The woes of a non-smoker in Cyprus

Sir,
It is hard being a non-smoker in Cyprus, as all those in that apparently lonely minority can attest: one can’t go to a restaurant or a cafe or indeed, virtually any public place, without getting smoked out and nearly asphyxiated. But surely there ought to be some limits to where smokers are allowed to pollute the air: for instance, government offices. It is ridiculous that whenever I go to my local post office I am confronted with three impossible choices: 1. Hold my breath the entire time I am inside; 2. Put my package collection slip or my letters to be mailed on the counter, dart outside while the package is retrieved or the amount due is calculated, dash back inside to collect the package or pay, and dash back outside again; 3. Be forced to breathe the smoke of the postal worker – who actually told me on one occasion that it is his “right” to smoke in the post office (and the rights of customers to a smoke-free environment be damned.)

If Cyprus really believes itself to be European, it is time to start adhering to the basic tenets of law – for instance, no smoking in government offices. It is also time for people to understand that although the harm they choose to do to their own bodies by smoking is their own business, they do not have the right to inflict harm on others by forcing them to breathe side-stream smoke.

I long for the day when Nicosia will declare a city-wide smoke-free air act, as New York City has done. Now that would be a pride-worthy accomplishment!
Lisa Majaj, Engomi, Nicosia

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.