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Smoking ban testimony turns emotional

...Karen Lindquist, 33, of Hudson, a medical worker, said she has never smoked but was diagnosed with a form of cancer that smokers commonly develop.

“I will never be the same after what I have gone through.

The medical bills, doctor visits and prescriptions alone have cost more than $100,000,” Lindquist said.

“If my story helps at least one person avoid the hell I have had to endure, I will have made my point.” Lindquist then pulled off her wig, revealing a head left hairless by chemotherapy.

“I can’t change the past, but we can all change the future,” she said.

Her testimony set off a rare round of applause in the hearing room, and left some daubing at their eyes.

Much of the debate on House Bill 1177 was a repeat of testimony that a House committee heard two months ago.

The harmful effects of second-hand smoke — including cancer, lung ailments and heart disease — were disputed as junk science by some, as proven fact proven by others.

Individual freedoms, and protection of workers and free capitalism also were argued.

The Senate Finance Committee plans to vote on the bill today.

Senate President Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, and Senate Majority Leader Robert Clegg, R-Hudson, appear to have the five votes needed to kill it.

Clegg and committee chairman Sen.

Chuck Morse, R-Salem, sa...