Update!!!

Great news!  There is a state bill currently moving in the New York state legislature which would make all MTA (LIRR & Metro North) train platforms smoke free.  This is most timely for our petition.  The plan is to garner the signatures and then forward the petition on to the assembly in support of the bill.  Please continue to support by helping to recruit as many signatures as possible so we can make a real strong statement to the Assembly.  Feel free to add a link to the petition from your web pages (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)  Each one, recruit one!

Here is a link for the status of the bill in the Assembly;

http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=%0D%0A&bn=a5516&term=2011&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) has an annual ridership of over 85 million! Most of these riders are now also smokers, regardless of if they ever lit up a cigarette butt. Due to second hand smoke at LIRR stations, non smoking commuters are forced to inhale the deadly fumes same as their fellow commuters who choose to smoke. My wife and father in-law, like many others, are asthmatics who can suffer with immediate harsh effects from cigarette smoke and are left with no choice while commuting on the LIRR. It’s time to tell the governing body of The Long Island Rail Road: I don't smoke, so don't force me to!

One of the LIRR’s main “hubs” is the infamous Jamaica Station where one cannot help but be exposed to the toxic smoke caused by the stations heavy daily traffic of smoking riders. One day, several weeks back, I  asked a NYPD officer why people were allowed to smoke inside the station and on its platforms and the officer politely and simply told me, it is because the station is considered outside and a public place. My response to the officer was that I should start a petition to ban smoking at the station, and again the officer’s response was simple, “you should”. So here it is. Please help me to demand that the Long Island Rail Road ban smoking aboard all its platforms.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a law this past February that makes smoking illegal in New York City's 1,700 parks and on the city's 14 miles of public beaches. Smoking will also be prohibited in pedestrian plazas like Times Square. So, with the excuse of the station platforms being public no longer valid, it’s time for the Long Island Rail Road to care for all its customers and take action, banning smoking on all its platforms, backed by an appropriate fine. And to furthermore show their understanding of commuter rights and concern for our safety, we must urge them to create designated smoking areas at least 50 feet away from station platforms equipped with proper receptacles for cigarette disposal.

According to the American Lung Association's website, secondhand smoke causes close to 50,000 deaths per year, and side effects may include lung cancer, respiratory infections and asthma.