Editor:

Recently, the county's proposed ban on all forms of tobacco-use on all of its leased and owned properties within the Harford County area, caused me to question whether this proposed ban (and the funds and personnel that it will take to put it into practice) is a wise use of money and manpower.

I am reasonably certain that there are other more pressing issues that this money and personnel could better serve.

Yes, I am a smoker, and view this as another example of how those of us who have taken up the habit, are again made to feel like a criminal just because we want to take a break at work (when we can), or just visit one of the county's many parks and recreation areas. How would enforcement of this ban play out if, say, you were at one of the recreation complex areas, or perhaps strolling across one of the numerous ball fields (many of which are located within some of these recreation complexes), and you were the only person visiting the property?

Would you be escorted off the property, given a fine, arrested on the spot? How would this all work? I will admit that smoking is not the healthiest of habits, but we all have our own mechanisms for coping with the daily stresses of life, and to single out a specific segment of the population and remove areas where these folks can have a bit of down-time is just wrong.

I find this whole proposal to be another example of the needs of the few outweighing the needs of the many. That isn't the way things are supposed to work in a democratic republic.

Besides, aren't we smokers already paying ludicrous prices for cigarettes? A substantial portion of that price is in taxes. So I'd say that we are already looked upon as bad people; why not leave our smoking areas alone? We've been run out of most buildings that the county owns or leases so we stand outside to enjoy our habit, even in rain and snow, and gloom of night. Let us be.

Tim Flaherty

Bel Air