Secondhand smoke perils

I would like to add yet another comment to the smoke-free Cape Girardeau discussion. Smokers would have us believe that what they do is not harmful to others. I can assure you that they are lying to themselves and the rest of us.

I am living proof of the horrible damage it does. For many years I worked where smoking was allowed and lived with a heavy smoker.

When I developed a cough that I couldn't get rid of, I went to a very accredited hospital in St Louis where I had chest X-rays and numerous tests and was told I had secondhand smoke-damaged lungs (I never smoked in my life).

I once sang in church and school choirs. Now I'm so short of breath I no longer sing, even for my own enjoyment. I wake myself up numerous times at night with my cough. When vacationing on the east coast we learned that all restaurants are smoke-free there, and they were just as crowded as the ones here, if not more so. When I hear smokers complaining about their "rights," I think of a line I once heard, "Your rights end where my nose begins." If it weren't for your "rights," I wouldn't be so short of breath I can hardly talk after climbing a flight of stairs.

Have a little consideration for those other than yourself. I can hardly wait to get to the polls to vote yes for a smoke-free Cape Girardeau.

DJ DAWSON, Cape Girardeau