Mark Twain once famously said, "It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times." According to my smoker friends Mr. Twain lived in much simpler times and wasn't subjected to anti-smoking initiatives that make smokers look like the Devil incarnate. Strong words I know, but given the widening chasm between smokers and non-smokers, its hard not to pick a side! [via Yanko Design]

Smoker Bench. Designed by Fatih Baltas.

WARNING: Smoking will kill you; 3rings is officially a non-smoking publication.

These days a smoker is instantaneously identifiable. Just spot the forlorn face in the crowd who is attempting not to wear his/her love of the cigarette like a suit of armor but also is trying not fall in the cookie-cutter mode. Its clear that Turkish designer Fatih Baltas is empathizing with the smokers of the world by designing the extremely politically incorrect Smoker Bench!

A spirit of intrepid experimentation typifies the Smoker Bench. Controversial, impenitent and impudent, the Smoker Bench tries to take a more pragmatic approach towards the current pandemic of smoking. It doesn't ask smokers to give up the cancer stick, but rather satiates the cravings of the smoker by providing a soporific seating solution. The bench also quite cheekily has its own little green patch, which seeks to undo the damage to a smoker's long abused lungs (as if that were possible). Interestingly enough, the ever-thoughtful designer has also equipped his bench with two ashtrays on both ends!

Many see a ban on smoking as a draconian infringement of civil rights while many worry about secondhand smoke. The Smoker Bench may ruffle a few (okay more than a few) feathers, however Baltas's Bench is nothing more than one of those designated smoking areas albeit with a more contemporary flavor.