AITA for refusing to not smoke while IN the smoking area of a pub because a family was choosing to sit there?

A Redditor shares a controversial encounter in the smoking area of a pub when a couple requested that they stop smoking due to a pregnancy. Despite being in a designated smoking zone, tensions rose when the couple insisted on sitting there, leading to a confrontation with the pub’s management. Read the original story below to see how this debate unfolds.

‘ AITA for refusing to not smoke while IN the smoking area of a pub because a family was choosing to sit there?’

Here we go … I was doing some work outside, in the designated smoking area of a pub garden the other day. After a few hours, the pub started to fill up: people eating, heading out for drinks after work, etc. At around 8.30, a couple and their parents sat down IN the smoking area.

After about 10 mins, I could feel some eyes on me and it turned out that the couple had asked everyone if they’d mind not smoking near them as their partner was pregnant. Of course, they sat right next to me who, at this point, was merrily working away on a project with their headphones in … smoking a cigarette … and couldn’t hear the initial request.

Soon after, they tapped me on the shoulder and asked me not to smoke due to the pregnancy. I apologised and pointed out that it was the smoking area and that they could sit LITERALLY anywhere else – the non-smoking area? Inside? Not a pub?

They then got really pissy with me and said that I was being rude as they have just as much right as everyone else to sit there, which I completely agree with but why, for the love of Benedict Cumberbatch, would you insist people not smoke in a smoking area because YOU don’t want them to?

Once it was clear that I’d not move or stop smoking, they called a shift manager over who politely told them that it was the smoking area and that they were welcome to sit anywhere else, which they didn’t like one bit. I started laughing and, at that point, they called over the pub’s manager who gave them complimentary drinks!. AITA?!?

Here’s the feedback from the Reddit community:

Sympathy_Main −  NTA – I hate smoking or the smell. But i would never complain to a stranger if i was seated in a designated smoking area, which are not that many nowdays. They can move to another place if they cannot stand the smell.

[Reddit User] −  Look, its 2023. Everyone knows, conclusively, that smoking tobacco sucks and will, statistically speaking, kill you in horrible, horrible ways. But you are entirely in the right here, otherwise.. NTA

Tamarenda −  NTA. I can’t stand the smell of people smoking – which is why I *don’t sit in the smoking area*. They should have done the same. (I hope the pregnant person’s drink was not a**oholic!)

Light_Seeker90 −  NTA. If the wait staff is telling them they can sit somewhere else, it doesn’t like they’re sitting in the smoking section out of limited seating options. Choosing to sit in the smoking section and expecting people not to be smoking is e**itled and unrealistic.

If they were THAT worried about smoking around the pregnancy, maybe they should have sat in a different area/taken up the wait staff’s option to move elsewhere, etc. You were within your rights and were just minding your own business.

Kowalkabear −  NTA – they sat in the SMOKING section

haveabunderfulday −  NTA- E**itled people not getting their way makes me smile.

Comfortable-Dish1236 −  “Sir? Would you mind not drinking alcohol near me?” “Umm, ma’am, like I’m in a bar?” Some people are jabronies. Just the way it is. I’d have lit a fresh one off the b**t.

sarcastic-pedant −  NTA – obvious reasons. And thank you for this line: but why, for the love of Benedict Cumberbatch,

Leopard-Recent −  NTA. I hate smoking and being around it, so I make sure to avoid places where people are smoking. Like the smoking section of a pub. Her pregnancy is not your concern.

Leifang666 −  It sounds like there was seating in non-smoking areas outside. So NTA. I hate smoking, especially the smell, but I wouldn’t go in a smoking area and then complain people are smoking. Mostly because I’m not an i**ot.

Do you think the user was justified in smoking in the designated area despite the couple’s request, or should they have been more considerate of the situation? How would you navigate a similar scenario where personal rights clash with the needs of others? Share your thoughts below!