To the editor:

Where are they?

I spent around 25 hours over three days at the Oktoberfest. I worked a booth two days. I also went to the Christmas celebration downtown.

I saw very, very few smokers. When I wanted to smoke, I went off to find a bench away from everyone. I saw one other person who had walked off to stand by a building, also away from others.

At the Oktoberfest, I would slip away to an alley. I would usually find three or four other smokers already there.

Most of us try to be considerate of others. I only saw two women smoking out on the street in the crowd.

I was not everywhere and could not see everyone all the time, but I did not see all these smokers blowing clouds of smoke.

Smokers already know because of the hype that if they pass us on the street, they will end up with cancer, that we are to be shunned.

This is no longer about secondhand smoke. It’s about others wanting to tell everyone how they should live. I have been outside, 25 to 30 feet from anyone, and been told not to smoke. Outside and several feet from anyone.

The people who vote on these bills really need to go to events and see if the supposed huge problem really exists. How do we tell any veteran, “Thanks for your service but if you want to smoke, go stand in the parking lot?”

Smoking is not illegal, and Indiana does not need to become a nanny state like New York.

Donna Campbell

Seymour