Dear Editor:
In Saturday’s edition of the CJ, Aug. 23, 2008, you covered the Proposed Smoking Ban Topic of Forum. Let me first applaud both Dr. Weigel and Gloria Sams. Both of these individuals have stood up consistently and taken a barrage of hits, comments, slurs and slanders because of the conviction of what is right. These people really can be called heroes.
As a health and fitness professional myself, I was invited to attend the forum on Thursday evening but due to a conflict in my scheduling I was unable to be there and I am sure that may be the case for many others. But even though I was absent from the forum I am doing my part by writing a letter to Judge Bullock, which I hope he will read.
I want to also applaud the city councilors for being in attendance but I want to ask why the magistrates chose not to show up?
I pay my taxes and I expect these people to do their job and part of that job should be to listen to these forums.
Over the last several months I have been giving this proposed smoking ban some deep thought and here is what I have concluded:
There are four reasons why people smoke:
1. Peer pressure/adolescence exploring and rebelliousness
2. Economics/family raised tobacco and, therefore, uses the products
3. Pleasure/only after the body fighting the initial life destroying effects of inhaling toxins into the lungs.
4. Addiction.
Now after reasoning this was the four reasons why people smoke, I decided to compare this to breathing and this is what I have come up with:
1. God gave us lungs to breathe with to sustain life
2. Man gave us cigarettes to smoke – purely an indulgence
You see, what I think most of these government officials seem to be overlooking is that no one needs a cigarette to live but we all need our lungs in order to draw life giving breath. Smoking doesn’t hold that honorable distinction of being a necessary component to living. In fact, smoking is just the opposite, it is simply a choice of lifestyle and it kills. In fact smoking could almost be considered a slow version of suicide because at some point it is going to kill the smoker.
And since secondhand smoke is worse than primary smoke, it could be considered a deadly weapon.
The point I am trying to make here is this: We need laws to ban public smoking because it interferes with basic life functions.
What is more important: an activity of pleasure and addiction or sustaining life?
If you don’t think breathing is all that important, go put your head under water and try to breathe.
For those councilors who can’t seem to make a decision about enacting a smoke free ban because they haven’t had enough time to look over the issue, go to our neighbors such as Danville, Lexington, Louisville, Georgetown where they have already enacted smoke free bans and on any given night you have to stand in line just to get into a restaurant. The arguments that it will hurt business is just hype that has been generated to create fear in the business owner. But the facts are, business will only get better.
And as far as forcing a smoking ban on a property owner, if this was a private and personal thing such as in your own home or automobile, then these owners should have every right to smoke as much as they want; but when they open their doors to the PUBLIC and ask you to come do business with them, then it should be a requirement that they provide the safest environment possible to the consumer and employee; and that should also include a non-toxic breathing environment.
This isn’t a religious issue; it’s not about sexual orientation; it’s not about whether you are a Republican or Democrat and who you are voting for this year; this is about life and health issues; possibly even life and death.
And yes, smoking is that bad and it is that dangerous – it does kill and it destroys health. Just ask anyone who has asthma or some other COPD.
Personally, I think it is time that our local government officials get up off their seats and begin to earn our tax dollars that we pay them and do something about this dangerous issue that all Pulaski Countians face.
For those who want to smoke, I don’t want to take that away from them and it is just as easy to light up after a meal outside the restaurant once the dining experience is over. But for the majority of Pulaski Countians who I am sure do not smoke, we encourage you to take the bull by the horns, quit putting this off and come to a decision.
Sincerely,
J.R. Smith
Somerset, Ky.
