I don t think it is the place of any legislative body, be it local, state or federal, to dictate to a business person what legal activity s/he allows within the confines of their business. The state of Nebraska makes millions each year from the sales of tobacco products, and uses that tax money to punish those same tax payers. It was the state's smokers that paid for the Devaney Sports Complex and many other facilities that we cannot smoke in.

Why is it that smokers are the only addicts treated like social outcasts? For any other addiction, be it alcohol or the plethora of illegal drugs out there and legal drugs, there are numerous treatment centers and recovery programs, but while smoking and nicotine addiction are a real health concern, smokers are treated as social outcasts and humiliated. I can understand people wanting to be able to drink and eat in smoke free environments but all this ban is going to do is drive smokers out of city limits to enjoy a alcoholic beverage, a meal and their sports. It will put that many more people on the highways with alcohol in their system. When Lincoln banned smoking in the bars in city limits, did it reduce the number of smokers? No. It only drove them out of local businesses, paying city taxes to surrounding community businesses. If Mr. Niemann and Ms. Haas think this ban will make us smokers magically quit smoking and repent of our evil ways, they are only kidding themselves!

Smoking is an addiction! When people finally get that truth through their heads and encourage the development and maintenance of viable treatment programs for this addiction, maybe there would be some success in moving people away from smoking and into healthier lifestyles, but attacking us and banning us from society only makes us angry and increases out anxiety, thus making us smoke all the more.

Do you really want to spend $25,000 of taxpayers' money to reduce smoking in Grand Island? Then invest it into a viable treatment program for nicotine addiction, invest it in the community to get a Nic Anon program going, use the money to help smokers get help from this addiction instead of attacking smokers and making them social outcasts.

If you don t want to do that then you better put that money into the State and Local Police departments for more DUI arrests because all your going to do with this ludicrous ban is to drive smokers out of town and then instead of getting a taxi or a friend to drive them home as they might in city limits, they will be driving themselves home. Do you really want that?

Quite honestly, I think there are many other areas within the confines of the City Council that need addressing and funded that are far more important than attacking smokers and punishing local business owners. Perhaps you could send that money to the GIPD to help them with crime control and prevention. You know, like go after the people selling illegal drugs in GI. Or you could use the money to fix the streets? Isn t that a novel idea? Or better yet, just give us taxpayers some relief from the high taxes we are paying.

Robert Duering

1804 E. 7th St