Editor:

As a respiratory therapist, I have first-hand knowledge of the devastating effects of smoking on the cardiopulmonary system.

Smoking has been identified as the number one preventable cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide and the third leading cause of death in Wyoming: heart disease, respiratory disease, and cancer.

Many people who aren't smokers but are exposed to second-hand smoke suffer and die from these diseases. Scientific research about the harms of second-hand tobacco smoke has been accumulating for more than 20 years.

There is no doubt that breathing second-hand tobacco smoke (SHS) is very dangerous to human health, causing cancer and many serious respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in children and adults.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a report this year reinforcing the need for Americans to be better protected against exposure to second-hand smoke. The report finds that 46 percent of Americans show biologic exposure to the deadly toxins found in cigarette smoke. Even more startling are the millions of children this statistic includes.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has concluded that there is no safe level of human exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, and clearly state that the establishment of 100 percent smoke-free areas is the only way to protect the public to such exposure and its consequences.

It's important to speak in favor of smoke-free laws. Please support smoke free laws that prohibit smoking in all indoor public places in Wyoming. I think this is a critical step to protecting our health and that of our children.

DEBRA SOLIS, Newcastle