Letters: Smoking on the LIRR

The ban on smoking on Long Island Rail Road platforms is simply unnecessary ["2 arrested on LIRR train," News, Dec. 12]. Although I am not a smoker myself, nor do I support the tobacco industry, this ban takes everything way too far.

Regardless of the fact that it is not the longest walk to get off the platform for a quick drag, I think that making it illegal to be on an outdoor platform while having a smoke does not make any sense. There is a big difference between being confined in a small room next to someone smoking, and standing outside in a huge outdoor space where someone just happens to be smoking 20 feet away.

Of course, I will say, that the only real benefit of this new law is that it could discourage people in our community from smoking altogether.

Isabelle Fleury, Elmont
 

I strongly agree with the new policy issued by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA's smoking ban fulfills the wants of the majority of its customers.

The MTA does not look down on the habit of smoking, it just believes that the decision to smoke should not affect anyone besides the smoker himself or herself. Smoking puts other riders at risk and in uncomfortable situations.

Having experience in multiple stations throughout the MTA, I understand the feeling they are trying to secure.

Nicholas Saggio, Island Park
 

I feel this policy will help decrease the amount of unwanted secondhand smoke that other commuters inhale. Although many smokers feel that their rights are being taken away in parks, outdoor cafes and some public streets, nonsmokers, including young children, have the right to breathe clean air.

Every day, commuters and families need to wait on crowded platforms for unpredictable trains in the cold, rain, heat and snow. Walking through a cloud of smoke will be one less aggravation. Exposure to this carcinogen is something we can live without.

Michael Speziale, Westbury