In Germany a person is allowed to go to bars and drink at age 16. I remember going out Friday evenings with my friends and hanging out in pubs. The smoke was thick and we felt soooo cool. I wasn’t a smoker then and I am not a smoker now, but I’ll miss the atmosphere. I think what I tend to dislike is *former* anything…as in former smoker Mayor Bloomberg….former smokers and former alcoholics are usually the people who push most for some kind of prohibition. Hey, just ’cause you couldn’t handle it doesn’t mean you should make everyone else stop. My opinion? I think every restaurant or bar owner should be allowed to choose whether his/her place of business allows smoking or not and then people can either choose to go there or not.