My father had a laryngectomy due to smoking – all my memories of him are with a hole in his throat. He could only speak by burping – I never heard his true voice. My stepfather died from complications of COPD from long term smoking.

We’ve known for decades that many smokers will contract lung cancer. Others suffer from lesser effects of smoking – increased incident / intensity of diseases, hacking coughs, and nicotine addiction. In many locales, it is illegal to smoke indoors, outdoors near certain buildings, and in a few places, disallowed even in your condo. Add in the expense – taxes on tobacco products continually rise and at $4/pack at 2 packs/day, the yearly cost is $2,290. Warnings have appeared for years in the media of the dangers of smoking as well as on the packs and cartoons themselves. Anti-smoking advocates never cease to figure out new ways to keep people from smoking.

The smoke lingers in the air, spoils the taste of food, and I hate the smell of cigarettes in my clothes when around those that use them.

I heeded the message: I’ve never smoked nor ever intend to. No one is allowed to smoke in my car or around my home (ask my adult son what the penalty is if I ever catch him smoking on my property, even in the driveway!).

Given all that, I can’t figure out why anyone would start or continue to smoke given all that.

With all this as background, our NH Senate recently voted down HB 1177 that bans smoking in all restaurants by a vote of 12-11.

Good for them!

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