The following letter to the editor was published by The News Sentinel, Knoxville, Tennessee on June 26, 2005 (page G3). It is presented here because no link is available online.
This is in response to a letter of June 2.
The first part of the letter comparing No SIR and, by implication, anyone who doesn't want to choke on tobacco smoke to Nazis is simply ludicrous and desperate. It doesn't even warrant a response.
What this writer fails to recognize is the fact that, yes, we are in a free country, and anyone has the right to smoke. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I would fight for people's freedom to smoke--in their own home, in their own vehicle and even outside in an open-air public area.
The problem arises when these inconsiderate people--some smokers are very considerate, but many are not--infringe on the rights of others to indulge their own selfish desires. My point--and I think the point of No SIR--is that smokers indeed have a right to smoke, but that freedom ends where my right to clean air begins.
With freedom must also come responsibility and an awareness of how our action affects others. A nonsmoker causes a smoker no harm by breathing, eating, etc. However, a smoker does harm a nonsmoker by his or her smoking.
Time and again studies have shown that smoking--even second hand--can adversely affect one's health. There are many health conditions that can be triggered or aggravated by exposure to tobacco smoke.
I'm not an activist. In fact, this is the first time I've ever written or supported a cause other than those that are common such as church and charities. I don't expect my words will sway anyone who has such a narrow and selfish view, but I simply could not let this rather pathetically desperate statement go unanswered.
Maybe there are some considerate, logical smokers out there who will try to understand. Again, I will fight for your right to smoke, but we also have a right to clean air.
JEFFREY IVENS
Maryville
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