Public Comment

Why Tolerate Smoking in Public Places?

Romila Khanna
Friday June 05, 2015 - 11:08:00 AM

I don't know why smokers are let off lightly when they smoke in public places like bus stops or near rehab centers where smoking is prohibited. Smokers are doing such harm to the public and themselves if they come and smoke, for example, on the benches at a bus stop where signs say, "No Smoking within 20 feet of Bus Stop."  

Every day at the Russell and Shattuck bus stop in Berkeley I see people sit and smoke all kinds of cigarettes or other substances. I wait at a distance until the smoke clears; as a result I often miss my bus. I am not used to inhaling smoke. The state or city should do whatever they can to stop this nuisance. I 

think people addicted to tobacco should be treated and given help to quit smoking. If they will not, they should be required to pay fines to the city to deter them from smoking in prohibited public places. Inhaling secondhand smoke is injurious to health. Violation of no smoking signs in public places should be treated severely.