To smoke or not to smoke？Laws that ban smoking in public places are not exactly a new idea．One of the world's first smoking bans was introduced in 1575，when the Roman Catholic Church passed a law that made it illegal to smoke in any church in the Spanish colonies of Central America．In the eighteenth century，a number of German and Austrian cities also banned smoking，not in specific locations or buildings，but anywhere in the city．Some of these bans were based on ideas about health．Others were more concerned with safety．The Old Government Building in Wellington，New Zealand banned smoking in the 19th century because the building was made entirely of wood； smoking was a fire risk．

In the second half of the twentieth century，campaigns began to make people aware of the health dangers of smoking，and the concept of passive smoking-or breathing other people's smoke-became a widespread concern．As a result，governments passed laws in the 1970s to control the use of tobacco，and restaurants and other public places began to create smoking and non-smoking sections．But it wasn't until the late 1990s that public smoking bans became widespread．California led the way in the US when it became the first US state to prohibit smoking in all public places in 1998．By 2010，nearly eighty percent of American states had introduced smoking bans．Elsewhere，ventilation systems were installed in public places，and smokers'lounges were created as alternatives to complete bans．

Not everyone is happy about the introduction of smoking bans．Not surprisingly，tobacco companies，restaurants and bars are concerned about losing business because of the new restrictions．Smokers often complain that by limiting the places where they can smoke，smoking bans unfairly limit their freedom．Plus，it is difficult to break the habit and give up smoking．But nowadays most people accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that smoking harms our health and can cause lung and heart disease．Furthermore，resear