Despite resistance from the tobacco state members of Congress and major tobacco producers, House and Senate negotiators agreed earlier this week, to ban smoking on all commercial airline flights within the continental U.S. and on most flights to Alaska and Hawaii.

The smoking ban is simply an improvement on the current rules that prohibit smoking on U.S. flights of two hours or less, about 80 percent of the total flights.

The new agreement is a huge step for nonsmokers that will help protect their right to not be subjected to the poisionous secondary smoke they might inhale in such close quarters.

No one is making a judgement on smoking—that is an individual decision. But problems do arise when those who choose not to smoke are forced to inhale other people’s smoke just because they are on an airplane.

Although some travelers might have difficulty refraining from smoking during these flights and others might feel it is a denial of their rights, it is only common courtesy for people to not smoke around others who are bothered by it. Separating smokers from nonsmokers sounds good in theory, but on an airplane it just doesn’t work.

Every U.S. citizen has right to smoke, as long as they do not infringe upon the rights of others not to.