Most station smokers are considerate

It's nice to see that New York is moving one step closer to a smoking ban on Long Island Rail Road platforms ["Smoking could be at last stop," News, June 18].

I can't wait until smokers are not even allowed to smoke in their own enclosed backyards. I am only kidding, of course.

I am not a smoker; however, I am rarely bothered by smokers standing outside on the unprotected platform. Most are considerate and stand off to the side, blowing their smoke away from others. It's different in bad weather, when some moron lights up inside the semi-enclosed waiting areas.

A total ban on smoking in public is a pure Band-Aid, a nonsensical -- and somewhat Stalinistic -- attempt that highlights the continued erosion of personal freedoms in this country by a small group of loudmouths who like to control others.

If Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wants to ban something worthwhile, he should come to the Hewlett train station between 7:15 and 7:30 every morning and inhale the exhaust fumes emanating from the buses idling in their spots before they start their daily rounds.

Michael P. Fried, Woodmere