I am whole-heartedly in favor of banning smoking in all restaurants in Ames. I am embarrassed that for 35 years I gave little or no thought to the rights of non-smokers to breathe clean air, unfouled by my lousy habit. Then I contracted cancer as a direct result of my smoking. My doctors said, “quit or die.” Thankfully, I became a cancer survivor after eight bouts of surgery, 40 sessions of chemotherapy and countless days, months and years of surgery, exams, worry and trauma. Cancer is a real agony. Now, every time I go into a restaurant, I ask to be seated in a non-smoking area. The smoke from tobacco in the “smoking permitted” area does not seem to understand that it isn’t supposed to invade the non-smoking area. Consequently, I still smell its acid stench and worry that someone else’s bad habit may reawaken my cancer. Then, I worry instead of simply enjoying my meal. I prefer going to restaurants where non-smoking is already the policy, but sometimes it is inconvenient or unavoidable. I believe most restaurant owners (and certainly the workers) would prefer to institute a policy of “no smoking,” but they fear a certain loss of revenue from smokers. If the policy were uniformly enforced in the entire city, it would clear the way for them to change their policy with no repercussions from consumers, other than encouraging us smoke-haters to eat out more often. Please give all of us a break. Help us to eat in safety. Ban smoking in Ames restaurants. Lenwood Monte