Choosing to smoke in public isn't just a personal choice anymore.

A recent study further highlighted the impact of secondhand smoke on others — particularly those with heart disease.

By adopting and adhering to smoke-free policies, the risk of heart attack can be decreased by 47 percent, according to the U.S. Institute of Medicine.

The study noted that even a brief exposure to cigarette smoke could be enough to trigger a heart attack.

The link between secondhand smoke and heart disease were first noted in a 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's report.

Proof from these and other studies make one wonder why some still light up in the presence of non-smokers.

Thankfully, more cities are beginning to understand the benefits as well, and are choosing to ban smoking in facilities ranging from restaurants to parks. They are attempts to protect those who wish to work or play in an area while keeping them safe from the effects of secondhand smoke.

Smokers argue that they have a "right" to puff on a cigarette or cigar anywhere they deem fit, yet their choice takes away another person's right to breathe clean air.

The Environmental Protection Agency has found that, "Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals — more than 60 are known or suspected to cause cancer."

Those chemicals are said to cause thousands of deaths each year among non-smoking Americans, and increase a child's risk for sudden infant death syndrome, acute respiratory infections, ear problems and more severe asthma.

The facts clearly support the dangers of secondhand smoke and smoking itself.

If you are among those who choose to smoke, please be considerate of the non-smokers around you. Or better yet, consider kicking the habit altogether.

There are numerous resources out there to help in the process, including www.smokefree.gov, the local hospitals and the American Cancer Society.

Smoking continues to be an activity which no longer impacts only the participant. As a community, we owe it to one another to lessen smoking's effects — especially secondhand smoke.

It could be a matter of life or death.