Everyone Should Enjoy County Air

I can't smoke in bars or restaurants. And now, I won't be able to smoke in Howard County parks. Well, I don't smoke, but the "I" represents the nine to ten percent of Howard County residents who do smoke.

I don't have anything against smokers. When they could smoke in restaurants and bars, it rarely bothered me. The countless times I have been to Centennial Park, I have never seen anyone smoke. No one smoking while they were fishing or boating. No one smoking while they walked around the lake with their girlfriend. No one smoking as they were trying to smash the ball on the tennis court. But even if they were, I don't think that I would have noticed. When you are 100 yards apart from people, as most strangers often are at parks, you won't get a whiff of the smoke or be affected by the second-hand smoke.

As adults, we have the choice to smoke or not smoke. I have made the choice not to smoke. However, I don't think adults who wish to smoke when they want to should be banned from county parks. It's open air. Everyone should be able to enjoy it just as they choose.