Secondhand smoke causes cancer, heart disease, stroke, asthma, emphysema, and other serious illnesses. In the U.S. alone, thousands die each year from these illnesses and many more become ill. These aren't just statistics. They're real people, including many right here in St. Louis.
I am allergic to cigarette/cigar smoke. It really irritates me that I can't go to certain places because of the smoke. Smokers have a right to smoke I suppose, but not in public places. If I'm exposed to secondhand smoke too long, I get a respiratory infection. We non-smokers have a right to breathe clean air. Non-smoking policies should include bars and casinos. Non-smokers like to go to these places too.
Cindy, St. Louis, MO
I am a soon-to-be first time mom, and while smoking in restuarants/bars has always botherd me, it never unnerved me as it does now. I am unable to meet up with friends and family at local areas without the fear that me and my unborn child are going to be affected by secondhand smoke. Smoking is not a choice I have ever made for myself and other people should not be allowed to change that for me.
Danette, O'Fallon, MO
Cities that become smoke free increase their standard of living immediately. I forget how much of a non-smoker I am until I go to a restaurant or bar that is smokey. There is nothing less appetizing than a smokey room. This is a public health and consumer protection issue which is just one of a myriad ways to lower our nations health care costs. Let's do our part.
Julie, St. Louis, MO
My family moved here from North Dakota, which went smoke-free in public places a few years ago. It was wonderful to go have dinner or go to a sports bar and not come out smelling like a smoker. But what has really driven me to support this initiative is having a teenager who works. Food service is a wonderful environment for teens to learn work ethic, managing money, etc. Howevedr, since Hannibal is not smoke-free, my child works in a smoking environment which is detrimental to his health. He has not grown up in a smoking home and has had little or no exposure to secondhand smoke until now. Hannibal should go smoke-free. All can continue to smoke... just outside.
Sherry, New London, MO
I moved from Massachusetts two years ago- a smoke free place. What a pleasure to be able to go to a restaurant, bar, comedy club etc...and not get literally sick from the cigarette smoke. I think the entire state should be smoke free or at the very least St. Louis and surrounding counties. I was in Fitz's restaurant recently. They now have smoke free hours. The hostess told me that since they have smoke free hours, business has increased!!! This state needs to get with the times.
Elizabeth, Chesterfield, MO
I've worked in the healthcare field since 2005 and it was only through my career that I finally grew to understand the harmful effects of secondhand smoke. As a past "social" smoker, I never realized that even my limited smoking could affect the health of others. It is imperative that we educate our friends and family about the cancer causing chemicals in cigarette smoke. Let's protect each other by limiting the effects of smoke on ourselves and our children. Go green- focus on healthy indoor air!
-Stephanie, Hannibal, MO
My husband and I are just disgusted by smoking as well as the litter it produces. We are healthy by choice and it bothers us when others' lack of health infringes upon our lives. We are hopeful for a smoke-free city and would like to help make that happen.
-Becca, St. Louis, MO
I grew up with two parents that both smoked. Today, I have problems breathing correctly but it has never been diagnosed as asthma or linked to secondhand smoke. I have a child now that is 8 years old and I do everything in my power to protect him against secondhand smoke. This usually means excluding ourselves from activities where we are around secondhand smoke or going to restaurants where smoking is allowed. Luckily, through pressure from my 3 brothers and myself, we have been able to get both of our parents to quit smoking. Not only for their own health but for the health of their grandchildren and the message that smoking conveys to them. The pressure of wanting to have them around as long as possible to see their grandchildren grow up became a burden they were no longer willing to fight us on. Thanks and keep up the great work to be smoke-free.
-Mark, St. Louis, MO
If Chicago, New York, DC, Houston, Dallas, Florida, California can have smokefree establishments, how is St. Louis going to stay competitive for tourist dollars? Do we expect people from smokefree cities to come to St. Louis and walk into a smoke cloud and be happy, write glowing reviews about our city? The smoke cloud will overwhelm the whole experience no matter how nice the establishment.
I've lived in St. Louis all of my life around smoke filled establishments. But now that I travel to smokefree cities, the difference is like night and day. I honestly dislike going out in St. Louis now. I'd rather spend money in Chicago, or Houston to hangout. Once you experience nice food, bars, and social set in a smokefree enviornment, you'll never want to spend money in a place filled with smoke. St. Louis' appeal is deminished greatly. Smart business people should go smokefree as a competitive advantage. We spend tax dollars promoting our city to major smokefree advocate states. Hummm Does that make sense?
-Clarence, Maplewood, MO
I work downtown and love to go out in the many diverse city neighborhoods but I hate having to endanger my health and well being by breathing second hand smoke!
- Katie Kaufmann, St. Louis, MO
Personally this issue is important to me because cigarette smoke affects my mother in a very negative way. She has problems breathing when in contact with it. I also feel that no one should be forced to have contact with cigarette smoke. Visitors from New York or California are shocked when they come here, that smoking is still allowed in bars and restaurants.
-Kimberly Jones, St. Louis, MO
I have asthma and allergies and at times it is very hard for me to breathe when in public areas and people are smoking. I have just as much a right to be there as they do but my experience is being hindered.
-Niki Key, Manchester; MO
Not only as an asthmatic, but as someone who enjoys going out with my friends do I feel this is important. I shouldn't have to smell like smoke when I come home, and my health shouldn't be put at risk because others want to smoke. It's their choice, but I shouldn't pay the consequences.
-Kerrianne Gallen, Ballwin, MO
I have had a close friend of mine die from lung cancer and she never smoked a cigarette her whole life, her husband did. Secondhand smoke is like forcing someone to take a drag on your cigarette.
Ashley Welter, St. Charles, MO
I am highly sensitive to cigarette smoke and am bothered whenever I have to walk through a smoking area in a restaurant to get to my seat in the non-smoking area.
-Mary Beth Sullivan, Webster Groves, MO
I have asthma and allergies and would enjoy the city and all the wonderful places in it more if it were smoke-free.
-April Gray, St. Louis, MO
A smoke-free St. Louis would be amazing. I hate having to go out and be surrounded by smoke! Living in the downtown loft district, I know there are so many great places that would truly benefit from smoke-free indoor air.
-Karen Ellis, St. Louis, MO
I am a 7 and a half year cancer survivor. I hate going to restaurants and not only breathing the secondhand smoke but smelling like an ash tray when I leave. I enjoy casinos and bars but can't stand how I smell when I leave and I'm sure the air quality is horrible for my health.
-Amanda Carter, St. Charles, MO
I can't stand the smell of smoke on my clothes, my hair, my anything! ...There doesn't seem to really be any such thing as an effective non-smoking section of a public place. The smoke still seems to waft over into the rest of the facility.
-Debbie Pike, St. Louis, MO
I am very sensitive to the smells of smoke. Many places I go in public, I am confronted by clouds of smoke...My throat constricts, I cough and have a hard time breathing...I should be able to go into public without fearing that some day I will develop lung cancer because of someone else's smoking habits.
-Lauren Simpson, Clayton, MO
My lungs are sensitive to smoke and when I leave restaurants and bars I have a congested cough for days after. I don't deserve to have secondhand smoke while hanging out in public establishments!
-Megan Miller, St. Louis, MO
I have asthma and I can't freely enjoy dinner or drinks out with friends without having problems afterwards. Makes me not want to go out a lot of times.
-Bill Byrd, St. Louis, MO
I do have allergic reactions to secondhand smoke; this has included severe asthma attacks at times. But even if I wasn't allergic, I know secondhand smoke increases my risk of heart disease and many other problems. It's right to protect the air we share with smokefree policies.
-Jeanette Mott Oxford, St. Louis, MO
I love to go dancing in St. Louis but have yet to find a club that is smoke-free....this is unfortunate since so many of my friends and I avoid going out simply due to having a horrible sore throat the next day due to smoke. This city has a lot to offer, and it'd be great if there were more smoke-free places to support!
-Katie O'Brien, St. Louis, MO
I am asthmatic and being exposed to second hand smoke can make my asthma flare up and can make me disabilated for days. I believe everyone deserves to work and congregate in smoke free public places. I have lived in two states, California and Colorado where are lung health came first. I would like my home state Missouri to respect this right.
-Melissa Webber, St. Louis, MO
My grandfather died of lung cancer when I was in 4th grade. At that time I was too young to even really understand the concept of death, let alone cancer. What I do remember is that whenever I saw him he would hug and kiss me and then head straight for the bathroom to cough and hack. My grandfather was NOT a smoker. But, he was a truck driver for several years. Back then truck stops were full of cigarette smokers. When I got older, I linked second hand smoke to lung cancer. His choice was working to support his family not to ultimately die (in my opinion) because of others unhealty choices.
-Stacey Sickler, St. Louis, MO
It's not that I don't think Smokers have the right to smoke, it's that I was a smoker and quit. Now that I have, I literally get sick after a night out. I can't breathe for days. I just want to know there are places I can go and not be sick for the next week. It was really hard for me to quit and it didn't do much good if I'm still breathing it when I go out.
-Christy, St. Louis, MO
I'm a nurse who despises smoking, especially when it interferes with nonsmokers' lives.....which is smoking in our public places. I lost a young aunt (nonsmoker) to lung cancer last October and am passionte about raising awareness for lung cancer as well.
-Kara Hartwig, St. Louis, MO
I am interested in living in a smoke-free environment because it's evident that smoking is taking a toll on all of us. I odn't know one person who doesn't have a family member with cancer, heart disease, or a condition that can be linked to smoking. I feel that it is an infringement on the rights of those of us that don't smoke and want to live healthier lives. We have the right to not want to breathe in smoke while we work, eat, walk. No one has the right to force something into your lungs that can potentially kill you.
-Kanisha Collie, Hazelwood, MO
I have no health issues that are exacerbated by second hand smoke, but I cannot stand the stink. The argument that smoker's rights are being infringed upon by smoking bans is quite ridiculous, smoking for them is a choice. When I go to a public place I have no choice to breathe. I consider it very selfish of smokers to foul the air surrounding them without concern for the feelings of neighbors. One of the major factors in the taste of any food is smell and I don't know of anyone who would choose to eat a meal that tastes like a burning cigarette.
-Clay Holder, St. Louis, MO
I am a non-smoker but my boyfriend smokes. When we go out, we often have to sit in smoking for him. I HATE it. I want there to be no smoking section at all, then it would never even be an issue. If people want to smoke, they can go outside because it's not fair to those of us who don't to have to breathe it in. IT STINKS!! Also many smokers I know say it's hard to quit when they go out and people are smoking around them. This would help people quit.
-Megan, St. Charles
I live in Troy, IL, however, I am from St. Louis and enjoy going to the Soulard area and listening to blues music. Unfortunately, I no longer am comfortable breathing in the smoking restuarants/bars and can no longer support our local musicians by going to see them. After an hour of breathing everyone's smoke I had to leave due to excessive coughing and discomfort. I hope St. Louis becomes smoke-free very soon. It is not fair that smokers can pollute our air!
Stacy P., Troy, IL
