No wonder that smokers get irritated. I don't know how many times I have heard people ask other people 'so why are you smoking' and 'why don't you stop?'. I wonder how these people would react if you would say everytime they drink alcohol "Why do you drink? Don't you know that one glass kills thousands of brain connections? Or do you just like it when your liver works overtime?" I don't think OP's mother is bad. A lot of smokers smoke because they have stress. And children are stressful.

I'm with you.. I smoke (no kids thank goodness) and when people tell me it's bad for me and I should quit, I just tell them not minding their own damn business is bad for them and they should quit. Win, win, no?

You can smoke as much as you want in your own home, as far as I care. But I don't want my allergy to kick up because of your smoke when you go out in public. If someone drinks alcohol, his liver and brain are affected. Not yours. When you smoke, you affect the people around you. That's the problem.

Well, your right to smoke ends where my nostrils begin. If someone is drinking in front of me, it doesn't affect me. If someone is eating something disgustingly unhealthy, it doesn't affect me much (although I find the smells of certain foods repulsive). But if you're smoking in my general vicinity, it's going to affect my ability to breathe. And second-hand smoke does harm others.

Tell him there's something else he can smoke that will take care of his anxiety. :D

This surprises you? Smoking harms smoker ànd the people around. Of course non-smokers are concerned for their health. Is causing damage to other people not hostile? Or does the damage not count because it's not instantly visible like a bruise? Hitting someone is wrong, clogging up their lungs isn't?