As someone who has asthma and whose father died of tobacco-stimulated cancer, I have reason to be happy about this. But, banning has taken it too far. I'm not in England, but Japan - and last month, outside one of the biggest universities, a lad was having a smoke outside Disc Union. Soon, a group of yellow-uniformed middle aged "smoke patrollers" emerged and demanded 2000 yen from him.

He paid.

Irked, I asked him why he didn't walk away, and he added that it was his responsibility as the ward has a rule forbidding smoking on the streets.

A few weeks later I had to listen to speeches made by high schoolers on public manners, and a fair few touched on smoking. One of the main points for banning smoking was "young children can be burned by a walking smoker."

That wasn't just in one speech - it was in many. Makes me think that some 'expert' has been on the box using this excuse as one reason to ban it on the street.

But the likelihood of being burnt by a passing smoker is so minimal.

Quite scary that people can have their opinions so moulded.

There isn 't a big problem in the open air, is there?