I was amazed when I read Patrick Farha's letter to the editor (Aug. 17) about the looming smoking ban that I so hope is passed here in North Dakota. He says that "it is not the right of the government to tell a business owner how to run their establishment." Actually it is; if that weren't the case we'd have copious amounts of underage drinking and who knows what.
He then goes on to compare the danger of smoking to that of eating "greasy burgers, fried foods, having a drink" etc., but fails to see the correlation that only smoking a cigarette affects the people around him.
He says that this is America and we have a choice.
He is right, and we do have the choice in everything we do. For some of us, however, the choice is not all so black and white.
I was born with cystic fibrosis, and at age 33, have developed severe enough lung disease that I am now seeking a full lung transplant. Not fully giving in to my prognosis, I still try to keep an active lifestyle. It was only a couple years ago that I finally had to move back home to this area so that I could rely on the support of my family.
ADVERTISEMENT
Most of the places I lived after growing up here have been smoke-free for almost a decade, and I was very dismayed at the prevalence of smoking here in Fargo. It is very difficult for me to breathe when I try to go out and make friends.
I understand Farha's point when he says we all have a choice. He is 100 percent correct. I bet, however, if he was in my shoes he might feel differently. As a single male in his early 30s who is new to the area, I need to go out to make new friends. He says in his letter to build a bar in your basement and "invite your friends." I'm still trying to breathe through all this smoky air to go meet some.
If it were up to me I would make smoking illegal. It is such an ugly habit and has killed so many people. Even people who never smoked a day in their life, such as Beverly Sills and Tammy Faye Messner, died recently of lung cancer. Do you want your kids to be exposed to this poison? I certainly don't.
Let's all vote yes on the smoking ban. Isn't it about time we did?
