Smelling cigarette smoke is something I really hate. It's not that I frequently go to smoking areas, but Filipino smokers have no regard for others in public places. They try to hide the smell by trying to hide it under their knees or outside the window. That is an act of futility because there is no way to hide it.

The smokers should at least say that they will smoke, besides Filipinos are courteous enough not to refuse the other person's wishes. In an ordinary bus, they really can't ask permission in that situation. If I was a smoker, would I inform the whole bus when I will smoke? Certainly not. Foreigners usually go to a separate area to smoke, and if a non-smoker still decides to join the person for a chat, the smokers are off the hook. If you are in a house of a person who smokes, the smoker is also off the hook.

Now let's find something very similar to smoking. It also releases a harmful gas. The affluent term is flatulence or the most common term is farting.

Most human beings hate the smell of it. You also don't want to do it in a public place. You want yourself to be secluded in a private area, and you even don't want to fart in a public restroom.

I hope smokers realize that smoking is like farting. They emit a bad smell. For smokers, cigarette smoke is natural, the same way that farting is normal for all humans. Cigarette smoke smells stronger than a fart because I have tried farting amidst smokers as an act of protest which is also an exercise of futility. I do hope smokers recognize a common courtesy of respecting non-smokers.