We opened our diner over 2 years ago and decided to be smoke-free from the start. I had previously worked at the place before I owned it and smoking was allowed. Once, I bought it we made it smoke-free and it was amazing the different types of new customers that we had. As a chef and ex-smoker, I believe that food and smoke just don't mix. People thank me constantly for being smoke-free. We definitely get more positive comments than not. It's been absolutely fantastic.

Dave Allin, owner and chef of Allin's Diner in St. Charles, MO


I believe in a Smoke-Free St. Charles because I have spent my entire career (not a shabby number of years I might add!) in the field of oncology and I have seen first hand the damage that is caused by tobacco on peoples' lives. Each person has a unique story to tell, each person has loved ones who are impacted by the diagnosis, each person has dreams that are cut short and life goals not achieved. If only each of these people had a crystal ball to see their future they almost always would have chosen not to use tobacco, but by the time I meet them, it is too late.

I feel the urgency to spread the word that tobacco is harmful so that choices can be made before it's too late for current tobacco users and for those who are exposed to second hand smoke. I also want the community that I live and work in to be one of the first to become tobacco free so that we can be a role model to other communities in our state and our country, that it can be done and we all benefit from living in a healthier environment. 

Sharon Lee,  RN, BSN
Manager Siteman Cancer Center
Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital


I never got to meet my grandfather!  My grandfather was a smoker and he died of lung cancer on Christmas 1958.  He left behind a wife and two young children.  One of those kids was my dad; he was 11 years old at the time. 

In fact all of my grandparents smoked, ultimately three of the four passed away from lung cancer and numerous breathing issues, the culprit SMOKING!  The cancer causing carcinogens and toxic substances in tobacco products contributed to battles that they ultimately lost!

My grandparents’ actions not only affected their health but it contributed to their children’s health issues as well. 

For my own health, I was always a healthy child growing up.  But, my health changed shortly after I accepted a job at a local casino.  The job helped to put me through college.  Yet, it also exposed me to secondhand smoke and I developed severe sinus and allergy conditions.

Current statistics and awareness campaigns have armed me with the knowledge to make educated decisions about my health, my family, my friends, and my community.  My wish is that we all can enjoy the countless health benefits that come with smoke free air!

We all have the right to breathe clean air!

Heather Hagen
St. Charles, MO


I am a second hand smoker.  I was always the child with the muffler around her nose and mouth.  I grew up with a mother who smokes and I really disliked how the smoke made me feel.  When I was with my mom in the car I was always covering my nose and mouth with my coat or a blanket.  It burned my eyes and I knew people who smoked died from tobacco related illness.  In fact I lost and Grandfather and Grandmother to tobacco related illness.  Every year for Christmas all I ask is that my mother quit smoking.  I can see how this addiction has a hold on her life and it pains me to know how it is impacting her.  As a social worker I saw patients waiting for a lung transplant.  I saw the devastation that smoking had done not only to patients but to families.

As a mother now I cannot imagine subjecting my child to the smoke from others.  Although I believe it is an individual’s choice to smoke I do not agree with the idea that smokers have the right to interfere with the health of me or my loved ones by smoking in public places.  It is not about rights but simply good public health as we know there is no safe level of secondhand smoke.  We regulate food preparation to make sure it is safe why not the air we breathe in public establishments?  Why do we choose to ignore that tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States?  What I really want is for my mom to live a long healthy life and to be able to see my child graduate college and get married but with tobacco taking her days from me leaves me angry.

Hollie Milam
St. Charles, MO


After two weeks of terrible chest pain, my doctor sent me to have a CT scan.  I knew I was in trouble when after the scan, the tech told me the doctor was on the phone wanting to talk to me.  The biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of lung cancer.  I wondered how could this happen.  I was only 51 years old, took good care of myself and routinely ran five or six miles several times a week.  I thought only old people who smoked their whole lives got lung cancer. Unfortunately, like most of those diagnosed with lung cancer it had progressed to stage IV by the time it was found. There is no cure and survival rate is about 25% at one year and less than 5% at five years.  Over 160,000 people die each year from lung cancer, more than breast, prostate, and colon cancer combined. 

It is a fact that second-hand smoke causes lung cancer.   No one really knows why some people with a small amount of exposure get lung cancer and some with more exposure do not, but there is no safe amount of second-smoke.   I renewed my vow to continue to do whatever I could to help make Missouri smoke-free after returning from a trip to a state that has been smoke-free for many years.  It was absolutely wonderful to be able eat, drink and have a great time at any place I wanted without worrying about breathing poison.  It is unconscionable to me that we continue to put our citizens in harms way with all the knowledge we have.  Lung cancer is a terrible disease that no one deserves and no one should be placed at risk by having to breathe second-hand smoke.

Myrtle Chidester
O’Fallon, MO


Secondhand smoke has been a headache for me--literally.  Whenever I go to a casino, bar, or any place where there is smoke, I get a migraine within 20 minutes.  Now that Illinois is smoke-free, I'll take my money across the river to the places where breathing is easy.  I'll also support the smoke-free establishments on the Missouri side of the river, but I'm no longer going to expose myself to the headache-causing toxins in secondhand smoke. I'll not only prevent pain in my brain, but I'll save a lot of money on dry-cleaning bills. 

Pat Lindsey
Black Jack, MO


Fifteen years ago, my husband, Don, a smoker for 34 years, was told that he had six months to live due to cancer.  For two and a half years he fought for his life, surviving eight surgeries.

Don and I enjoy the opportunity to dine out.  But we cannot go in restaurants that allow smoking because Don’s surgery left him breathing through a hole in his neck.  Some say, “Well, just ask to sit in non-smoking.”  Smoke knows no boundaries; truth be told, businesses that allow smoking offer no non-smoking area.  When Don started to smoke in 1958, we didn’t know just how dangerous tobacco was, and we certainly didn’t know about the dangers of secondhand smoke, but now we do.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced in April 2004 that all persons at risk of heart disease should totally avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.  We hope all business owners will take responsibility to protect the health of their customers and their employees through smoke-free policies. Personal freedom must always be balanced with responsibility to neighbor.  Is it too much to ask smoker to go outside to light up if it will prevent death and improve the quality of life for many?

Kay Young
St. Charles, MO


My call to action came on New Years Eve 2003.  I made plans to dine with my parents, and my brother and his family.  It was clearly understood by all parties that I would not sit with smokers nor allow any smoke around my children.  When we got to the restaurant, my children and I sat in the non-smoking section where we thought everyone would be sitting.  I was shocked to find that everyone else had sat in the smoking section at the opposite end of the restaurant.  Only one of them, a non-smoker, came to our table to spend time with us during the meal. 

At the end of the meal, we went to the smoking section to say goodbye, holding back our anger and hurt.  While standing there, I saw a toddler girl at the next table.  She was coughing profusely and had mucus running from her nose.  And her father sat at the table blowing smoke in her direction.  It was beyond my comprehension as a parent and human being that someone could do this to their child.  And my own family was no better.

I didn’t speak to my family for months and it remains a divisive subject to this day.  We avoid relatives that smoke and have spent the last 2 Christmases away from our family because of their smoking. Since that incident 4 years ago, one relative has died from massive cancers in all of his major organs, one has battled breast cancer, one is losing his battle with liver cancer, my brother had his second heart attack at age 43, and my brother’s 10-year-old stepson spent a week in the hospital after an asthma attack brought on by the smoke in his home.   Two of them were heavy smokers; one was a non-smoker who had lived with a smoking spouse for 45 years.  And my brother continues to smoke, despite the deadly consequences for both himself and his stepchildren.

My anger and complete lack of tolerance has evolved into a commitment to Smoke-Free St. Charles County.  My favorite quote is “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”  I’m putting my money where my mouth is and choosing to be part of the solution.

Rochelle Nobs
St. Peters, MO 


I moved to the St. Louis area over a year ago from Austin, which has been smokefree for a long time.  Only then did I realize how spoiled I was.  Before I lived in Austin, I always tried to avoid bars and clubs because I hated to smell like smoke.  Even more importantly, I hated to breathe it in.  My father, a smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer when I was only 1 year old.  He was told he had a very short time to live.  We moved from Dubai to Houston to get better medical treatment.  Fortunately his cancer was operable, and I got the chance to know him.  Unfortunately, his cancer came back when I was 8, and he passed away when I was 12.  My father and mother quit smoking when my dad was diagnosed, and for that I am grateful.  My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was in college, and she passed away when I was 25.  Who knows if she would have been diagnosed with cancer if she had not smoked.  I really wish that I was able to know both of my parents as an adult.  Unfortunately, there are still too many children out there who will not have that privilege because of smoking and secondhand smoke, not to mention how their health will be affected. 

Christy Spivey
St. Charles, MO