SMOKE: Time to go, tobacco

Congratulations to CVS Pharmacies announcing Feb. 5 that they will no longer sell cigarettes or any tobacco products, even with a projected loss of $2 billion in revenue.

Ellen DeGeneres also announced in February on her TV show “Ellen” that NBC stores will no longer sell tobacco products.

Good Housekeeping magazine’s February issue said they will refuse advertising for tobacco and other health hazardous products.

Even though smoking is called the scourge of the health care system, smokers aren’t easily intimidated by recent reports:

• One in three cancers are smoking related;

• Breathing secondhand smoke is nearly as deadly as smoking;

• Now they are reporting that thirdhand smoke in carpets, clothing, bedding, etc., is extremely detrimental to infants;

• Smokers are more likely to have intervertebral disc degeneration;

• March 18 KREM 2 Noon and 5 p.m. newscasts announced that thirdhand smoke on walls, furniture, carpets and bedding mixing with indoor pollutants can cause DNA mutations and cancer.

We need other entities to follow the ban on smoking.

• Most lodges are so fouled by tars that for some attending events for just a couple hours triggers sinusitis and other allergic reactions.

Managers of apartment complexes with shared hallways should not allow smokers to reside. The deadly toxin of secondhand smoke can make its way through vents, under and around doors to pollute hallways, ultimately finding its way into a non-smoker’s unit, causing health issues.

• Butt tossers should be banned from children’s playgrounds and parks.

Smokers, love yourself enough to give up smoking. Your loved ones, friends and employers will thank you!

MARGIE M. SKANTEL

Kellogg