Smoking and Free Speech

For those of us who must often travel long distances, flying first class is more a necessity than a luxury. In order to be rested and coherent after a grueling flight, first class offers one of the only means of relief. However, during these flights, for which I pay over triple the coach fare, I am subjected to substantial amounts of cigarette smoke.

The reason for this is because first-class allows smoking just one or two rows from the no-smoking section due to the size of that cabin. And it is well-known that ventilation on airplanes is far from adequate.

So, the way I see it, I am paying three times the normal rate while jeopardizing my life. It’s time to do something to resolve this problem and I recommend abolishing smoking on all flights.

LORIN LINDNER

Los Angeles