by Judith Schnee (Judith Lynn Schnee)

Created on: September 18, 2011   Last Updated: September 19, 2011

I believe that non-smokers should have more rights.  One example is something that has mostly been solved.  That is smoking in restaurants.  The majority of states don't allow smoking in restaurants.  However, in some states, smoking is still allowed in the bar area and at tables located directly outside of the restaurant.  I do realize that, even if these states didn't allow smoking outside, customers who are smokers would still leave the restaurant to light up a cigarette.  This would still put non-smokers, like I am, at great risk from second-hand smoke.  Smokers, even knowing that cigarettes are detrimental to their health, are still smoking.  Some reasons they use in favor of smoking are unbelievable.  When I speak to a friend or acquaintance who is still smoking, the key reason is often that smoking keeps he or she from gaining weight.  Obviously, there are many other ways to lose weight, among them exercise and being careful about food intake.

In movies from the past, particularly those from the 1930's through the 1960's, an actor or actress often lit up a cigarette upon entering a room, or already had a lit cigarette in his or her mouth.  In war movies, a cigarette was often offered to a soldier, sailor or marine, who took a last puff before his last breath as he lay dying.  In a popular television series called "Mad Men", the main character, played by Jon Hamm, often lights up a cigarette.  Some of the other characters featured in the series, including his wife, often do so as well.

The reality is that there is no glamour attached to a smoker's insides.  Smoking can cause heart problems, lung diseases, as well as many types of cancer.  Not only is the smoker exposed to smoke, but the non-smoker, as well, can contract these diseases from second-hand smoke.  Non-smokers have the right to breathe in clean air, and to be able to keep their children and grandchildren safe from the noxious fumes from cigarette smokes.  Do smokers realize that they are putting their loved ones in harm's way?  Hopefully, more smokers will wake up to reality, and kick this insidious habit.  I realize that giving up smoking has to be very difficult.  Cigarettes are an addiction that isn't easy to conquer, but it is well worth the effort for smokers, as well as non-smokers. 

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