I feel for those of you who smoke, but I can't help but really wish for a smoking ban in Erie County's public places.
I've never been a smoker -- not even one hit on a cigarette in a rebellious phase. My husband's the same way. I grew up in a house with a nonsmoking mother and a father who quit cold turkey more than a decade before I was born. My husband's mother, however, smokes cigarettes and his father smokes cigars, which used to make me surprised at his nonsmoker status. But he claims it's their smoking which really drove him away from the stuff in the first place.
Since Autumn was born, my mother-in-law goes outside to smoke her cigarettes. My father-in-law has always gone outside for a cigar. And since Autumn was born, I've been inclined to decline seating on the border of smoking and nonsmoking sections at restaurants and have instead chosen to wait for a nonsmoking table to open. If coworkers are gathering at a pub, I'll think about the location, the time of day and the day of the week before agreeing to join them. Too late into the evening or on a day when it's more likely to be crowded means a smoky atmosphere. And some bars are just smoky anyway. Let's face it, despite how many "smoke eaters" they put in and try to ventilate a place, when you go home, you can still smell cigarette smoke on your clothes and in your hair.
As a nonsmoker I'd support a ban anyway. But since becoming a parent, I'm really hoping for one. I don't want my daughter growing up around smoke. Right now I'm just more choosy about where we go and when we go. But if there was a smoking ban in public places, we'd have more options. For example, when she gets a little bigger, I could go to any bowling alley with her without having to worry about which ones might be nonsmoking or have nonsmoking nights. I imagine asthmatics out there would be just as joyful.
I just don't want to subject my daughter to second-hand smoke. It's not my job to damage her lungs. It's my job to protect her and keep her safe. So right now I can't help but wish that Erie County (and later the whole Commonwealth) joins New York state's thinking and passes a smoking ban.