Good for Cohoes

Thursday, May 27, 2010
Letter to the Editor
The Record

On March 11, as reported in The Record, the Cohoes Common Council made a significant decision to post tobacco-free signage in all their public parks and playgrounds.

This is a positive step in exactly the right direction. As a former smoker, a posted sign urging me to light up someplace else because children are at play would have been a powerful deterrent.

I began smoking as an act of adolescent rebellion which developed into a full-fledged adult addiction — still the most prominent pattern from first-time to lifetime smoker. I don’t wish my 15-year struggle with nicotine addiction on anyone.

Reducing the presence of tobacco use in places where kids play — places associated with health, exercise, and athletics — will help prevent young people from normalizing smoking and deter them from beginning to smoke themselves.

Any inconvenience for us, as responsible adults, is a small price to pay to keep our youngsters from paying later on with their health — and maybe even with their lives.

So, hurray for Cohoes Common Council for posting tobacco-free signs in their parks and playgrounds! They’re stepping up and doing their part.

Now let’s hope the good people of Cohoes will step up to demonstrate their commitment to the health of our community’s young people, take their smoke somewhere else, and meet the Common Council halfway.

Theresa Zubretsky

Troy