Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Indoor smoke ban protects all

Smokers have the right to smoke. I am fighting for the right to NOT inhale tobacco smoke.

Indoor smoking bans limit the damage to just the smokers. The general public does not need to share this danger. It is a matter of life over convenience. Why is this so hard for some people to understand?

Indoor smoking bans do not stop smoking. They just limit the location and thus the damage.

A drunk in the back seat will probably only hurt himself. In the driver’s seat, he endangers himself and everyone else who comes near him on the road.

A smoker in an enclosed area endangers everyone inhaling in that air space. Outside, away from others, the damage is just the smoker’s.

Indoor smoking bans protect more than just those in that airspace. They acknowledge the danger to “parents in denial” who continue to smoke in their cars with their little ones locked in their car seats and the windows rolled up or still smoking in their homes with their children playing (just not as safely as they like to think).

We now understand that tobacco smoke can be the catalyst that sets off a stroke or heart attack in a known or not yet detected blocked artery. The Helena, Montana smoking ban study reflects it.

Time protects the damage done by tobacco smoke. You can protect life or protect nicotine.

The Fayette County Board of Health has proposed an indoor smoking ban. Let’s watch what our elected officials do next.

Kathie Cheney

Peachtree City, Ga.