You misinterpreted what I said, I think.
The fact of the matter is, unless you want to quit, you won't. That's what I'm trying to say. It's up to you to quit smoking. Whatever I can do to help, sure. But unless you want to, you won't.
As far as us trying to help them quit - I happen to agree with you that it's in the public's best interest for people to not be smoking. However, I can also see how some people might think "Well, why should I be responsible for other peoples' fuckups?" Example: my friend Andrea started smoking some 3 years ago. I told her "look, that shit is bad for you, and if you get cancer, don't come crying to me." She went into it knowing full-well that it's bad for her. Most smokers do. So why should there be an extra cost to those who don't smoke to help rehabilitate them? I happen to think that we should help smokers quit, but I also happen to think that they should bear the responsibility and financial burden of doing so. I'm not going to throw away my paychecks because someone else thought it would be cool to start smoking. No offense, of course - I'll still be your friend if you're a smoker. And if I can help you in some way (like kicking you in the shins when you light up, or gathering information for you to help you stop, or whatever), I will. But the whole "Well, the public should help us 'cause it's in their best interest" is kinda a shit argument. It's like me saying "Well, it's in the public's best interest to give me everything I want, because if they don't, I'll go kill people." BS logic.
As for the whole "better health for others" - yeah, or we can just stick your ass out in the cold
Seriously though, when we were chilling on Friday, I didn't say anything about you smoking, although the smell makes me feel ill (funny thing - used to smoke, loved the smell, then quit and it became just about the grossest thing to me). Your [rental] car, your smoke. You're doing me a favor by driving. But if I were driving (heh, when I get a license and car), I would have politely asked that you not smoke in the car. Just like how you excused yourself to go outside and smoke. No offense, but the smoker is the one that should be wary of these things - they're the one that's putting out the second hand smoke that can cause cancer in others. It's something that comes with smoking - you excuse yourself from others and go smoke. Just like I excuse myself when I need to defecate, instead of making a nice pile on the floor in front of you. You're the one that's doing it, so you need to bear responsibility for it - and that might mean standing out in the cold while you smoke. I actually generally go outside with the person and stand and talk to them, but Friday night just seemed damn fuckin' cold.
Anyway. I'm all about being friends with smokers, and I'm all about helping them quit - but there is a point where it becomes their responsibility. That's one of the things I learned early on - every one of your actions has consequences. You need to ask yourself "what is it that I really want?" and then go from there. If you want cancer or yellow teeth or whatever, then smoke. If you want to live a healthy life free of physical addictions, then don't. I can't make that choice for you.