Smoking in restaurants is a disruption to everyone's meal, not just the smokers. The dividers that restaurants owners provide do not keep the smoke from spreading to non-smoking areas. The smokers do not worry about the smoke because they have a filter and have made the choice to smoke. Most of the time smokers do not even notice the smoke; they have become immune to smell of smoke. Without the filter, the non-smokers end up taking in more toxins than smokers do. Ventilation along with dividers may be a way to solve the smoke problem.
The dividers placed between smoking and non-smoking areas do not provide a good enough barrier. As smoke is exhaled it is carried with the flow of air in the room; this means the barriers are not tall enough to keep smoke from traveling over them. The barriers themselves are sometimes only three to four feet tall, this not tall enough to stop the smoke from lingering in the non-smokers area. Smokers should be in separate rooms. This would keep the smoke from bothering the non-smokers. This smoke is distracting and dangerous to those who do not smoke.
The toxins and carcinogens in cigarettes are not only harmful to the smokers, but to the non-smokers as well. The filter protects the smokers from most of the ingredients in cigarettes such as: acetone, ammonia, butane, methanol, arsenic, formaldehyde, nicotine tar and carbon monoxide. The non-smokers are not given this choice when restaurant owners do not provide adequate barriers and ventilation. It is proven that the carcinogens in cigarettes can cause cancer and various other problems. One way to appease both sides is for restaurant owners to provide proper ventilation.
Ventilation is not a complete answer to smoke problems, but it is a start. In some restaurants there are ceiling fans. This is not enough. The ceiling fans just push the smoke around the room. Smoke-eaters provide a way to filter the air.
