Yikes, what a thread!
I'm a smoker, so is DH. We're as considerate about it as we can be - we use designated smoking areas, if they're available. If they're not and we're someplace where we can't easily move (i.e. - standing in line), one of us will walk away from the crowd and get our nicotine fix, while the other waits until the first person is done. We try to be conscientious about our cigarette butts - make sure they're completely out then dispose of them in a proper receptacle.
That being said, yes - it is your right not to breathe cigarette smoke but it's our right to smoke if we want to, as long as we're abiding by the rules that have been set forth. If I'm in a designated smoking area and you come through or near the area of your own volition, I'm sorry but no - you do NOT get to infringe on my rights. Give me the stink-eye all you want; I'm likely to make funny faces at you. Try to embarrass me and I'll return the favor. Trust me, I'll come up with something that will make you run the other way...like saying very loudly, "No, I don't have a spare tampon for you, sorry. Try tying your sweatshirt around your waist," just so people will stare at you instead of me.
I don't rile easily but I am astonished that people feel it's their God-given right to impose their values on me, even when I'm trying to be courteous and do what's right (i.e. - smoking in a DSA). Yes, I do realize smoking is a bad habit. Yes, I'll likely be quitting some day soon. But until I'm arrested for some sort of smoking infraction, YOU are not my judge and jury, and I'll reject any effort you make to infringe on my rights.
Okay, all of that aside...I wish I could say I was surprised by the amount of entitlement that non-smokers feel towards smokers or the negativity being thrown around this thread. The last week on DIS has been an eye-opener for this newbie - everyone seems to be up in arms about something. Yes, I realize that this is rather ironic for me to be saying so, given that I've just spouted off about my rights as a smoker, but it just seems like the friction is on the rise. Maybe it's the time of year, a lack of pixie dust, or everyone just itching to get their Dis on. Hopefully we can go back to being a bit nicer to one another.