A Smoke Free World?

When I read articles like this one, I am made to recall a night in Madrid a little while back, when I had what can only be described as an "allergic attack" to a smoke filled taberna. Meg and I were out with Vicky and Pablo, our Uruguayan/New Yorker friends in Madrid and after having a lovely dinner, we sauntered over to a cafe adjacent to the restaurant (a very customary thing to do in Madrid... Share the wealth!) to have our desert and post dinner chat. When we swung open the door the place appeared as though there was a lit bonfire in the center of the room. It was incredible, I couldn't remember ever being in a cafe or restaurant in my life with that much smoke from cigarettes. I carried on pleasant conversation, and had a generally very agreeable time, aside from the fact that I kept looking around to check that the walls were not actually on fire! By the time I went home, my eyes felt like they were bleeding, and I couldn't breathe through my nose. The next day, I woke up blowing green chunks from my nose. I had such a strong "reaction" of whatever kind to that environment that I had picked up a nasal infection! I was shocked, and vowed to never enter that particular cafe ever again. Following several conversations about this incident with both foreigners and Spaniards, I struck upon an essential difference in the "logic of personal rights and freedoms" that exists between Canadians and Spaniards (for the most part). Most Canadians feel that they have "the right to clean air" and that legislation should reflect that stance. Someone else's behavior should not be "forced upon us" is the line of thinking. Whereas in Spain, people generally feel that legislating against smoking reflects an infringement on their personal rights and freedoms. They feel that a person's body is their own and they should be able to do with it as they wish. They inherently seem to be missing the entire point that when you smoke in an enclosed area, you are affecting those around you in addition to yourself and thus infringing on their personal rights and freedoms! It is a strange thing to encounter in this day and age of open acknowledgements about the harmful effects of smoking, even from the cigarette industry to find people defending their ability to slowly kill themselves and those around them! I was easily the first thing on a list of annoyances I encountered while living in Spain, short though the list may be!