In a Jan. 8 letter to the editor, the writer stated that voters approved the smoking restrictions because they “did not like the smell of smoke.”

She suggested that next would be a ban on fish because some people don't like the smell of that either. She admitted that smoking had deleterious health effects, but stated that banning smoking was no different than banning four wheelers or skydiving.

I beg to differ!

Exposure to smoke may be a nuisance to non-smokers due to the smell, but it can also cause long-term health effects.

For individuals with breathing difficulties, including children with asthma, exposure to even incidental smoking can cause serious symptoms and suffocating spasms of the airway.

If you think standing in the cold to smoke is unfair, try sucking on an inhaler while gasping for air because someone started smoking in a store or restaurant (and no, “non-smoking” sections do not keep the smokey air on their side of the aisle).

To equate exposure to smoke by non-smokers (who have no choice and often little ability to avoid or predict the situation without a consistent ban) with skydiving or driving on a four wheeler, is silly. You choose to go skydiving, just as you choose to smoke in your own home. Just because you choose to skydive or smoke, does not mean that others should be forced to do so as well.

So although you may find it inconvenient to be restricted in where you can smoke, others find it just as inconvenient to be in an area where you do. Thus, the will of the majority was that smokers be confined to smoking in private places where it is entirely their choice, and that non-smokers should not be subjected to smoking against their will.

As the writer noted, yes, this is America. Sometimes that means a compromise so that two groups of people with different sets of choices can share the same space.

In this case, the people have spoken, and the health studies are clear and supportive of the majority opinion.

Nevertheless, I would encourage you to continue to enjoy smoking in your own home. After all, smokers die an average of 10-15 years earlier than non-smokers. And we know that Social Security can use lots of help in remaining solvent. So smoke away, and save Social Security for others!

Francesca Hartop

Portsmouth