SMOKING SHOULD BE BANNED

To the Editor:

Not surprisingly the smokers' rights zealots came out of the woodwork in
response to state Rep. Ray Vaughn's proposal to ban smoking in public
places. They've forgotten this old American maxim: "Your right to swing
your fist ends where the other guy's nose begins." These same people would
scream bloody murder if public places exposed them to asbestos or nuclear
radiation, but they think nothing of exposing others to their second-hand
smoke -- a far more widespread danger.

Vaughn's proposal doesn't go far enough. A product whose addictive drug
causes over 300,000 deaths annually should be banned from sale. Of course,
don't expect to see that happen anytime soon. The politicians have been
bought off by the drug lords or, as we call them in this country, the
tobacco industry.

Leis Urban