Marketplace should sort out, not ban, public smoking

To me it is the height of irony that hardly anyone in DeKalb actively opposed the Keating/Business Center project on the basis of the pollution 2,500 trucks per day would have brought to town, yet so many are up in arms about smoking being allowed in restaurants and bars.

Trucks bring diesel fumes, particulate matter and a very fine tire dust that settles into the lungs and resists removal. Once the trucks are here, we all must breathe these pollutants whether we like it or not. However, we have a choice with restaurants and bars. The DeKalb County Health Department maintains a list of smoke-free establishments county-wide and there are nearly 80 on this “honor roll.” You can access the list online via the DeKalb County Web site.

No ordinance is needed here. The marketplace will sort this one out.

Lynn A. Fazekas

DeKalb resident