A court in the superior country of Germany ruled that intentionally blowing smoke into someone's face is criminal assault. What are your thoughts on that ruling?

Cigarette smoke has health consequences. Smashing the glass on the head may seem like an overreaction, but I agree that blowing smoke was an assault.

Germany is a crazy country; we all know that ragingloli!

I think it’s ridiculous. One puff cloud of smoke wouldn’t have killed her and if it was against policy, the management should have enforced it. She took the law into her own hands and committed another assault. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

If smoking wasn’t allowed in the disco, all the girl had to do was go to the security and tell them, and they would have tossed him out.

“Superior country”, this from someone who constantly states that nationalism is the plague of mankind.

Das ist bullshit.

I don’t know if hitting someone with glass is justifiable, but blowing smoke it someone’s face is not much different than spitting on them. It definitely earns you a punch, and maybe as far as laws about self-defense are concerned this should result in an acquittal.

It’s too bad we don’t have as much freedom in America as y’all do in Germany. :(

I’d vote for self defense. I hate smoking and I’m allergic to tobacco smoke. The glass might have been a little extreme, but blowing smoke into someone’s face is a bit much too.

Do I think it’s rude? Yes.
Do I think the disco manager should have the right to eject the offender for doing this? Yes.
Do I think making it criminal will discourage others from doing it? Probably.
Do I think that justifies making it criminal? No.

Enforcement is going to be a bitch. How will they prove intent?

Sounds like a knee-jerk reaction to a single incident. Better that they teach politeness than make it a law.

Beyond a reasonable doubt, he intentionally blew smoke in her face. She intended to hit him in the face in response. I can see debating how appropriate that was, but I don’t see any ambiguity about intent here.

Purposely, forcefully, and angrily blowing smoke in another person’s face is an assault as far as I’m concerned. I’m with the judge.

I agree that is assault and self defense. Someone poked a cigarette at me once and I picked up a glass and threw it on the cigarette, soaking the person who held it.

Violence begets violence.

@YARNLADY Whoa, poked you with a lit cigarette? That’s just askin for a can of whoop a$$!

@KNOWITALL No, she didn’t actually touch me with it, just pantomimed it.

In some cultures blowing smoke in the general direction of someone means you’re flirting with them.
Yeah right, “I like you so much, here, have some cancer.”

@ucme Some of my Vietnamese friends are obsessed with smoking, it’s the oddest thing ever.

I would also hit some one if they blow smoke in my face, but I will not make it an issue if some one is smoking next to me, it’s not my duty to enforce the law, it is entirely the club owners responsibility to do so…
@ragingloli Germans can be a pain in the ass…

This is a pretty hilarious story, actually.
If the first person blew smoke up their ass instead of their face, would it still be a crime? :-)

@KNOWITALL They’re not pot bellied pigs are they? :D

@ucme Nope, real life kung fu masters! lol, funny though, I’ve always wanted one of those.

Germany’s superior courts don’t have anything deeper to deal with than bar fights?

Oi Vey.

At least they are not acquitting obviously guilty murderers.

True. It’s very hard to overcome South America’s extradition laws.

I think it’s awesome. If someone purposefully blew smoke in my face I’d probably go to jail for punching their fucking lights out. Smokers need to be put in check more often. Bravo, glass-wielder.

I agree with @KNOWITALL. If smoking wasn’t allowed in the place, it should have been enforced. It’s not the non staff’s job to do it, especially not with a fucking glass. I agree that it’s rude to blow smoke into someone’s face, but I find it scary that you’re allowed to seriously injure someone for this.

I think my stoner roommates did that to me a few times. I didn’t harbor any ill-will against them, though.

@DominicX . . . Left handed cigarette smoke?

Backpfeifengesicht

In my eyes, it’s the equivalent of spitting in someone’s face.

This wasn’t a passive, I happened to walk through your cloud thing. It was a deliberate, in her face, I dare you to do something about it insult.

I’d have hit him, too.

Not with my drink, because why waste the drink, but still.

Well, as much as I think it was completely obnoxious to blow smoke in the person’s face, hitting him is not self defense in my book. The person could have easily walked away; no need for violence. I tend to take it upon myself to tell people they can’t smoke, can’t bring glass beer bottles into the pool, shouldn’t take the baby in stroller on the escalator, but I don’t go crazy with it. They can listen or not. If their actions really interfere with my enjoyment then I tell an employee about it.

I’m for it, with the reason being I hate smokers, anyway. Anyone who blows smoke in a person’s face intentionally deserves it anyway. Think about it….Who would do that except for a douchebag?

It has been held to be a battery. It’s all about intent.

Under the circumstances I’d say yes, blowing smoke in someone’s face in that manner should be considered an assault. But I also think the girl over-reacted badly with the glass.

@Blackberry You hate smokers, wow, that’s a lot of hating, where do you find the time?

^^^ It’s very easy to hate someone that’s fucking up the air you’re trying to breathe.

In that case, one should begin to hate every single person that drives a car, too.

You really can’t compare the two. I know car exhaust is worse for the environment and air quality in general, but when it comes to walking out your front door and trying to take a breath, the person with the cigarette is so much worse than the car on the road.

Sure I can compare them. They both smell, and they both pollute, hatred isn’t complicated, nor picky.

I hope she knocked him out. Maybe he learnt a lesson.

I must have missed this during my vacation in Australia.

I think the assault wasn’t about the harmful effects of the exhaled smoke, which is negligent. It was about this being a very aggressive and offensive gesture triggering an aggressive response.

I find it hard to believe that a European country capable of being so logical, that pays it’s bills and ALLOWS A MAN TO (in certain situations) DRIVE HIS CAR AS FAST AS HE DAMN WELL PLEASES IN PEACE, could support such immature touchiness.