Seniors building houses smokers

I have been in favour of smoke-free premises for many years.

I was an LPN for more than 30 years. I spent one summer on-call at the QEH. There were four men, in a ward, all heavy smokers with lung diseases. After breakfast these men rang their bells incessantly for their puffers/masks to make breathing easier. Ten minutes later they were in wheelchairs headed to the smoke room for a cigarette.

Along with all the other cares required by them, these men had edema and weeping wounds on their lower legs and had to be re-bandaged 2-3 times a day. I was absolutely disgusted with the wasted hours spent nursing when they were taking no action to help themselves. With this type of problem, too often there were no beds for real needs. I cannot even imagine the cost to the health care system.

I am now in a P.E.I. government seniors building with over 100 other seniors. Almost every tenant in this building has health issues — kidney disease, open-heart surgery, diabetes, lung disease, stroke recovery, cancer and more. Most of us are trying to live a healthy life. Smoke Free P.E.I. is right.

However, smokers are in the apartments around us. The smoke comes through the vents or open hallway doors. Keeping the apartment doors closed does not keep the smoke inside.

Marijuana is just one more poor decision made by all our governments, as there are other ways to use it without smoking.

Flora J. Thompson, Charlottetown