Dear editor,
I would like to address three items with you.
1. Tobacco 21 — It is my firm belief that the complaint by the merchant to Mr. Talkington was based only on the merchants’ bottom line and not what is best for your constituents.
I am willing to bet that the merchant would not allow their children or grandchildren to purchase tobacco products because they are so unhealthy. Rather, they want others, who may not have positive family support to increase their profits.
As a former radiology tech I have seen what the lungs of smokers look like and it is not pretty. The reason smokers have higher health insurance costs is that they require more healthcare due to the effects of exposure to tar, nicotine and other chemicals.
I regularly hear smokers say they wish they had never started to smoke and how hard it is to quit, if they even can. I have never had someone tell me they wished they started smoking earlier.
If we truly care about our young adults, we will make it a little harder for them to purchase their cigarettes. This is the direction the country is going. We can either be at the forefront by staying the course, or we can become a follower and join when it becomes mandatory nationwide.
Many in Kansas are working to improve the overall health of our citizens, and this is one way we can support that goal.
2. Smoking in our parks — I am a non-smoker. It is offensive to me when I have to smell others’ smoke in public areas. It is just as offensive to have their cigarette butts littering the areas where my grandchildren play.
There have been a number of times we have had to leave an area because of the smoke wafting through the air. While smokers believe it is their right to smoke, I feel that non-smokers have a right to breathe air that doesn’t contain smoke.
More and more areas across the nation forbid smoking for health reasons. Please allow Iola to be in the leading edge of the trend to healthier air for our citizens.
3. Pool — I want to commend the commissioners who bucked the “popular” opinion and went forth with the new pool. It is a true gem.
Thanks to the Rec director for implementing the new adult swim hours. It is wonderful to see adults of all ages take advantage of these two hours each weekday to improve their health, whether it be swimming laps, walking for exercise without as much harm to joints, water aerobics, or the all important conversing with another human.
Thank you for making sure we have this great place to exercise, cool off, and have fun. The young people running the pool are doing a fine job and they are a credit to our city.
Thanks for your time and your attention,
