Editor:

This is regarding Nick Macey’s comments on the smoking

ban (“Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down,” Feb. 22). Nick incorrectly characterizes smoking in bars as a consenting-adults issue when it is actually a public-health issue.

Workers should not be required to trade their health for a paycheck. Bars and clubs offer jobs that pay more than the average restaurant. It is not reasonable to expect these adult workers to consent to life-threatening diseases as a condition of employment.

What would Nick tell a single parent who knows that he or she can offer his or her child more by working at a smoke-filled bar? It is a sacrifice any parent would make, but not one of us has the right to ask them to make it.

By making references to the religious makeup of the legislature, Nick, as well as the many who oppose the ban, obscures the real and deadly important issue of protecting workers. Also, New York and Los Angeles faithfully observe their smoking bans and somehow the world keeps turning and their clubs and bars remain full.

Ethan Millard

Senior, History