Jump to full article: Baltimore (MD) Sun, 2009-07-13
Author: Elliott, Christopher - The Travel Troubleshooter
Intro: Haven't smokers suffered enough already? You can't help but wonder when you talk with someone like Efrin Knight, a French professor from Miami who enjoys an occasional cigar. "It's more and more difficult to get out of my home because of the tyranny of nonsmokers," he says. . . .
Is the travel industry turning its back on a quarter of its customers? Some of it is, some isn't.
Cruise lines may be the sole bright spot for smokers . . .
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Should the travel industry try to turn back the clock, pushing for laws that permit smoking in hotels, planes and restaurants?
No. The dangers of secondhand smoke are indisputable. But shouldn't smokers be allowed to enjoy a cigarette, cigar or pipe when they aren't exposing anyone else to the dangerous carcinogens to which they're addicted? As long as smoking is legal in America, the answer to that question ought to be: "yes."
Even ardent nonsmokers like Bill Armstrong, a consultant based in Calgary, concede that smokers should have a place in this world. "In my opinion, a smoking area in a hotel should be away from where guests normally go," he says. "The smoke from the smoking area should not blow into the hotel, pool or rooms."
I agree. I think just as we used to allow smokers to indiscriminately consume tobacco products anywhere; we've now gone too far in the other direction. Maybe it's time for a little balance.
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