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Don’t let tobacco ruin downtown renaissance

    I want to commend Schenectady legislators and business leaders in the ongoing transformation of our downtown, which is fast becoming a choice place to visit on any given evening.
    I am sure there are many more exciting projects in the works for our historic city. However, I hope these plans will go beyond the physical development of buildings and infrastructure to addressing public health and policy.
    On a recent visit to downtown, as I passed the new Bowtie Theater, I noticed a theater employee on the sidewalk sweeping up cigarette butts. Thank you, Bowtie, for keeping your section of the walkway clean. Tobacco litter is a public health and environmental concern. The litter created by tobacco use could quickly spoil the improvement efforts in our blossoming downtown. In addition, tobacco use in outdoor areas can expose the community to the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.
    Nationwide, smoke-free outdoor areas are growing in popularity. I was very encouraged to hear that the city of Schenectady has recently implemented a smoke-free policy for all municipal pools and Tiny Tot Land in Central Park. They join a list of over 40 municipalities in New York state in adopting such tobacco-free policies. Kudos to the city.
    It would be a wonderful thing if our legislators would now take the lead and extend this policy to our city streets, starting with our new and improved downtown area.
    JANE WILSON
    Rotterdam

It would take a hell of a lot more than 'a cigarette butt' to ruin down town. Is this lady joking or what?

I don't know.  I personally don't like it that every single place that I seem to walk out of lately, there's someone waiting to blow tobacco and other deadly chemicals into my face...since they can't do it inside.  

Hey, when you are downtown, cigarette smoke should be the least of your concerns. Stepping in urine on the sidewalk, hoping to not get stopped by a pan handler, not being robbed, stabbed, raped or shot at, should be your ONLY concerns.

The cops had to end the central park guyanese day early because of a stabbing. THAT is what you should be concerned about....not cigarette smoke. There are much much much more important issues out there. Cigarette smoke is just about ALL our elected officials want us to concern ourselves with, so they can continue to create more government programs, create nonsense jobs for their political cronies, while crime and taxes are forever rising out of control.

And respectfully, no one is WAITING outside to blow smoke in your face!

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Downtown smoking ban plan for Sch’dy is lunacy

    This is in response to the ridiculous Aug. 23 letter from Jane Wilson about banning smoking on city streets.
    Being an employee who has worked in downtown Schenectady for years, I can assure you that discarded cigarette butts are the least of the city’s problems. I’m sure Ms. Wilson is unaware of these problems since she only “visits” the city, as she states, and has not seen the more vile and disgusting items one can encounter while strolling down the city streets.
    Does the Bowtie Cinema have noticeable outside receptacles for butts, etc., since the only place to smoke is outside?
    The smoking ban law has successfully accomplished its goals to ban smoking from restaurants, taverns, public parks, etc. However, let’s not ignore the fact that tobacco smoking is still legal.
    I urge the fanatical nonsmokers such as Jane Wilson to start focusing on more valid and dangerous issues that we are subject to every day — other than the horrific possibility of stepping on a cigarette butt.
    C. A. HOWARD
    Rotterdam

Very well said C.A.Howard.

Smoking what is banned???

Don't know.  They were just saying that there's a new drug coming out of Mexico that kids (teens) are smoking.  They (MSNBC) said that kids are smoking it and putting videos of their "trips" on YouTube.  It's not officially banned, so anybody can go ahead and order it.  From this day forward, I will be checking ALL packages that come into the house for my children (not that I didn't before).

I believe it's "salvia" that they're smoking and you're right it's legal right now.

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Smoking what is banned???

I guess you can smoke 'anything' accept a cigarette.

Quoted from Shadow

I believe it's "salvia" that they're smoking and you're right it's legal right now.

That's it.  I've heard about it a couple times now, I think.