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I'll reiterate how I feel on this.
Regardless of YOUR personal stance on tobacco, tobacco and the wilderness have gone hand in hand... forever. It is not "disrespectful" to smoke tobacco outside. It is nowhere near the same thing as littering, or crushing vegetation in a camp site, or chopping live wood, or anything like that. I believe we as US citizens have a right to choose our vices, so long as we are only impacting ourselves with that decision.
I also believe, that MUTUAL respect is a strong virtue. So, if my favorite thing to do in the woods is have a cigar, you gotta respect that's what I decide to do. At the same time, knowing that cigars are indeed smoky things, I have to respect you by DOING MY BEST to make sure I'm not sending smoke in anyone's direction. That means, I have the intent of respect, but should you sneak up on me, or I am unaware of your presence, then I can't be responsible for that, but I would gladly move if I suddenly notice a father and son coming up the trail to the spot I'm at.
It's easy. Everyone just needs to relax a little. We have so little "open backcountry" left in the US, let's all share it and allow for personal freedom.
Because once you start saying, "It is rude if I have to smell your smoke.", you might as well say:
- No stinky Tuna dinners. I hate Tuna, so don't eat it. - No nude bathing. I didn't come to the woods to see a nude man. - Bear Horn? I don't want to hear that echoing in a Valley. Deal with those bears silently. - I don't want to sit on a mountain top next to a guy with BO. Wash yourself before you choose to sit next to me. - I hate the smell of Scotch, please take your flask down the trail. - That lime green wind shirt nauseates me, please take it off in my presence. - The smell of coffee irritates my bowels, please don't drink it near me. - Don't pass gas up the trail from me, it is smelly and gross.
etc. It's a downward spiral of silly, self-entitled absurdity. It's one thing to be subjected to direct, harsh, second-hand smoke (I can't imagine a situation outdoors where this would happen)... it's another to complain of a faint odor in the air.
Oh and FWIW – I'm sure far more second-hand smoke is inhaled tending a campfire from 6 inches away than being on the same trail as a guy smoking a quarter mile away from you.
Edited by Scalawag on 05/24/2012 18:16:41 MDT.
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