THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, April 7, 1995 TAG: 9504070006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Larry Rijnovan's letter (``Lighten up on smokers,'' April 3), boils down the smoking issue to economics - money supposedly lost by restaurants, airlines and malls due to public-smoking restrictions.
OK - let's talk about money . . . my money. If Mr. Rijnovan smokes in the restaurant where I am dining, his stench ruins the pleasure of my expensive meal. I resent that.
If Mr. Rijnovan is a member of my HMO, then when he comes down with his well-earned case of lung cancer, I'll be paying for his surgery and chemotherapy. I resent that.
If he wants to sell his car or home, I won't buy because they will stink. The stench remains in the carpet, drapes and upholstery and is quite evident without having to skid about on one's nose. Chances are this proud smoker doesn't have too many functioning olfactory receptors left to smell his own foul emissions.
For those who have been in the cloud so long that they have forgotten what all children and nonsmokers know, here's a message: Smoking stinks!
Bathroom odors belong in the bathroom; smoking odors, which are just as disgusting, belong far, far away from me. Thank God for public-smoking restrictions!
FRANCES MEEHAN
Virginia Beach, April 3, 1995 by CNB