Aaaah, so I should enjoy while I can! I am temporarily in France where there are often not even non-smoking sections of bars, even restaurants. A coffee is not coffee without a small cigar. Despite smoking being alowed, I ask my neighbors for permission (often drawing strange looks) - I mean, smoking under the nose of someone who finds the smoke disgusting is like farting. But I still have difficulties making myself drop ash to the floor, as is here generally done in brasseries and bistros ...

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One big hook anti-indoor-smoking initiatives hang their hat on is that staff/employees in workplaces, restaurants, don't have that choice and that the negative effect for them is pretty much beyond dispute. You can say that they should get another job, but that isn't realistic.

As somebody said here, evidence of dangers of second-hand smoking is not that firm, but it still makes sense to err on the side of caution. However, as Michael said, why not regulate minimal air quality? Smoking ban is the cheapest way to achieve this, good ventilation the most expensive - competition would create choice.

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Smoking is a lousy source of revenue. I haven't looked at in a while, but it was the case that the French government did (and maybe still does) have a state monopoly on tobacco. Well, for every franc they made on tobacco, they spent *nine* francs on tobacco-releated disease care.

Yes, but how much do they save on pensions?