I dont think many people realize that when we create laws we also create criminals too.

Yes, but if that happens it will just go underground, contribute to crime, like prohibition did.

It should not be illegal. At the same time, it should be regulated and limited to where it can be done. I don't care if you smoke, but you ain't doing it in my car. If you want to do it in, say, a restaurant it should be up to the owner, not government, if that should be done. If I had a restaurant, I would like to have a section for those who decide to smoke. Ain't hurting me or anybody else none.

People would just smoke more, and in secret -- and more people would end up in jail; there would be underground tobacco sales and crap, and it would all generally go to hell. I think quitting smoking is a personal decision, otherwise it just doesn't work too well.

So let me get this straight. You want to outlaw smoking outside so it forces it into my home and causes MY BABY CANCER OR ASTHMA? Not in this lifetime, nutjob. You are selfish. It is better to keep it outside. It's better for selfish adults to get cancer than innocent babies. How DARE YOU!

smoking should deffenently be illegal!!!!! Its a DRUG!!!! drugs are illegal, smoking sucks for the people around that dont smoke, it makes them stink, hurts their eyes and lungs and just makes me sick and gives me a head ace. parents smoke in cars with their kids, this is WRONG!!! if u care about the well being of your child then you wouldnt be exsposing them to such harmful chemicals!!!!

If they are going to try something that stupid you may as well make farting in elevators punishable by death. The self righteous powers to be are attempting to legislate morality and God willing it will blowup in their face.:)

That's none of the government's business.