Smokers abroad

My wife and I have just returned from a two-month trip to Portugal. Since last year, when we made a similar trip, it seemed that so many more people were smoking -- like about 90 percent of adults.

As in most U.S. locations, Portugal has enacted ordinances that prohibit smoking indoors in public areas and, therefore, smokers go outdoors to smoke. If you are not a smoker, you do not want to sit in the outdoor area of sidewalk cafes because these areas are filled by smokers.

Cigarettes are cheaper in Portugal than in Pennsylvania -- costing about US $4.80 per pack of 20. As they do in Shadyside, smokers in Portugal sit with their babies on their laps or in trams as they smoke, and they smoke nonstop.

My wife and I were walking along the river promenade in Lagos alongside a young lady pushing a tram containing a small baby. The young lady was smoking a cigarette with gusto. I said to her, "Your smoking may cause your baby to develop cancer." She quickly replied, "I don't care. The baby is not mine!"

LEONARD C. LAMBERT

Shadyside