I am very concerned with the figures arrived at by the poll taken regarding smoking in Fayette County.

The article gives percentages as though every one in Fayette County were polled, and they were not.

These figures send the wrong message to the people who draw up our ordinances. The fact is, 94 percent of the people polled, not 94 percent of Fayette County residents, felt that smoking was a problem.

Later in the article, the figures do reflect those polled. This, however, is also misleading, because it does not state what percentage of registered voters were polled.

If only 10 percent were polled, what happened to the opinions of 90 percent of the voters?

I am a recovering smoker who feels if I am bothered by smoke in a public place, it is my option to leave. If you are required to be at a location, then I agree, smoking should be restricted to specific areas.

If smoking in restaurants bothers someone, they have the option not to patronize that establishment. They do not have the right to dictate how an individual runs his or her business.

Mike Alger

Peachtree City

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