Kudos to Tailgaters for going smoke-free

To the editor:

Memorial Day and the unofficial start of summer aren’t the only things to celebrate this weekend. Come Sunday, one more local bar is going smoke-free!

Tailgaters Sports Bar and Grill in Wasilla, which has offered smoke-free dining since it opened in 2006, is joining a growing list of smoke-free Valley watering holes.

Kudos to Ted Anderson, who owns the bar side of Tailgaters, and his partners Nicole and Phillip Lundstrom, who own the restaurant side, for valuing the health of their employees and patrons enough to make this change!

Secondhand smoke contains thousands of chemicals and is a leading cause of heart disease and lung cancer. It kills an estimated 50,000 nonsmokers nationwide each year.

Thanks to its new smoke-free policy, people who work at Tailgaters will not have to choose between their health and a paycheck, and people looking for a nice place in Wasilla to enjoy a drink or watch a game on TV won’t have to forfeit their heart and lung health when they walk through the door.

Everyone has the right to breathe smoke-free air at work and in public. Thank you, Tailgaters, for respecting that right!

Becky Stoppa

Breathe Free Mat-Su