Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to Mr. Desper’s Feb. 26 letter, “Eggheads, blockheads behind smoking ban.” I understand the concern about the smoking ban, as changes are sometimes hard to accept. However, Mr. Desper, I believe you have gone a little overboard with your worries. What makes you think that restaurants and bars are going to go out of business just because of a smoking ban?

Did you forget about the whole non-smoking population? What about their personal choices and freedoms? I, being a non-smoker, can tell you that I would visit the bars much more frequently if they were smoke-free. I know several people that feel the same way. Even if some smokers stopped going to these places, the amount of non-smokers that would go out would recover the loss. There are so many people that are for this ban that I highly doubt there will be people losing their jobs over it. Also, Mr. Desper, do you realize that Carbondale is not the only city trying to, or that has already, put a smoking ban into effect?

There are numerous cities in Illinois alone, including Champaign-Urbana and Chicago. There are also countless other cities in the United States, as well as many other countries, who have smoking bans and their businesses seem to be doing just fine. You have the right to smoke in your own home and even outside, however, it should not be allowed in public. It has been proven that secondhand smoke is just as bad as smoking, so why should I have to suffer just because you chose to be addicted to something that is so disgusting and a major hazard to your health? This smoking ban should be adopted, not to take away your freedoms, but to protect the lives of people who choose not to smoke and enjoy going out.

Cassie Boldt senior studying biological sciences/administration of justice