smoke out

Some people still just don't get it. A Daily News reader writes to the paper today complaining aout the Mayor's threat to her personal freedoms.

OUTLAW FAST FOOD

South Orange, N.J.: What state of prohibition has Mayor Bloomberg gotten us into now? Isn't the smoking ban an infringement on our personal freedoms, masked under the guise of bettering our health? I suppose he should now ban cheeseburgers and french fries, since they are also detrimental to our health.

Doreen Dany

I cannot speak for Mr. Bloomberg or the rest of the New York City Council, but I'm sorry, I absolutely do not care if someone wishes to shoot up heroin on the street, so long as he or she does not block or litter the sidewalk which others share. Restricting smoking in closed public areas is not about tyranny.

Smoking is a threat to my health and that of anyone else who must share the air fouled by those who smoke, and it makes it impossible for me and others unable to breathe smoke to enter the spaces where it is permitted. I am ecstatic about the fact that within less than three months I will finally be able to enjoy smaller restaurants, bars and music clubs and the pleasures and society only they can provide, and, yes, I will be delighted to share these places with people who choose sometimes to smoke--only elsewhere.