Smoking or non-smoking?

A few weeks ago we went to Wijnegem to a very large shopping mall. We just wanted to have a break away from the everyday routine, and what is more perfect than driving across the border, just to spend a few hours window shopping. At one point, Alec wanted to play at a play toy where already some kids were playing. Later on this lady came, with I think an 8-year old kid.
After a little while she just lit up a cigarette, while there is a non-smoking regulation in the entire building, and was smoking only a few feet from the kids. On top of it all, when she finished the cigarette, she put it out on the trash-bin on the "not smoking" sticker.
I have been smoking for quite some time, before I quit, and I have always tried to have consideration with others. Note that tried is printed in bold, since I guess that that didn't always work. First of all, cigarette smoke is kinda going anywhere it is not suppose to go. And second, some people are just TOO anti-smoke, that you can never satisfy them, no matter what you do, except for dropping dead right there on the spot.
I have met smoker's supporters, and opponents and I noticed that this really is a typical example of intolerance from both sides. Of course, I think the majority can get along just fine, and they just have consideration with each other. But the hard core are not willing to take one step back in favor of the others, and think that they know best how other people should live (well, this in the case of the non-smokers).

Of course we all know that smoking is bad for the health. And yes, it would be better for the finance to quit. But I know from experience that it is VERY hard to quit. I will tell you about this in another post, since it is quite a long story. And I feel that the hard-core non-smokers don't realize HOW hard it really is.
And I just feel that it's quite unfair to be bitching around on the smokers, chasing them, almost criminalizing the smoking. It is not allowed anymore to smoke at work, even if the whole staff is smoking. Probably in those cases, no-one keeps to those rules, though. And now they are talking about prohibiting smoking in cafe's, restaurants and hotels. Well, I must say that I can understand about not smoking in a restaurant, but in a BAR?? I feel, when you go to a bar, you KNOW people are smoking there, the combination of cigarettes and alcohol are glued together, are inseparable, like a marriage in holy matrimony, till dead do them part, or something. So, why change a winning team?
And what about hotels? Nowadays you can have a smoking or non-smoking room. They might have a complete floor reserved for smokers (or non-smokers). When you are in the comfort of your own hotelroom, you want to be able to light up a cigarette once in a while (especially on the toilet doing a big one). So why change that?

On the other hand side, I feel smokers should also have some consideration with the non-smokers. And I can talk from first hand experience.
In one of my previous jobs, we were working with 4 persons on our department, and 3 of them were smokers. So, basically there wasn't any consideration with the non-smoker. And no-one ever really thought about it, it just had grown that way.
And when we go to a restaurant, I liked to smoke after dinner. Of course I would wait till YuMei was finished also, BUT didn't have any consideration with the other guests who were still eating at the time.
And none of the smokers do have that. Have you ever saw a smoker asking in a restaurant:"Do you mind if I smoke?".
I did ask that question once in a while. And I think lot of smokers do that. But what if the answer is "no"?
Also the lady mentioned at the beginning is unfortunately a good example of the inconsideration of the smokers.

What I think is strange is the non-smoking sections in restaurants or something. Sometimes there is a nice non-smoking section, it's about 6 feet away from the smoking section. So, even in non-smoking section you aren't smoke free. I never really understood that.

Anyway, like I said, it should be a matter of give and take ON BOTH sides. But as long as there is hardcore, the tolerance is far away.