Smoking in pubs should not be banned

It is very naive and misinformed of you to compare a cigarette to a burger seeing that these two are very different. One thing I need to make clear is that smoking has not been banned in public places because people don't approve of cigarettes in the same way that vegans don't approve of meat. If that is the case meat should also be banned from being eaten in public places. But one thing you seem to fail to consider is why the smoking ban only applies to public places such as pubs, cinemas, restaurants and so on. The smoking ban has been put in place not to stop everyone from smoking. Although I have to admit that the government is a strong supporter of a smoke free England (or Scotland in your case) for two of the reasons you mentioned: 1 - A smoke free environment is beneficial to the health of customers. 2 - A smoke free environment eliminates complaints from non-smoking bar staff. I doubt the Scottish government or any government will care about how often you need to clean your bagpipes. Interestingly enough you accused the government of interfering with "people's freedom of choice," failing to realise that the smoking ban actually allows better freedom of choice for everyone concerning the issue about smoking. Consider this scenario which was terribly common before the ban: I am a non-smoker, I like watching football and having a laugh with my mates so every now and again, I go to the pub to socialise. I don't smoke, because I am aware of the many dangers of tobacco smoke and I am not willing to do such damage to my body. However, every time I go to the pub it's filled with smoke. Having never smoked in my life I choke up on the smoke and I find it very hard to stay in the pub without having to go outside for some fresh air. I am also aware of the dangers of second hand smoke, so while in the pub I often fail to have fun because I have to keep on holding my breath and worrying about all the second hand smoke I'm inhaling. It's especially frightening to read of all the articles reporting about people who have never smoked in their life and have worked hard to keep themselves healthy only to someday be told they have got lung cancer because so many people have been smoking next to them. Consider the following facts; "An estimated 46,000 non-smokers who live with smokers die each year from heart disease." "About 3,400 non smokers die from lung cancer each year." "Anyone who hangs out in a smoky place for 8 hours inhales the same poisons as a person who smoked a whole pack of cigarettes." Source: http://blogs.myspace.com... "Children exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely to experience increased frequency of: asthma, colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, and other lung diseases middle ear infections sinus infections caries in deciduous teeth" Source: http://www1.umn.edu... It's not really fair, seeing as you can't always choose who you're next to. Consider the pub workers you spoke of, they are around this smoke for several hours, sometimes even more than eight hours. Is it fair for them to have to endure such damage to their body just because they want to make some money? I'll bring you back to the earlier point about freedom of choice. Now consider the following: Where is the freedom of choice in suffering from smoke related illnesses when your choice was not to smoke? Where is the freedom of choice when your child has an asthma attack when your choice was simply to treat him/her for that A grade by taking him/her to the restaurant? Where is the freedom of choice when your heart fails simply because your roommate chose to start smoking? And on this note I will conclude my argument stating that a pub is not a place you go to drink and smoke, it is a place you go to socialise, smoker or non smoker. Therefore the smoking ban in public places including pubs is a ban that is better for the health and wellbeing of everyone living in England/Scotland regardless of the fact that a FEW pub goers will be unhappy because they can't have a ciggy with their pint.