As a smoker, I think I can provide a first-hand view for the opposing stance. Now, some of us smokers want to be able to smoke anywhere that we want, and as pointed out in your article, some non-smokers don’t want us to smoke anywhere that would cause you to come in contact with second-hand smoke. Bearing in mind that I can’t speak for all smokers, let’s see if we can hammer out a compromise about smoking/non-smoking locations on which we can both agree.

First off, let’s address venues that are safety concerns and aren’t directly smoke related. Places like gas stations, propane tank storage areas and basically any place that can explode due to lighters and cigarette embers. I’m all in favor of making those completely non-smoking (and the vast majority of smokers would probably agree). Is that acceptable to you?

So more toward the smoke-related grievances, let’s start off with something simple like public mass transportation: buses, planes and trains. Those places can get filled with smoke very easily and don’t always have good airflow. So in the interest of your concerns, I say that we give those places to non-smokers. Are we in agreement so far?

Next, let’s see if we can come to an agreement on restaurants. Non-smokers tell me that sometimes smoke changes the taste of food. I can see how that could be plausible, so I propose that we give you restaurants. Sound good?

What about public areas, such as malls, stores, airports or any public place that is enclosed? I know that sometimes people don’t like the smell of smoke, so I’d be in favor of giving those to you. When we want to smoke, we’ll go outside. Is that ok?

What about non-public indoor areas such as office buildings, school classrooms or dorms? I’ve been told that sometimes it’s hard to work when there are smokers around. While I don’t see how it could be any different than someone who wears too much perfume or the smell of a cheap air freshener, I’ll concede it to you in the interest of negotiation. So we won’t smoke in office buildings, in the dorms, or during class. Is that still ok?

There’s a possibility that some smoke could waft into those rooms, so let’s also give you the hallways. Shoot, we’ll even give you the whole building. We will go all the way outside to smoke. Agreed?

I know there are a few ways people get in and out of those buildings (for some reason people don’t like it when you enter/exit through windows), so out of the goodness of our hearts, I think that I can get the smokers to give you a buffer of, let’s say, thirty feet from the doors. Good?

So far, we (the smokers) have conceded dangerous locations, restaurants, stores, malls, offices, dorms, classrooms, halls and even a thirty-foot buffer around doors. That leaves us with outside and our own property. I don’t really like it, but I think that we can live with those arrangements. So, Ms. Thurston, why do you want more? Have we not been considerate enough of your stance?

We smokers are willing to stop what we’re doing and go outside, away from you, in the heat, cold and rain to smoke a cigarette. Is it too much for us to ask you to walk on the other side of a sidewalk or speed up or slow down so that both of us can be happy?

If not, then I feel there are some other dangerous scenarios that I should warn you about where you could come into contact with “harmful substances [that are] unrecognizable and unpronounceable.” You might not want to live near any industrial power plants. There’s a possibility that a minute trace of something could be released. Also, I hear that airplane exhaust has some harmful chemicals in it; you might want to check the flight paths around you to see if you are being bombed with dangerous substances.

Oh, I almost forgot about another danger that I should alert you of. Vehicles produce all kinds of dangerous gases like carbon monoxide that can hurt you in the long run. Also, you know, there’s that whole getting hit by one that could hurt you in the short term. So you may want stay away from all cars, trucks, and buses.

Basically, we, as smokers, are going out of our way in the interest of your concerns. If you aren’t happy with that, maybe we should revisit our previous agreement and make some alterations so that our concerns are appropriately addressed.

Drew Sprigall is a junior majoring in computer science.