To the Editor:

I do not smoke – it never appealed to me. But, I do have family and friends who choose to smoke. Some have quit successfully, some have, unfortunately, died from tobacco related illnesses and others continue to smoke.

Smoking does not define the type of person you are but it does affect your health and the health of others around you. While I do not think that smoking defines you, I do believe that some smokers need to be more considerate.

Those smokers are the ones who stand close to a building, near a visible “no smoking” sign or those that liter their cigarette butts. It is your right to choose to smoke and put chemicals in your body, but let me talk about my rights as a non-smoker.

I have the right to not walk through a cloud of smoke when entering a building. I have the right to take my children to a parade without having to pull them away from secondhand smoke. I have the right to go to an outdoor concert and not be forced to leave because the cigarette fumes bother my lungs. I have the right to a clean front lawn, where smokers do not liter their butts while driving down the highway.

Some readers may think that these things don’t happen, but they happen far too often to myself, my family and my friends.

If you are a considerate smoker, trying to reduce your smoking or quit, I wish you the best of luck and support! If you have no desire to quit but are considerate of others, I wish you the best of luck. However, if you fall into the inconsiderate smoking category, I hope this article made you reflect upon your decisions and how your actions affect the ones around you and the ones you love.

Remember, secondhand smoke causes nearly 50,000 deaths each year in the U.S. It’s time to save lives. Protect your loved ones, protect your community and follow smoking policies.

Jenelle Riordan

Oswegatchie