A Smoker's Island

As a non-smoker, I applaud the bill introduced by New York city councilman Peter Koo (D-Queens) to ban smoking while walking down the street. (See New York Daily News, March 20, 2018.)

I can recall numerous times being subjected to second-hand smoke by someone walking in front of me. I have often thought of carrying one of those hand-held paper fans you see women in churches using as a way to disperse the smoke.

Perhaps the City Council should designate one of the abandoned islands in the East River as a haven for smokers, providing them with free ferry service to and fro.

Environmentalists would probably protest vehemently such an idea, but it's worth considering--smokers with an island of their own.

A Cigarette Smoker's Plea

I recently found three unopened packs of cigarettes on top of a newspaper vending box  at the corner of Amsterdam Avenue and 105th Street, in Manhattan. Attached to one of the boxes was a blue Post-em with the handwritten message that said "Help Me Quit!"  I'm not a smoker, but I removed the packs from on top of the box so no kid would find them.

Nicotine Madness

"Good night, folks. [James Arness, in suit and tie, reaches inside his jacket, pulls out a pack of cigarettes.] See you next week in Dodge City. [He puts a cigarette between his lips.] In the meantime, [he lights the cigarette with a cigarette lighter], light up, free up. Get the most out of life. [He holds up the pack to the camera.] Live modern, smoke L & M."--from the closing commercial of an episode of Gunsmoke (circa 1956).

In the 1950s, smoking, via television, movies, and print advertising, was depicted as hip, sophisticated, and sexy. Today smokers are treated like pariahs, made to stand outside stores, restaurants, and office buildings to satisfy their daily nicotine addiction. Not so back then.