LETTER TO THE EDITOR
When will Cayman’s restaurants become smoke free
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Dear Sir,
Planning a night out with my husband and friends should
be as easy as picking up the phone and booking a table at a restaurant.
Now however I have to ask another question – “Do you
allow smoking in your restaurant?”
Imagine my surprise at the repeated reply of “Yes Madam,
you can smoke anywhere in our restaurant,” as if they are proud of that
statement.
I then have to decline taking advantage of their table
for 4 at 8:00 pm.
I have found that there is one thing worse than an
ex-smoker and that is an ex-smoker who in April this year had two thirds of
her right lung surgically removed due to lung cancer and has just finished her
course of chemotherapy.
How better to celebrate this recovery than with dinner
with friends ? Alas one of the biggest dangers for me is second hand smoke and
there is absolutely no way that I will subject myself to it, so to all the
restaurateurs in Cayman - when are you going to request that your customers do
not smoke so that I can enjoy your facilities?
Even if you allow smoking at the bar or at a few tables
only, someone has to sit next to that area and I defy any air extraction
system to totally remove all the smoke and the awful smell from the room thus
making me lose my appetite as I enter and denying me the enjoyment of a
cocktail or soda at the bar before dinner.
In nearly every state of America and most of Western
Europe the bars and restaurants are full of friends meeting, sharing evenings,
enjoying lunch or catching up with friends for coffee and dessert all in a
smoke free environment.
Please do not try and tell me that they are all
non-smokers because I know they are not. The smokers among them acknowledge
and accept that if they want to smoke they need to remove themselves from the
building/area to do so.
I used to do it myself - it really is no hardship.
I was so excited to read months ago about similar
legislation potentially being introduced here in the Cayman Islands but I have
read or heard nothing recently.
I know it has been a tough year for us all - but an issue
as serious as this needs to be kept alive and not let slip under a pile of
‘more important‚ matters.’
To me there is nothing more important than my health and
what should be my freedom to enjoy eating out - it has been a hard road for my
family too.
I know from talking to friends that I am not the only
person who feels strongly about this subject so please - to whoever is in
charge of this matter - don‚t let my next meal out be on a medical trip to
Florida where I know I am safe.
Rose Lewis
Grand Cayman
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