Letters To The Editor

HEALTH AND SAFETY

There is just one issue: health

I totally agree with Lee Hirschel’s “Smoking-area partitions useless,”(Letters, Dec. 11), when he mentions smokers’ rights. Let me say this:

There are many restrictions to being a citizen. Patrons are not allowed to spit in a restaurant, drink alcohol if under age 21, play loud music or incite a riot.

Clean indoor air is not an issue of personal choice or civil rights, despite the rhetoric of the Restaurant Association or tobacco industry. There is not an inalienable right to smoke tobacco in public places.

Smoking in public places, which includes restaurants, is a health issue, not a financial issue. The right to breathe clean air uncontaminated by sickening second-hand cigarette smoke supercedes any other right or privilege.

If you can smell cigarette smoke, you are breathing it. And if you are breathing cigarette smoke, you are a passive smoker. To help avoid becoming a victim of this preventable cause of death we need smoke-free restaurants now. Don Wallace Spokane

Ban a violation of civil rights

I am opposed to banning smoking in restaurants because it violates the civil rights of the owners.

Considering that most of downtown Spokane never meets the Environmental Protection Agency standards for air pollution, I think correcting that problem would do more to eliminate lung disease than banning smoking in places that most people seldom go.

That jogger who died from lung cancer didn’t smoke, but he did jog downtown. I see a connection between the two.

Ninety-eight percent of the people in my family don’t smoke and they have no problem with things the way they are. But then, they aren’t acting on personal prejudice.

I don’t want the bigots dictating to the restaurant owners over smoking any more than I want them to regulate how much sugar, salt and fat the owners can serve in their food. Judith Jones Spokane

Do ban restaurant smoking

The American Lung Association of Washington commends the Spokane County Board of Health’s recent recommendation to develop an ordinance to ban smoking in restaurants. A comprehensive, countywide ordinance banning smoking in restaurants will accomplish a very real purpose - protecting patrons and restaurant workers from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is a well-documented health hazard. The most disturbing examples of the damage caused by ETS are the 50,000 heart disease deaths among nonsmokers, recently reported by the Journal of American College of Cardiology. But secondhand smoke is also responsible for a wide range of respiratory illnesses. No doubt most of us, smokers and nonsmokers alike, have had personal experience with the headache, watery eyes, nausea and coughing often brought on by ETS exposure.

Secondhand smoke is no joke. If you want to avoid exposure to secondhand smoke, you may want to consider a smoke-free restaurant.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), “On average, restaurants contain up to twice as much nicotine, carbon monoxide, and smoke particle pollution than offices where people smoke.”

Regulating exposure to ETS in restaurants in strictly a health issue. Restaurant owners are encouraged to remember that while smoking is a choice, breathing is not. As long as one person’s choice seriously increases the health risks of another, it’s fair and sensible to establish regulations around it. Yvonne Bucklin, regional director American Lung Association of Washington

People can safely set own limits

After reading multiple editorials in opposition to Montana allowing its citizens to drive at a pace they judge reasonable, along with “the ragged edge” series, I can’t help but respond to the apparent belief system being acted out for the sake of those who’ve bought into legislation as the only means of regulating behavior.

Being a former Montanan who lives in Spokane, I initially wondered why anyone not living in that “Last Great Place” would feel it their duty to judge how reasonable Montanans are. Beyond not being anyone’s business, it clearly seems this rare occasion of government trusting those it’s in place to represent and relinquishing control over its citizens should be an event to celebrate, not criticize.

Have those who have access to mass media lost all faith in their readers? I think this attitude of expecting citizens to do the unreasonable, unless threatened by fines and jail, has created a dependency on our government to set limits on personal judgment. Have we become so used to being told what to do that we can be expected to display poor judgment every time we get a choice?

I’ve driven tens of thousands of miles in Montana and have yet to see people awaiting a chance to drive beyond their capacity. Let this small incident of trust be viewed as an opportunity to display that we can be trusted to be reasonable.

In a country where nearly 600 new laws are enacted each week, why should we complain when one is put to rest? Christopher Vahan Spokane

Numbers can help rescuers

Suppose your loved one has fallen, has a head injury and is unconscious. Your neighbor has chest pains and asks you to get help. Your child or grandchild thought the pills were candy and swallowed them. Your baby-sitter is caring for your children and one of them gets cut and blood is spurting from his or her arm. Or maybe you have a chimney fire, dryer fire or other type of fire in or near your home.

Picture yourself in a firetruck or ambulance trying to locate your home while responding to your call for help. Now, picture yourself, responding to one of the above mentioned emergencies at night. Drive through your own area for yourself. Try to find the address when there are no visible numbers on them. Notice which addresses stand out. You’ll probably notice (especially at night) that the 3- to 4-inch reflective numbers are excellent for locating homes.

How can you help? Be sure that your address is visible day and night. Emergency responses may be coming from different directions so numbers on both sides of your mailbox are helpful. Time is of the essence and locating your home quickly can make the difference in the outcome of the emergency.

Emergency personnel give a big thanks to everyone using these numbers now. Yours may well be what the responding units see which will help with response to other peoples homes. Doris K. Carlson, firefighter/EMT Colbert

UNIFORMED SERVICES

U.S. military better than ever

I recently returned from a public relations trip sponsored by Fairchild Air Force Base. The purpose of this three-day event was to show neighbors of air bases how the new, smaller Air Force is operating.

We toured bases in Montana, Kansas and South Carolina. We were shown what they did, why and how they did it, and how all the parts fit together to make the whole picture.

We were encouraged to talk to everyone, to ask questions and learn how our tax dollars are really being spent. I was overwhelmed by the commitment, expertise and technology of today’s military.

On our return I witnessed something not planned that tied this all together. The general couldn’t spend time on our homecoming as he had much more important business to take care of: saying goodbye to some Air Force personnel who were going to Bosnia. In fact, they were leaving on the same plane we’d just arrived in.

As I waited for my bags to be off-loaded, I noticed a young wife. Trying to be strong, lower lip quivering, she said goodbye to her husband. He knew Christmas would be spent away from his family. I now know many Christmases are spent with mom or dad away and making it possible for us to be secure at home with our families.

No matter your politics, be assured you can be proud of our men and women serving here and around the world.

I wish these military people the best holiday season possible. William F. Ritter Spokane

Congress full of sunshine patriots

It is amazing how great the Senate and the House of Representatives think the military people are when the military people are being sent into harm’s way.

I think those in Congress have already shown their true feelings. They renege on veterans’ benefits and cut the military every chance they get. Lewis W. Johnson Spokane

Show you care with a yellow ribbon

On Feb. 2, 1991, I wrote a letter to The Spokesman-Review with a dream. Now, nearly five years later, I find myself in the position of having a daughter on her way to Bosnia on a peacekeeping mission. Once again, I am experiencing this dream.

My dream is to see a yellow ribbon on every car antenna, lapel, mailbox, tree - anywhere - to show our troops in the Bosnia area that we are behind them and pray for their safe return.

No doubt we all have our own opinion about whether we should be involved in this peacekeeping mission. However, we are surely all united in our desire to show our troops that our thoughts and prayers are with them always.

That’s what “tie a yellow ribbon” is all about. Bring back our soldiers, safely. Carol Lynne Bray Spokane