what do you think of the smoking ban

From gdcada.org

"More than 100,000 U.S. deaths are caused by excessive alcohol consumption each year. Direct and indirect causes of death include drunk driving, cirrhosis of the liver, falls, cancer, and stroke."

I believe the stats apply to the early 2000's timeframe.

right speedy....next they will tell us that we can't drink in public cause drinking kills.
eating meat kills.
list goes on and on.

what happened to freedom or rights. to smoke or not to smoke..still an american decision. and i personally do not like others making a decision for me.

what do you tell smoking tourists that come to the island for r and r. sorry you are not welcomed at this rest. or bar because you smoke.

stxbob. i had a second uncle in n.c. who lived to the ripe age of 102. when interviewed by the raleigh newspaper as to how he lived so long..his answer was moonshine and camel nonfilters.

all relatives in n.c. smoked and smoke still and they are in 80'90's. the ones who have died, died from drinking not smoking

STBob, i like the list you provided but it still does not cover the violent crime side of alcohol. How many more deaths would be attributed in some way to drinking if that was included?? just a curiosity.
dixiechick in addition to moonshine and non-filters, probably also included was food without alot of additives. the food these days have nothing but additives. all of that processed crap is really messing with people.
STBob, not arguing here, just asking questions.
and does anyone have an answere for the natural cigarettes ( not pot either ) without all of the poisons?? how harmful are they compared to loaded cigarettes?

You fail to see the difference between the two?

1) 4.4 times as many people die from tobacco as from alcohol. Tobacco is the single largest preventable cause of death in the US.

2) Alcohol only affects the person drinking it except for drunk driving and violent behavior which are already against the law. Maybe we should make the penalties harsher! Tobacco smoke is breathed by anyone around the smoker and second hand smoke is deadly. Maybe smokers should wear environmental suits.

3) Alcohol in small quantities has health benefits, only excessive drinking is harmful. Tobacco is harmful in any amount.

Tobacco is the most harmful recreational drug in this country. Why should we let the addicts set the agenda? Smoke at home. Stop killing innocent people with your addiction.

Do you think you have the right as an American smoker to kill 50,000 non-smokers a year?

Rotohead, i am not disputing the fact that cigarettes and second hand smoke kills people i never have. right now it is legal and i do follow the law. you had made reference to the fact that alcohol only affected those that drank it and you were clearly wrong on that. i simply pointed out that truth and simply asked ( because i did not know ) how many people alcohol killed each year due to ALL aspects not just drunk driving.
btw, i have never had someone try to kill me with a gun because they had smoked a cigarette, i did when someone had too much to drink.

speee1dy, and all that I am saying is that the aspects of alcohol which affect people other that the drinker are already against the law. Maybe we should make the penalties stricter.

I have no problem with recreational drugs which affect only the user but when you start killing innocent bystanders I have a problem and feel that the behavior should be made unlawful. Just like drunk driving and assaulting another person while drinking.

Maybe a compromise is in order. When you are out in public you can chew your tobacco and when you are at home you can smoke it. I mean after all alcohol users don't put their drug into an aerosol can and blow it out into the room forcing everyone else to consume it whether they want to or not.

DixieChick: You have my sympathies on the death of your uncle. Somebody asked for stats and I posted them, that’s all. I drink alcohol, and smoke rarely bothers me. I like that it keeps the mosquitoes away.

As to smoking in restaurants, I have these observations:
- If the restaurant allows smoking, then the smoke-o-phobe cannot go there
- If the restaurant prohibits smoking, then anybody can go there (even smokers, if they don’t smoke there)
- By now, smokers (including those on vacation) know that many places prohibit smoking, and they are capable of not smoking if needed
- If smoking is banned from all restaurants (or public places, or wherever this applies), then every business is on a level playing field. One place wouldn’t lose all of its smoking customers to another place. And I don’t think business will go down. People will still go out to socialize, eat and drink, IMO. They won’t stay home just because they can smoke there.

So, I don’t see much downside to restricting smoking, except for the mosquitoes.

rotohead, just an aside, chewing and smoking are two different monsters. many chewers wouldnt dream of smoking and most smokers wouldnt dream of chewing.
i like making the penalties a bit tougher on the drinking related crimes.

"Recreational drugs only affect the user " Really??? I'd like to see your stats onthat one....*-)

"Recreational drugs only affect the user " Really??? I'd like to see your stats onthat one....*-)

I said
"I have no problem with recreational drugs which affect only the user but when you start killing innocent bystanders I have a problem and feel that the behavior should be made unlawful."

Why did you feel it necessary to change the meaning of what I said by misquoting me?

Since everybody likes to refer to stats, The State of New Jersey passed a smoking ban and exempted casinos if they had designated smoking areas. The first year the casinos lost 29% of there business. The Atlantic city officials were going to pass a law killing the designated smoking areas the next year. Business dropped another 15%. Atlantic City never passed the new law. This all happened before the economy went into the tank. I don't smoke, drink or fly helicopters. The law regarding a total ban on smoking needs to be tweaked.

Oh something very important about the CDC Report, They CDC never did a study. they relied on various studies that were controlled by various agencies (not the Govt). Most of the studies were on 6 month bans relating to second hand smoke and cause of death by second hand smoke. Their statement (CDC) Recommends do not go in an enclosed area with second hand smoke. Maybe someone can show me that the CDC said smoking outside contributed to death of a non smoker.

This one really bothers me, did all the claims of the Heart patients death that died of second hand smoke ever publish how many were past smokers, can't find that in all the published reports.

The Claim for the SID is highly suspect since medical science can't really figure out what the cause is.

Lung Cancer, same a heart patients were they past smokers.

One Report did say if you are outside and your face is within 16" of a smoker downwind could have an effect. If you are 6' away downwind of a smoker no effect.

Quote...."I have no problem with recreational drugs which only affect the user"... Question... what drugs are you speaking of???? Cocaine,speed,amp[hetimines,mushrooms,Lsd,Glue, paint aerosols ????

Quote...."I have no problem with recreational drugs which only affect the user"... Question... what drugs are you speaking of???? Cocaine,speed,amp[hetimines,mushrooms,Lsd,Glue, paint aerosols ????

I am speaking of drugs like alcohol. Only the person drinking is affected.

Now if that person drives drunk or assaults someone, that behavior is already against the law. But if someone goes into a bar and has a couple of beers then walks home he has not affected anyone. No one was forced to drink his beer with him.

Tobacco smoke on the other hand is a shared experience with everyone around you whether they want it or not. Even outdoors. I agree with Edward's statement earlier. If your tobacco smoke drifts over to me then that is assault. Keep it to yourself.

And as far as stats go I will place my faith in the Surgeon Generals report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke instead of anecdotal evidence. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/report/executivesummary.pdf

"Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is a mixture of the smoke
given off by the burning end of tobacco products (sidestream smoke) and the mainstream smoke
exhaled by smokers. People are exposed to secondhand smoke at home, in the workplace, and in
other public places such as bars, restaurants, and recreation venues. It is harmful and hazardous
to the health of the general public and particularly dangerous to children. It increases the risk
of serious respiratory problems in children, such as a greater number and severity of asthma
attacks and lower respiratory tract infections, and increases the risk for middle ear infections.
It is also a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). Inhaling secondhand smoke causes
lung cancer and coronary heart disease in nonsmoking adults."

Preparation of the Report
This report of the Surgeon General was prepared by the Office on Smoking and Health, National Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Coordinating Center for Health Promotion,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and U.S. DHHS. Initial chapters were written by
22 experts who were selected because of their knowledge of a particular topic. The contributions of the
initial experts were consolidated into 10 major chapters that were then reviewed by more than 40 peer
reviewers. The entire manuscript was then sent to more than 30 scientists and experts who reviewed
it for its scientific integrity. After each review cycle, the drafts were revised by the scientific editors on
the basis of the experts’ comments. Subsequently, the report was reviewed by various institutes and agencies
within U.S. DHHS. Publication lags, even short ones, prevent an up-to-the-minute inclusion of all recently
published articles and data. Therefore, by the time the public reads this report, there may be additional
published studies or data. To provide published information as current as possible, this report includes an
Appendix of more recent studies that represent major additions to the literature.

This report is also accompanied by a companion database of key evidence that is accessible through
the Internet ( http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco). The database includes a uniform description of the studies
and results on the health effects of exposure to secondhand smoke that were presented in a format
compatible with abstraction into standardized tables. Readers of the report may access these data for additional
analyses, tables, or figures.

I have emphysema from many years of smoking; I stopped about 15 years ago but still suffer the consequences.

Cigarette smoke creates very serious breathing problems for me so I am obviously in favor of this new law.

When we travel, we get a smoke free rental car and hotel room; I have found that most hotels in the states are now smoke free--even Europe is offering smoke free rooms.

Basically, I hate the smell of cigarettes in he air and on people; you can tell immediately when a smoker walks into a room--their clothing reeks and their breath is horrid.

I don't care if you want to smoke but please be aware of those around you and stay your distance.

This is for Edward,
Can you say intent?:-o

This "discussion" could go on forever but this is going to happen here as it has in many states, (most with a lot of noise while it was being presented and then a hush after it passed), and everyone will learn to deal with it in some ways, some smokers will abide by it and adapt, some will stop smoking and some will break the law. How it is enforced will have something to do with that but like it or not it is coming! So smoke um if ya got em.

I wonder where the President sneaks off to smoke. Maybe the Rose garden. Well he is the president so I guess he just smokes wherever he wants. Who is going to tell him no.

I have but one request.

After the smoking posse has wrestled me to the ground and is sitting on me...while we’re waiting for the police to arrive and issue yet another smoking citation to me….so that I can pay yet another fine…and have yet another misdemeanor added to my record…I’ll probably be pretty stressed out by all of this…so while we’re waiting, do you mind if I have a smoke?

Dozens of cruise ship passengers per day ticketed, fined, and charged with misdemeanors for smoking on the streets of CA, F’sted, and C’sted can’t be good for tourism.

This really is a rhetorical question for those who have mentioned various types of "citizen's arrests". When is the last time you, your family, your friends, neighbor or anyone else you know personally actually did anything about someone throwing litter on the ground? Maybe you asked them not to, maybe you picked it up, but did you call the cops?

Smokers only make up about 20% of the US population, maybe the Cruise Ship passengers will be relieved that they won't have to breath second hand smoke. Maybe the VI won't seem so third world.

Heh heh, I guess that rhetorical question was directed at me 🙂 With regard to littering, yes I have indeed asked people not to litter. More often, I've just picked up their litter but, no, I haven't called the police. There are just soooo many things I'd rather see the police doing than issuing citations for smoking or littering. For example, I REALLY wish they'd get the fully automatic weapon out of my neighborhood but that's another topic....

Not likely Rotorhead. Ticketing and fining tourists probably isn't a good idea. What ya think?

Aussie, that would only happen if the tourists insist on violating the law. I assume most will obey the law and since the majority of the tourists are non-smokers anyway they will probably appreciate the fresh air. Many states have pretty strict smoking bans these days so most of the tourists will feel right at home.

Rotorhead, heh heh, were you outside today? We had a pretty stiff wind here on the west end. The smokers and the non-smokes were co-existing just fine. The smokers enjoyed their cigarettes and the non-smokers enjoyed the fresh air.

Perhaps I've missed a lot of what's going on stateside in the last few years but are there many smoking bans that prohibit smoking on public streets? If I understand the proposed legislation here correctly, it will ban smoking on the streets, on the beach, and in just so many absurd places. It goes far too far.

I don't smoke in restaurants so banning smoking in such places only offends me from a property rights standpoint. I prefer the no smoking section anyway. I don't smoke inside - period - including in my own home. I believe Michaels9 mentioned the golden rule. I prefer the platinum rule that says, treat others as they wish to be treated. I try to live that way. If my smoke has ever offended you, I assure you it was from 20 feet downwind and the risk to your health was negligible. I doubt that any 2nd hand smoke studies have ever been done in an open air environment.

You've presented excellent information here and you've done so in a civil manner. I think you simply take it too far just as you probably think that I take it too far when I light up any place other than my home. We'll just have to agree to disagree. But really, when I sit on a west end beach at the end of the day, with the wind at my back and watch the sunset, other than myself, who am I hurting?