As anybody who has been assaulted by secondhand smoke while exiting a subway or walking on a sidewalk knows, the city can go much further. A total smoking ban on public sidewalks, or perhaps a campaign to get smokers to look behind them before lighting up, is in order.

I could not agree more. There is nothing quite like skipping down the street in a dreamy haze of how wonderful it is to be outside, enjoying your day, when all of a sudden you slam into a poisonous cloud of someone's lethal fumes and you are left retching and gasping for air.

When I was in the process of quitting smoking, I swore that I wouldn't turn into one of those self-righteous ex-smokers. But nay! I am as self-righteous as one can possibly be. Smoke at home, not in my face!