Smoking and children

I am a past smoker. I understand the urges that smokers have. I understand how smokers feel like they need to smoke 24-7. I truly do understand....BUT i also feel like our children have the right to clean air--- as do people like myself who are non-smokers! So days like today make me very, very frustrated! Let me start at the begininng...
My biggest pet peeve is going to a public place and having someone blow smoke in my child's face. I try to aviod situations like this at all costs. Days like today make me wish i was a lawmaker and could make cigarette's illegal. During the Halloween season??if that is a word...we usually have lots of local events that are great experiences for our kids. Ways to get out and do some trick-or-treating in a very public place with hundreds of children present. Usually these activites last between 1-4 hours and have places away from the main events for smokers to go and enjoy a cigarette if them must, but many of them have signs that strictly say NO SMOKING!!!! Very clearly shown...
Today unfortunately there was not a sign but there was 1000000000000000 (i think you get the picure) children. It was our mainstrees trickor treating downtown. We have never been before and will never go again. EVERYONE was smoking all crowded down this narrow street in front of all these small children. There was no where else for us to go to get away from them.
The worst part was one lady behind us whom i did not realize was smoking was holding her cigarette down towards the ground.
Sure enough Grant was walking around(within two feet from me)..since we had to wait in lines an hour long..and the woman almost burnt his face with it cause she wasn't paying any attention. Luckily it was only ashes on his costume and on his hair but i was livid. I made a comment a little loud that it would be polite if people would not smoke at an event where lots of children were located so incidents like this did not occur. The women had the nerve to give me a lecture on her rights and how i should be watching my child better. Then her friend kept saying i better walk away..like she wanted to fight. I got very frustrated and almost left at that point...it was crazy, i am like this is a kids event-we are adults-fight-are you crazy-that is so high school!!! They didn't even apologize instead just acted rediculous abou the whole incident. Within about 10 minutes it seemed like every person we encountered smoked so we ended up leaving.
I guess i just don't understand why you can't go an hour without smoking. Even when i smoked i have a little consideration for others who didn't smoke. I think it is all about manners and thinking about others over yourself. I was so frustrated. Do you think i overreacted? What would you have done? Would it bother you to have your kids around all that smoke, why or why not?