The justification for indoor smoking bans is health risks. Those risks (as subjective as they tend to be) disappear almost entirely out doors. It's not as if there are no other pollutants outdoors. Ozone, CO, CO2, etc. And proponents (whether they'll admit it or not) wind up backing outdoor bans out of "preference" or "setting a good example for children" or other concepts far more nebulous and hard to justify. It's really pretty silly to suggest that in a park, some guy puffing on a cigarette presents any measurable health risk to anyone except himself.
There's a good bit of Cary Nation in anti-smoking Nazis. The same moral certitude, bordering on smugness. The same imperious attitude. I once had a lady caller on my talk show announce that she had a "thank you for not smoking" sign on her front door. She was not amused when I asked her if it was illuminated so that people driving by at night could see what a wonderful person she was. It certainly served no useful function. Except for letting people who planned to break into her home to light up know she didn't permit it. Any family, friends or neighbors would surely know of her preferences. And in a worst case scenario, if some unlucky smoker started to light up, she could merely tell them that she didn't allow smoking in her house. No, a sign on her door (sort of a reverse scarlet letter) was much better.
H. L. Mencken had these people pegged.
