Editor:

Secondhand smoke is hazardous to one’s health. In 1993, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified secondhand smoke as a known human carcinogen. It was classified as such, not because it contains one or two chemicals that may cause cancer, but because it contains at least 50 cancer-causing chemicals. These chemicals include benzene, cadmium, formaldehyde, and arsenic.

The combination of these chemicals when the cigarette is burning with just 20 minutes of exposure will cause a person’s platelets to become stickier, the heart to pump harder and constrict the blood vessels.

I do not appreciate my health being put at risk. It has been proven in Helena, Mont., that heart attacks were reduced by 40 percent when a smoking ban in public places was put in effect. C'mon, Wyoming, wake up and protect the health of everyone. If you must smoke, do it outside.

RITA K. BOLLES, Casper