For anyone who thinks this is extreme:

The NYC smoking ban strikes 1,700 parks and 14 miles of city beaches where smoking would be banned. On Wednesday, the City Council approved the New York smoking ban bill by a vote of 36-to-12.

Take heart, it could be worse: Malawi is about to criminalise farting:

Two of Malawi’s most senior judicial officials are arguing over whether a new bill includes a provision that outlaws breaking wind in public.

Justice Minister George Chaponda says the new bill would criminalise flatulence to promote “public decency”…….

The Local Courts Bill, to be introduced next week reads: “Any person who vitiates the atmosphere in any place so as to make it noxious to the public to the health of persons in general dwelling or carrying on business in the neighbourhood or passing along a public way shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.”

The good news is that one can still vitiate the atmosphere in the privacy of one’s own home; probably not while driving with children in the car, though.