Opinion: Dirty air? Smoking in the stands

Tobacco use has always been a hot topic when it comes to smoking in public. Many restaurants, bars and sports venues across the country have outlawed the practice. However, in an era of political correctness and changes in protocols at athletic venues, Indiana short track dirt racing has been mostly unaffected.

Saturday night we were at Montpelier Motor Speedway to watch and provide updates for the inaugural visit by the USAC AMSOIL sprint cars to the track.

Halfway through qualifying I noticed the gentleman in front of me light up a cigarette. Did it bother me? No, not really. For years I used smokeless tobacco before quitting recently because of a cancer scare. What did bother me, the kids sitting in my immediate area.

There lies the question. Should smoking be allowed in the stands at the track?

Many tracks on larger stages that host sanctioning bodies such as NASCAR, IndyCar and Formula 1 have banned smoking in the stands while others have chosen to continue to allow it.

My take

If you want to smoke, why not simply exit the stands and go to a place where there are not so many people? Sure, there might be people around such as myself that do not mind but when there are kids around, be respectful. A good approach might be to ask the folks around you if they mind.

In the grand scheme of things it is not that big of deal to go have a smoke behind the stands and come back. An evening at the track takes a few hours, it takes a few minutes to smoke a cigarette. You can go have one, or as many as you want, during intermission, track maintenance or during racing classes you are not particularly interested in.

If someone around you does not like you smoking, you may say, "Why don't they move then?"

That could be a solution but if it is at an event like the USAC event at Montpelier on Saturday night that may not be an option. The stands were packed with fans and the chances of finding another seat were slim to none. You certainly cannot do that at a venue that has assigned seating.

Tracks could also help the situation if they are facing some criticism when it comes to the subject. Some tracks, such as Talladega, have implemented smoke-free sections at their facilities. Why not have a smoking section just like Eldora has a non-alcohol section? Then there is no problem.

I'm not one to preach about the health effects of using tobacco or alcohol. Adults know what is good for them and what is not. But if you are in the stands and lighting up and do not plan on moving, at least check to see if there are kids around, I'm fairly certain they do not want to smell the stuff nor do they need to be subjected to it.

Sound off

We posed the question to our followers on Twitter asking if they were okay with fans smoking in stands at the track, this is how they responded.

Responses: 82

Yes: 38%
No: 62%