Letter to Editor by Michael Kegley

Something needs to be done about the smoking prohibition throughout the UK Medical Centers.  I don’t think the administrators realized the lengths that smokers will go to beat the system in order to get that cigarette down.

It’s embarrassing as a member of the university and Lexington community to see these mobs of people, 90 percent in hospital scrubs, congregating right outside the boundaries.

Some don’t even leave, they just hide.

When walking down the campus side of South Limestone by the emergency entrance it’s virtually impassible due to the fact that employees and patients have flooded the sidewalk to smoke.  It’s worse than being in one of those old school airport smoking rooms.

A few days ago there was a lady sitting on the curb, IV cart in tow, smoking a Marlboro Red (yeah, a cowboy killer).  It’s both irritating and poignant at the same time.

It’s obviously impossible to completely cease smoking but something ought to be done about this.  Not only for health reasons but the fact that’s it’s truly an eyesore to society.

I don’t know how to fix the problem short of devoting the upper level of the new parking structure to “smoking area.”  I’d love to hear some different suggestions for the fix.

Michael D. Kegley Jr.

nuclear science senior