Editor, Daily Nexus:

This little piece I’m writing is in regard to Vanessa Zimmer’s letter regarding smokers on campus (The Reader’s Voice, “Smokers Cause Harm to Campus, Students,” Nov. 28). I smoked for over two years and have recently quit smoking, so my opinion may be a little biased. Ms. Zimmer’s fervent defense of her lungs is commendable, but I wonder just one thing: How much smoke are you really exposed to? It’s not like you’re working the keno lounge in Vegas. At school, I might be exposed to a whiff of tobacco perhaps once a day, twice at most. Yes, people do smoke at school, but I don’t think it’s really jeopardizing your health that much.

I also think that smokers are usually more than courteous about their habit. They don’t smoke in any buildings and they don’t blow smoke in anybody’s face. They even endure people that walk by and rudely start coughing. Forget smokers’ rights – what happened to being polite?

In the case that I smell smoke, I have to support myself lest I fall to the ground grasping my chest. I say that walking through I.V. on a Saturday night is 10 times more dangerous to one’s health than walking to class. It seems as if almost everybody on the weekend walks around with a cancer stick in one hand and an empty beer cup in the other. Where exactly do all these smokers go during the week?

In regard to the moronic proposal of banning the sale of cigarettes on campus, I ask, “Why?” Whether or not you sell cigarettes on campus, people will still smoke on campus. Most smokers probably buy their cigarettes elsewhere, where they are cheaper. So, rant what you may, and ban what you will, but smokers and smoking will not go away.

JOHN SYQUIA