Hip-Level Burns

In my opinion, that sounds more sexy than scary. But this letter to the editor (scroll down) in the NY Times exposes the health risks associated with walking the sidewalks of New York City. For instance: the pesky hip-level cigarette burns and the inescapable clouds of secondhand smoke. Now, I've never found these clouds to be a problem on the street, but I think the letter-writer misses the bigger picture about the health concerns from walking. Yes, it's convenient and perfectly acceptable to rip on smokers, the most indefensible of minority groups. But, I just have to ask Emily Barsh of New York - have you ever noticed something else around the sidewalks that just might be producing about a thousand times more pollutants in a few minutes than smokers produce in an entire day?

[HT: Rogier van Bakel at Nobody's Business]