I might be a hypocrite as I smoke the green stuff occasionally, but I think this is a positive model. Boston banned smoking in clubs and bars and it has been GREAT.

I have a boss with a hacking cough from smoking....

---------------
Two of the world's richest men have launched a campaign aiming to tackle smoking in the developing world.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Microsoft founder Bill Gates warn one billion people could die this century from smoking-related illnesses.

The billionaire philanthropists have pledged $500m (£250m) in the next five years to help people quit smoking.

The two men want to run public-information campaigns warning of the dangers of tobacco.
There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide.

I'm not sure that willful ignorance is an affliction that can be cured by throwing money at it. If it gets you good press though, I suppose it will all be worth it in the end..

It's not necessarily willful ignorance in developing nations, though. Publicly-funded ad campaigns about the dangers of smoking started turning the tide in the USA prior to the investigations that blew the lid off of the tobacco giants' carcinogenic addictive additives and suppression of information. It's possible that a well-funded information campaign can have some influence in places where smoking is very common, but information about it isn't.

I can report that, for whatever reason, Japan is SIGNIFICANTLY more smoke free than it was 5-10 years ago. Restaurant after restaurant is completely banning smoking. There`s really a major change going on here.

Good post Andy. I love smoking. Used to smoke for 10+ years and still love the smell but I'm all for banning it. It's a vice that causes cancer. Bill Gates does a lot of good when it comes to causes and I wish there were more people like him.

I didn't key on the the part about teh focus being developing nations.

I can't help but think that the banning of most cigarette advertising and the outlandish cigarette taxes now charged on cigarettes in the US had had a much greater impact on cigarette usage than the barrage of anti-smoking Public Service Announcements. Even with all these things in place cigarette usage has been just about the same over the past 8 or 10 years or so.. (20-25 percent or so depending on gender). Maybe the epidemic can be curbed in these other nations..

I love that smoking is being banned in public places - Portland finally jumps on the wagon early next year! And I see nothing hypocritical about smoking weed and banning tobacco.

My good friend turns 30 this weekend and has always said he'd quit smoking by the time he turned 30. He's still smoking. But we have an agreement that if he smokes in my presence once he's hit 30 I get to punch him as hard as I want, anywhere I want. Hopefully he'll just quit smoking though. Or else he might just stop hanging out with me!

Fresno (maybe the whole state of CA?) banned smoking in all public places some time ago. It's very nice..

ALong the same lines, I'd like to see coming to work sick made illegal and stiff fines levied for anyone caught leaving a restroom without washing their hands..

I like having the occasional smoke, but never indoors, and don't like it when other smoke indoors either. The bans are good, for everyone.

I, for one, am very thankful for the recent changes in Japanese smoking patterns. Stopping off to have a cup of coffee before you meet someone and then stinking of smoke for the rest of the day is lame, and that's one of the reasons Starbucks did so well over here (they were pretty much the only non-smoking cafe for a long time). I can empathize with smokers who want to enjoy a cigarette with their meal/coffee, but it makes it miserable for the other patrons.

I wonder if they'll jack the prices on smokes up here any time soon; they're still at around $3 a box for the decent stuff and $2.50 or so for the cheapies. Some of my friends wouldn't be happy, but it'd be OK by me.

I seriously doubt Bill Gates is doing it for the publicity. That guy has been throwing money at dealing with malaria for years to little or no fan-fare. Since its primarily a third-world disease, until rich western folks decide to go on safari, without him the world would be worse off.

his OS still sucks though.

I think it's the stigma issue, combined with public awareness/education, that ultimately has the biggest impact on smoking rates.

When you literally are not allowed to smoke in any places that your friends go - bars, restaurants, public buildings, etc. - you have to excuse yourself to find a place to smoke. Politicians, celebrities, etc also make an impact by the example they set. And, stamping out advertising for cigarettes, as well as banning tobacco companies from sponsoring sporting events and the like, all contribute to falling rates.

It's amazing how quickly smoking rates (and associated disease rates) have fallen in the US (based on what I've read).

But the real key now is to help developing countries like China, where cigs are dirt cheap and associated disease rates are skyrocketing. So I applaud Gates. Is he the greatest philanthropist the world has ever seen? Could be - at least the greatest since Carnegie.