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Involuntarily smoking?

 
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marw



Quit Date:
-

Posts: 3634
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: November 21, 2005 5:50 PM    Post subject: Involuntarily smoking? Reply with quote

I am still very concerned about the fact that I can't go into a restaurant or bar without breathing smoke, and that I often have to breathe cigarette smoke on the street also.

To be sure I was not over re-acting, and to research a site I trusted, I went to the American Lung Asso. This is what they say about second-hand smoke:

Quote:
Secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of cancer in humans (Group A carcinogen).2
Secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year.3
A study found that nonsmokers exposed to environmental smoke were 25 percent more likely to have coronary heart diseases compared to nonsmokers not exposed to smoke.4
Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at work are at increased risk for adverse health effects. Levels of ETS in restaurants and bars were found to be 2 to 5 times higher than in residences with smokers and 2 to 6 times higher than in office workplaces.5
Since 1999, 70 percent of the U.S. workforce worked under a smoke-free policy, ranging from 83.9 percent in Utah to 48.7 percent in Nevada.6 Workplace productivity was increased and absenteeism was decreased among former smokers compared with current smokers.7
Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children. Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year, and causes 1,900 to 2,700 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths in the United States annually.8
Secondhand smoke exposure may cause buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 700,000 to 1.6 million physician office visits per year. Secondhand smoke can also aggravate symptoms in 200,000 to 1,000,000 children with asthma.10
In the United States, 21 million, or 35 percent of, children live in homes where residents or visitors smoke in the home on a regular basis.11 Approximately 50-75 percent of children in the United States have detectable levels of cotinine, the breakdown product of nicotine in the blood.12
New research indicates that secret research conducted by cigarette company Philip Morris in the 1980s showed that secondhand smoke was highly toxic, yet the company suppressed the finding during the next two decades.13
For more information on secondhand smoke, please review the Tobacco Morbidity and Mortality Trend Report as well as our Lung Disease Data publication in the Data and Statistics section of our website, or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

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Margaret
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Zuzu



Quit Date:
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Posts: 962
Location: Marin

PostPosted: November 21, 2005 6:59 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've sometimes seen this kind of information used to support banning smoking in public places - on streets, etc. - I wonder if it won't just push smoking parents indoors, exposing their children to even more secondhand smoke?

I think in Utah/Salt Lake City they ban smoking in public/on the street. Where I live there is a ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, hotel lobbies, cafes, workplaces in general (bowling alleys, etc. etc. etc.) I LIKE it!

-Zuzu
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Melody



Quit Date:
August 19, 2004

Posts: 1103
Location: Ontario

PostPosted: November 21, 2005 7:37 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Where do you stop smog is bad as well do we remove cars,factories and everything else??? This is our world we can only control ourselves. There are so many toxins out there I'd like to be the bubble salesman. Ex smoker in a bubble anyone. Wink We need perspective here.
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marw



Quit Date:
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Posts: 3634
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: November 21, 2005 8:24 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

This info is from the American Lung Association. It addresses only second-hand smoking. It is also a site to be trusted.

I have no idea what the info is used for. However, I still do feel it is not right to have smoking in restaurants and work places. I do not want to die from the smoke of others. 3,000 people die every year from second-hand smoke alone, who are not even smokers. Smokers should smoke in the privacy of their own homes if they cannot or will not get rid of their addicton (and I know it is hard....been there myself).

As for the streets, I am not sure. I really, really hate the inconsideration of smokers on the street....as they appear not to care where the smoke goes while they are walking. However, I would think an open space would cause less danger, even though it is an annoyance.

Smoking is not in the same category with smog or cars, but of course that also needs to continue to be addressed. btw: there is emission testing for cars; it is the law. If this is not a high enough standard, then the standard should be raised. Also we should pay attentiion to laws being passed in Congress as regards the factories, although it was not the purpose of my post to get into that. If we care, and work at it, we can have clean air.
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Kerry



Quit Date:
May 4, 2004

Posts: 862
Location: Illinois

PostPosted: November 21, 2005 10:53 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Melody I was thinking the same thing about the cars. We are exposed to so many toxins these days but where do you draw the line? I still say that as long as it's legal, then it's legal. So many smokers are outside smoking not because they want to piss non-smokers off but because they've been banned to the outside. About 3 years ago I was in Madison at a Holiday Inn. It WAS a smoking hotel. Ashtrays all over the lobby. It was very cold outside and there was a tent attached to the sliding doors of the lobby. Even though I could smoke, I wanted to be polite to the people in the lobby waiting to check in, so I walked outside and stood in that tent area. Sure enough, a non-smoking family came in the tent, started commenting about my smoke, started coughing and waving their hands around, etc etc. I couldn't believe how ignorant these people were. I thought to myself, 'I was trying to be polite but screw this, this tent is freezing!' So I followed them into the warm lobby, plopped myself down and proceeded to finish my cigarette. You could tell that they had egg all over their face when the realized that they hadn't checked into a non-smoking hotel. Even though I am a non-smoker I still get angry when I hear how rude smokers are because I can tell you that I have encountered many many rude non-smokers as well. Smoking is bad - horrible - we all know that, and so if you're a private business owner and want a smokeless bar, that's fine, so be it. But the outside belongs to all of us - at least that's what I believe. I also believe that not every smoker is blowing smoke in our faces to be rude. Sometimes people just make mistakes, plain and simple.
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marw



Quit Date:
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Posts: 3634
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: November 22, 2005 12:56 AM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, that is why we have emisssion testing for the cars--to see that they meet the EPA testing. I get a notice every year, and have mine tested. But this is NOT why I posted this.

I don't understand why do you wish to give people these rights that encourage them to kill themselves? This info is real. People really do die and get many other diseases unnecessarily from passive smoke! (second-hand smoke that is either mainstream or slipstream) Did you read the article I posted?

I realize they are addicted, and as such are prisoners of their habit and not free to make a normal choice....but why must others die also? Why can they not smoke in their homes? (Or even in more open spaces outdoors if there is no where else?)

For more in-depth look at this topic, I encourage to read at the below address:

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=22938
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Last edited by marw on November 22, 2005 1:07 AM; edited 1 time in total
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Zuzu



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Posts: 962
Location: Marin

PostPosted: November 22, 2005 1:04 AM    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think we all have really strong feelings about this - probably all based in some kinds of experiences.

Last edited by Zuzu on December 27, 2005 11:10 PM; edited 1 time in total
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marw



Quit Date:
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Posts: 3634
Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: November 22, 2005 2:19 AM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks, Zuzu. Well, I cerainly am not trying to manipulate anyone's behavior...or interfere with their freedoms....but I am trying to protect my own. I am just so tired of not being able to go out and eat. You are lucky if smoking is banned in public restaurants and bars, because it is not here!
Having a "smoking" section does not work, unless it is a completely separate room, with the door closed (which I have seen in Florida).

I didn't know about all the deaths from second-hand smoke until I read that article at ALA. (I posted part of it.) I was shocked! I guess I have really become an advocate for clean air!

And it is more imperative than ever to have doable support programs for smokers so they CAN quit! I left a little horror story of something that happened to me over on the other thread....about one time when I tried to quit. It is important to treat smokers with dignity, I agree, ....and they are much more likely to be able to quit this way. (Of course there are always some who are obnoxious, but then so are we non-smokers! Laughing )
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Tammy



Quit Date:
February 16, 2004

Posts: 2565
Location: Florida

PostPosted: November 22, 2005 10:26 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Margaret, One more great reason to move to FLORIDA. NO SMOKING in any resturant. Smoking is allowed in bars but only if minimal food is served. I don't go to any bars so that does not effect me. It is nice however to eat without breathing in toxic fumes. I do not like to brathe any second hand smoke. I stay clear of it as much as possible.

I am so sorry for ever causing anyone to breathe my second hand smoke.
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marw



Quit Date:
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Location: Chicago, IL

PostPosted: November 23, 2005 3:09 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Tammy, it is definitely a good reson to move to Florida! I haven't been down there since the law changed, but even when I was, a lot of restaurants had no smoking anyway. It will be so great that bars have it, too, because so often restaurants do have bars, so the smoke blows on over unless they are separate rooms.

I so like what you said on the other thread about feeling you should not have to walk through second hand smoke to get into the bank or a store! True, true! Smokers should stay so many feet from the door, like the airports.

I, too, am sorry for the second-hand smoke I imposed on others.
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Kerry



Quit Date:
May 4, 2004

Posts: 862
Location: Illinois

PostPosted: November 23, 2005 5:38 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe we could put them in a stockade.
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Tammy



Quit Date:
February 16, 2004

Posts: 2565
Location: Florida

PostPosted: November 23, 2005 11:24 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

I do not think we need to put smokers in a stackade. I do not think we need to ever be rude to them. I just do not want to have to walk through a wall of smoke to go into a store or wherever. Since quitting the smell makes me sick. My nose has gotten so sensitive. I absolutly do not want to breathe second hand smoke or even smell cigarette smoke.
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marw



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PostPosted: November 25, 2005 8:01 PM    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm with you, Tammy.

In addition to the 3,000 deaths of non-smokers from lung cancer caused by second-hand smoke, there are also 35,000 deaths from heart disease from second-hand smoke!!

It's only smart to stay away from it, and I firmly believe Laws should be passed to protect these vulnerable non-smokers (including myself now, I am proud to say) from disease and death from main stream and slip stream second-hand smoke!

Every time we go through a wall of smoke to get into a store, we are damaging ourselves!

No need to be rude to smokers, but every need to educate them! Smile
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