Editorial: Smoke-free Farmers' Markets by Lai

If you want fresh fruits and vegetables you can go to one of the farmers’ market that are located on streets and parking lots. Unfortunately because there isn’t a non-smoking policy for farmer’s markets, families are exposed to secondhand smoking. The people that shop around the market are able to smoke in the market, but should that option be disabled? When a farmers market is in session, there should be a no smoking policy because no one wants to become a victim to secondhand smoking, especially children.

In these cases children become a victim to secondhand smoking, which is basically like them smoking the cigarette themselves. A cigarette contains more than 7,000 harmful chemical compounds. At least 69 of those chemicals cause cancer. Even if it’s for a short time, the chemicals from tobacco still get into your lungs, heart, and heart vessels. About 46,000 non-smokers die from a heart disease and 3,400 die from lung cancer. For people in the markets to carelessly take out a cigarette and smoke it around children is basically threatening their lives. However it’s not just in the case of children; parents or adults are also in harm’s way when it comes to secondhand smoke.

The opposing view wouldn’t feel right about this policy because for one, farmers may lose business. Since money is what they look forward to getting, it’s understandable that they would refute this policy. If not that, then the smokers would feel they are getting stripped from their rights as a U.S. citizen. Would you still put up a front if you’re threatening people’s lives by smoking around them or being the one that allows it?

In farmers’ markets, there are many non-smokers and children that come to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Second hand smoking is very dangerous to a person’s health, especially children because they are still in development. There is no ban on smoking in the farmers market because it’s located in public parking lots or on the streets, but is it not possible to make a policy for no smoking while the market is active? Also for the smokers, is it not possible to find a different area to smoke?