Recently, bar and hotel owners have been talking a lot about their right to be a smoking business. However, this decision does not just impact them. We all pay for the damages done by second-hand smoke.

Employees and patrons of these businesses will be at a greater risk for heart attacks and cancer, but we will all pay as health insurance premiums rise and health-care costs keep climbing.

Each year, North Dakotans pay $250 million in medical costs and lost productivity because of smoking.

The truth is that we all have a right to be protected from the air pollution caused by tobacco. Our Legislature should fully support protecting our health and our pocketbooks.