Mailbag: Stop doing ‘No. 3’ in public

Stop doing ‘No. 3’ in public

Tuesday evening, the City Council passed an ordinance further restricting smoking in multi-unit housing. For those who have thought of quitting smoking, this might be a good time to quit. All over the country, people are discovering the following:

Smoking is “No. 3.”

When we expel dangerous bodily waste products, we do it in a private ventilated room away from others.

But common courtesy alone won’t guarantee that. To protect the public from annoyance, irritation and the spread of disease, our governments have had to pass laws that prohibit people from doing “No. 1” and “No. 2” in public.

And we know that most people who do “No. 3” are not considerate about where they do it, and that only a law will prevent them from expelling their foul-smelling, disease-producing bodily waste wherever they are — and spreading it all over other people.

Only a law will make the people who do “No. 3” follow the same rules of health and sanitation that they all adhere to when they do “No. 1” and “No. 2.”

Smoking is “No. 3,” and like “No. 1” and “No. 2,” it should not be done anywhere near other people.

Robert Phipps

Burbank