Smoking ban in Spokane parks?

It's pretty universal that smoking is bad for your health and that we should all quit doing it, and that the world would be flowery and perfect if that happened. However, that's not going to happen as people will still always need their vices for stress release (mine is eating, that's no healthy either).

While I like the bans in bars and restaurants because smokes just simply envelopes you indoors, and go to a bar in Idaho to discover just how bad things really are when people are allowed to smoke indoors, I think that a ban in Spokane parks is just a little too much.

Spokane -- The Spokane City Council delayed a decision Thursday that would ban public smoking in parks.

The proposed ban was back on the agenda because of some confusion over the policy. This ban included golf courses. But at the last meeting, that issue was penciled in to be reviewed in the future.

One park board member felt it needed to be officially brought to the table. But all the other members understood the proposed ban was a final vote and included all the public golf courses.

Here's an idea for those that don't want themselves or their kids to get exposed to smoking. DONT WALK NEAR SMOKERS. You can see them a mile away and I'm going to take a guess and say that somebody smoking 50 yards from you is not going to scar your life.

Now that's my uneducated medical opinion, so take it for what it's worth. You know, that common sense sort of stuff.

Indoors ban is a good thing. This is a bad thing. This chases smokers further away and banning them from outdoor environments seems a little too restrictive considering it honestly will have no affect on the health of people. It's more of a annoyance than anything.

But Brandon, I don't want to smell smoke when I walk in the parks. What about my kid's health? Do you smell smoke now? Seriously? Is it hovering above Spokane parks right now? Do you see smoke smog? No you don't. That argument is stupid, petty and dumb.

And by the way, you probably have to walk through some streets to get to Riverfront Park. In those streets are cars. Cars put out exhaust. You're probably going to get more damage from that exhaust than you are from the lonely smoker... and I've honestly yet to pass a smoker in Riverfront Park, they're too busy smoking it up outside of The Blvd...

This sort of stupidity is going to drive me to smoke.