Arguments Against Ban Are Ludicrous

Dear Editor,
    The arguments against the smoking ban continue to amaze me. People continually argue that the ban is a violation of smokers' personal rights. The argument that nonsmokers should not go to bars where smoking is allowed is ludicrous. Why should I, as a nonsmoker, leave a bar where my favorite band is playing when I'm not doing anything to harm the person next to me, but that person is smoking two cigarettes to every beer he/she drinks? I do not believe that people have the right to smoke in public, period.
    I used to buy the property-rights argument, until I realized something. This is a public health issue. Buildings have codes that they have to stand up to. In restaurants, kitchens and bars have health codes that they have to adhere to. And why? For the safety and health of customers. How is the smoking ban any different? It's not! While I'm sympathetic to small-business owners, I'm more sympathetic to my own health. Whatever people want to do to their own bodies is their business, but when it affects my health, it becomes my business.