Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke

[Cosmo]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13569976/

Saw this tonight on NBC Nightly News. There's no longer a debate, the SG says, secondhand smoke leads to greater risks of cancer and heart disease.

The hope was that perhaps this would lead to more smoking bans. And for those folks that say a smoking ban will kill business: bar/restaurant business in NYC is up 8 percent since the ban went into effect there.

 

[Dude]

Next thing you know, they'll be saying red meat is bad for ya!

 

[Cosmo]

Last time we had a smoking ban thread, Dude, a handful of posters tried to say that all studies that secondhand smoke was harmful were complete bull****. If they still say so, I'd submit they're not willing to understand logic.

 

[Columbo]

An Inconvenient Plume


GOP is debunking it as we speak. Saya the lord works in mysterious ways.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

The dangers of secondhand smoke and global warming are based on junk science, but intelligent design should be taught in every school.
Am I a good conservative or what?

 

[Stupid]

How is the intake of secondhand smoke differentiated from other noxious gases such as automobile emissions? I still have yet to see that mentioned in any discussion of the dangers of secondhand smoke.

 

[Evil Bastard (aka Chris_L)]

This is just another plot by Karl Rove to get the non-smoking vote. Don't you know that the sugeon General is just another of Bush's paid lackeys?

 

[Smallpotatoes]

My favorite quote from All in the Family:

Archie: This whole anti-smoking thing is a product of big business.
Meathead: Which big business, Arch?
Archie: The people who make the "No Smoking" signs.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I've seen some towns where smoking is banned inside restaurants and bars, so the owners just added outdoor sections, which effectively gave them like 50 percent more room. No wonder business is up.

 

[outofplace]

How is the intake of secondhand smoke differentiated from other noxious gases such as automobile emissions? I still have yet to see that mentioned in any discussion of the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Are you being a smartass or just living up to your handle?

 

[HejiraHenry]

Last time we had a smoking ban thread, Dude, a handful of posters tried to say that all studies that secondhand smoke was harmful were complete bull****. If they still say so, I'd submit they're not willing to understand logic.

There already seems to be ample proof of that on this board ...

 

[DyePack]

oop --
Why is that an invalid point?

Ample proof.

 

[DyePack]

How is the intake of secondhand smoke differentiated from other noxious gases such as automobile emissions? I still have yet to see that mentioned in any discussion of the dangers of secondhand smoke.

More ample proof.

 

[pallister]

The dangers of secondhand smoke and global warming are based on junk science, but intelligent design should be taught in every school.
Am I a good conservative or what?

You're a moron.

 

[The Big Ragu]

Dude, didn't we just do this?

Smooking is bad for you. Film at 11.

The problem is, I don't care if you do something bad for you. This report says that you smoking is bad for others. So yeah, let's run the film at a 11.

I hate having to breathe secondhand smoke. You can't in bars or restaurants here anymore, but I can't walk down the street during the day anymore without holding my breath, because of all the idiots smoking outside. It's one of those things I just don't understand about people.

 

[The Big Ragu]

And, as someone else already posted, if you're worried about breathing in secondhand smoke whil OUTSIDE, I suggest you worry a lot more about the millions and millions of cars and industrial plants and what-the-****-else that are polluting the air at a far faster rate.

Not sure they really equate in terms of harm. But without arguing that point--either way, at least those millions of cars serve a purpose. What is the purpose of the guy blowing smoke at me as I walk by?

 

[Lugnuts]

And, as someone else already posted, if you're worried about breathing in secondhand smoke whil OUTSIDE, I suggest you worry a lot more about the millions and millions of cars and industrial plants and what-the-****-else that are polluting the air at a far faster rate.

I am worried about that - worried sick, in fact. Worried to the point that I bought a friggin' hybrid.

I'm also very worried about secondhand smoke.

A person can worry very much about more than one thing.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Here's a story about people smoking outside.

For the last two weeks, I've had pretty much the same daily routine: Wake up, shower, eat breakfast, go downstairs to the hotel lobby and wait for the shuttle to M.D. Anderson Cancer Hospital, sit next to mom in ICU, go back to the hotel, go to sleep. There are breaks for lunch and e-mails and the occasional update on SportsJournalists.com.

The first day, I waited for the shuttle from inside the lobby. The driver never stopped. I asked the girl at the front desk about it, and she called him on a walkie-talkie. He explained he essentially does a drive-by, and if he doesn't see anyone out front, he skips this hotel and goes on to the next stop. So that means I have to stand outside in the blazing heat to wait for him. OK, fine.

But not fine. In front of the hotel is where the smokers congregate. The noxious, toxic fumes linger long after the smokers have put out their last cigarette, and just standing near them my clothes and my person accumulate enough second-hand smoke that when I get to the hospital, the ICU nurses often ask me if I've been smoking. See, we have to put on gloves, surgical masks and gowns before we can enter the room, because mom not only has lymphoma, but she's fighting various respiratory issues, including multiple pneumonias and the threat of new infection daily.

So every day I look for creative ways to stand close enough to the front entrance of the hotel to make sure I get on the shuttle, yet not so close that I em enveloped in smoke when I get on the shuttle. Problem is, the same two or three people who exhale smoke like chimneys every day are also on their way to M.D. Anderson, and after 20 minutes of smoking, they put out their butts when the shuttle arrives and quickly hop aboard. The cloud of smoke around them follows them into the shuttle. So no matter what I do, I'm going to smell like smoke and carry those toxins with me into ICU.

I suppose I should take a cab or drive, but what will end up being 18 or more hotel nights is setting me back a pretty penny, and I have to try to save somewhere. Cab fare and parking fees would eat me up, so the shuttle is my only real option unless I decide to sleep outside.

Yesterday I had enough, and I asked one of the women if she could refrain from smoking for about 5-10 minutes before getting on the shuttle, to let the smoke dissipate as much as possible before she gets on the shuttle. She shot me a fierce glance, then told me it's none of my business if she smokes outside. I told her I was visiting my mom in ICU, and that I'm wary of the dangers of second-hand smoke. My mom lived for 30 years with a smoker, my dad, and he died at 52 of lung cancer. We're now wondering if my mom is paying the second-hand-smoke price with her life at 75.

"Everybody dies of something," the smoking lady said to me. "You don't look like you miss many meals. You don't see me telling you to cut back, do you?"

"When the surgeon general comes out with a report on the dangers of second-hand fat," I told her, "feel free."

Later I heard her telling someone about her mom, who is also in ICU. With lung cancer. Then she got off the shuttle and smoked another before going into the hospital.

That is when I fully realized how addictive cigarettes must be.

 

[Lugnuts]

Oh Geez. :

Good retort by you, though.

 

[Smallpotatoes]

I don't think you can really compare tobacco to alcohol or junk food for another reason. Most health experts agree that an occasional Big Mac or candy bar won't cause any harm. It may not cause any good either, but once in a while having one won't hurt. It's when you eat a lot of them, all the time, like Morgan Spurlock did, that you'll have problems.
Alcohol in moderation may be good for you, according to some people.
While common sense tells you that moderate or occasional smoking isn't is bad for you as heavy smoking, I have yet to hear any health experts claim that an occasional cigarette is harmless.