Letter to the Editor

(This is a response to Devon Nuckles’ opinion piece "Nonsmokers Die Every Day," Chronicle Sept. 26)

Dear Mr. Nuckles,
I appreciate your efforts to bring light to the issue of smoking on, or rather near, campus to your fellow students and avid readers of The Chronicle. Though you made a genuine effort to inform your readers of your opinion, I (the average nonsmoker) happen to disagree with your statement about smoking: "Yes, I know it's gross, yes I know it smells nasty to you, but we are not making you be around it. That's your choice."
   You fail to mention that exposure to second-hand smoke has been linked to increased rates of various cancers, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, respiratory disease, and reproductive and developmental effects. For lung cancer, the excess risk appears to be in the range of about 20% to 30%, while for heart disease, it appears to be in the range of 20% to 25%. We don't, as you allege, want to live forever, we just want to live healthier.
   According to you, "Nonsmokers die everyday!" Yes, approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths occur each year among adult nonsmokers in the United States as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke. They die because you have a problem with standing fifteen feet away from entrances to doors, while you light one up. We as nonsmokers did not make the conscious decision to intake tar and rat poison into our lungs, so why should we have to suffer the consequences?
   I don't think fifteen feet is enough. According to the American Lung Association, a recent study found that children whose parents smoke outdoors take twice the amount of nicotine into their bodies as children whose parents don't smoke. This is because particles found in cigarettes are so tiny that they can attach themselves to your clothes and hair. The particles are absorbed by the carpets, curtains, furniture and even dust. When we irrational nonsmokers are exposed to these smoke particles, we absorb nicotine into our bodies. Be happy with fifteen feet, it could be worse.
   Thank you for letting me have the opportunity to speak on behalf of us nonsmokers who “have this strange mindset going on where they think they are better because they don't smoke.”

Denita Jones
WVUP English Major