Keep smoking out of Glendale

I read with much interest in the News-Press that the Glendale City Council is considering lifting/easing up the bans on smoking in restaurants in Glendale (“Smoking restrictions back to dais,” Sept. 25) The newspaper reported that the council was asking a series of questions such as, “Should strict smoking restrictions at outdoor restaurants be loosened?”

While I appreciate the reflection and believe that asking questions is always a good idea, really the only question our City Council should be asking is the following: “Should citizens of Glendale be forced to breathe in the cigarette smoke of others?” Second-hand smoke is sickening — literally and figuratively. It is unconscionable today, when so much scientific and medical evidence has proven the dangers of second-hand smoke, to impose this health risk on the population of Glendale.

My family and I enjoy going to the outdoor and patio restaurants in our city; we are blessed with terrific weather throughout much of the year. But to have someone suddenly start smoking, not three feet away, exposes all of us to danger. If I have to go to Pasadena to dine out, then I will. So decide: owners of Hookah products (whatever that may be) or breathing fresh air. Which is more important to the City Council?

Shannon Barber
Glendale