Question for you smokers

For those of you who smoke in public, knowing that others are likely to get fatally ill over time because of inhaling your secondhand smoke: What the freak is your deal? They have known for like 15 years that secondhand smoke causes cancer (see: why nonsmokers like Dana Reeve die of cancer every day), so why do you continue to force other people to inhale carcinogens - without the benefit of the filter you have in front of your mouth - in the name of YOUR vice?

Yes, it IS your body and you DO have a right to kill yourself slowly and painfully if that's what you want. Cancer is a fantastic way to lose weight quickly, and chemo is an excellent (and insurance-company-subsidized!) way to eliminate unwanted body hair. But do you honestly believe your lack of self-control and lack of self-respect negates the rest of our right to protect our health? Or do you honestly expect everyone who is asthmatic, pregnant, a child, elderly, a cancer patient/survivor, etc to wear a gas mask everywhere so nobody's right to preserve their well-being cramps your style? What if I decide my desire to kick your ass trumps YOUR right to look after your well-being?