In an age where rampant political correctness has insulated almost every minority group from public criticism, the sentiment towards smokers remains openly hostile.

Even our laws discriminate.

Smokers are taxed through the nose, stomach-churning anti-smoking TV ads beam out from our televisions and packets are plastered with photos of gangrenous body parts.

These steps have been taken for good reason and to great success.

As awareness of the dangers of smoking has grown, smoking rates have plummeted.

The impost on families – and the public health system – has dropped commensurately.

But in our zeal to force smokers to butt out for their own good, we risk seeing the concept of personal rights go up in smoke.

Wagga City Council’s decision to forge ahead with plans for a CBD smoking ban – albeit after a token public consultation period – could be the thin edge of the wedge.

Cr Greg Conkey, a politician with a genuine moral compass, believes he is acting in the greater good by protecting smokers from themselves and non-smokers from passive smoke.

But his logic is specious.

The rights of smokers are the same as all other people – they have self-ownership and have the right to do what they like with their body, even if it’s harmful, as long as they act within the law.

Further, the exhaust fumes of cars on Baylis Street pose a far graver threat to passive lungs than the passing whiff of cigarette smoke.

A CBD smoking ban would also create a legal tangle of enforcement.

Until smoking is banned – and alcohol prohibition provides a cautionary tale for going down that path – smokers should not be treated like criminals.

As a community and a society, it’s critical we continue our strong anti-smoking message.

But it must include striking a balance between personal rights and the rights of non-smokers not to be unduly impacted.

Cr Conkey’s proposal fails to achieve that balance.