When my father was diagnosed with lung cancer, his doctor broke the news to me while smoking a cigarette in St. John's Hospital in 1968. Smoking was never identified as the reason he was dying. When my stepfather died, all knew it was because of his lifelong addiction to smoking pipes. My mother suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for years, and yet continued to smoke until the day she died in 2006. I smoked for more than 30 years because I was addicted. I finally stopped when my wife-to-be told me she would not marry me if I continued.

I certainly support your "right" to smoke, but I will fight your "right" to smoke where it will affect my health. Tobacco smoking needs to be stopped and banned in all situations where it affects nonsmokers. If that means that smokers cannot smoke in their cars — Ever smelled smoke while in a traffic jam? — then so be it.

I do not want to die because of your addiction, and I certainly do not want to die because of your "right" to engage in harmful activity. The funny thing is that heroin is illegal, yet shooting heroin does not have any affect on my health. Blowing smoke in my face will kill me. Go figure.

— Keith Baker, Camarillo