The urge to run is overwhelming. The poisonous gas engulfs me, it seeps into my clothes, and it chokes me. I can feel the years of my life slipping away. I pick up the speed of my gait, and bolt out of the first open door, into the hot night air. I breathe deeply, relieved to be out of the night club and the thick, toxic, fog of smoke. The open air relieves my nausea and the lightheaded feeling, caused by the strangling secondhand smoke.

I've just returned home to Monrovia for a visit, and the prevalent permissiveness toward secondhand smoke is shocking. I've been a resident of Northern California for more than 20 years. In California and New York, the two most populous states in the U.S., smoking is banned in all public venues. I haven't been to a restaurant, nightclub, airport, grocery store or office building where smoking is permitted since 1998. For ten years, smoking in public venues has been banned in order to save the lives of all those non-smokers who are subject to secondhand smoke.

Research has shown that secondhand smoke causes the same problems as direct smoking, including lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and lung ailments such as emphysema, bronchitis and asthma. A study issued in 2002 by the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization concluded that non-smokers are exposed to the same carcinogens as active smokers. Bans on smoking in bars and restaurants can substantially improve the air quality in these establishments. Studies have shown that businesses are generally not hurt by smoking bans. In many cases businesses actually improve and prosper despite the smoking ban.

At a time when smoking and tobacco advertising is banned in many Western countries, cigarette manufacturers are increasingly targeting countries in Africa. In our emerging democracy smoking remains a question of personal choice. It’s not the government's duty to force smokers to give up the habit, however, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s government has the obligation to protect and guarantee non-smokers the right to clean air. A smoker does not have the right to endanger the life of another human being. The government has the moral, ethical, and legal responsibility to protect its citizens by establishing smoke-free workplaces and smoke-free public venues in the Republic of Liberia. At the end of the workday, the vast majority of Liberians head to a public venue, like a restaurant or a bar before heading home. Smoking is permitted and widespread in all of these venues.

It’s a strong possibility that twenty five years from now, one in every ten Liberians may be diagnosed with a chronic smoking related illness. Smoke permeates Liberia's public spaces, making secondhand smoke utterly inescapable. Restaurants, cook shops, night clubs, and bars are filled with the silent cancer catalyst. Many of Liberia's public smokers aren't Liberian. They are UN workers and internationals with beefy health plans back home in their respective countries. They'll smoke, get sick, return home and then receive top notch cancer treatment and healthcare provided by deep-pocketed health insurers. Meanwhile back in Liberia, all those who inhaled the secondhand smoke will fall ill, and slowly languish away, without access to adequate healthcare.

Now is the time for President Johnson Sirleaf’s government to do the right thing and protect Liberian lives. The Liberian people need leaders with the vision to assist the President in developing long term strategic healthcare. Smoking is banned in many regions in the United States. Smoking is also banned in areas of South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Smoking is also banned in France, Ireland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Norway, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Romania, and parts of India. Likewise, it should be banned in Liberia.

Some argue that traffic related air pollution, and numerous private generators contribute to Liberia's health problems. These problems include lung cancer, accelerated tumor growth, increased cardio-vascular problems, limited blood flow, increased blood clotting and severe viral asthma. Traffic related air pollution and generators do need to be addressed. But we need a low cost, proactive starting point to protect Liberia's health. We must start from somewhere, and banning smoking in all public venues is a giant step for our people's long term health.

By implementing bans on indoor smoking in all public places, including bars and restaurants, President Johnson Sirleaf’s government will be sending a powerful message about the importance of national health and healthcare. Tobacco smoking is as harmful to smokers as it is to secondhand smokers. This ban will directly protect Liberians from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of heart disease, cancer, emphysema and other chronic and acute diseases.

The unfortunate Liberian civil war has already drained the country’s limited resources. Smoking cigarettes leads not only to disease and death, but drains the already impoverished public health services. As the cost of treating tobacco-related disease soars, our national healthcare services may be crippled. We need leaders that have the vision to save the country millions of dollars in unnecessary healthcare expenses. Investing in preventive healthcare will undoubtedly save thousands of Liberians lives, and millions in healthcare costs.

Leaders need to protect their people. Madam President it is time to act, and history will treat you kindly. The Liberian people were wise to elect the first elected female President in modern African history. She will make a historical decision by banning indoor smoking at all public places, including bars and restaurants in the Republic if Liberia.

May God continues to bless Mama Liberia..

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About the Author: Rufus S. Berry II, (former President of the Liberian Community Association of Northern California - LCANC) a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area (Northern California), and the author of many articles including: " Liberia’s National Security Alert: President Johnson-Sirleaf’s Government Needs Discipline to Stay the Course", and "Bystanders are Just as Guilty as the Molester". He can be reached at: rufus_berry@yahoo.com or (510) 393-1825

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