The Internet blew up when Members of Parliament in Singapore suggested that the authorities consider not letting people smoke in their own homes.

The justification was that there have been a rise in complaints from residents regarding secondhand smoke from their neighbours.

Reactions

Here are some reactions to news that MPs mooted the idea of possibly restricting smoking in one's own place of residence.

For banning

Against banning:

Is this the right solution?

As someone who's asthmatic and has an infant son, nothing irks me more than cigarette smoke filling up my bedroom when I'm about to sleep at 11pm.

Why should I close my windows, or spend money on air-conditioning just so the inconsiderate asshole living next to/ below/ above me can continue to poison his lungs and my family's?

The easy answer, therefore, is to lobby for a blanket ban on smoking in homes.

Ban one thing, ban all things?

But what about my disdain for off-key KTV singing by my neighbours?

Or the oily fried fumes from next door or curry from downstairs?

What about those irritating children upstairs who take glee in bouncing balls all through my dinner?

Do I expect the authorities to ban all those as well? Where does it end?

Don't get me wrong.

It is inconsiderate to fill up someone else's home with your secondhand smoke -- as you suck on all the cancer sticks you are entitled to because it is your right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness -- just like how it is inconsiderate to let your wet laundry drip onto your neighbour's clothes.

But the solution is not for your neighbours to petition to ban you from drying your clothes, is it?

What our response says about us

To Singaporeans screaming bloody murder for smoking to be banned in homes and proclaiming how much their health is at risk because of smoking neighbours -- hand to heart, how many times have you approached your neighbour to solve the problem amicably?

And if your first response isn't to approach your neighbour, why is that?

Is it a guarantee that your neighbour would give you the proverbial middle finger if you asked them nicely to be considerate when they smoke?

And so what if they give you the middle finger?

Assholes exist and we have to learn how to overcome them.

Buy them a cake, explain your case nicely again, and kill them ... with rat poison kindness.

Unless we are living on a deserted island, having conflicts with our neighbours is part and parcel of existence.

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Learning how to overcome these conflicts will leave us richer for it. We may even make a new friend in the neighbour.

But if we are always relying on the government to solve these problems, we will only further perpetuate a society of people too afraid to confront small conflicts and learn how to solve them.

Top image by Christian Chen