Smoking as a Public Health Issue

[Evascythe]

Originally Posted by TheRapingDragon

This is critical thinking, stop posting things like this, and your above "peace bro".

Don't you tell me what to do.
I am allowed to laugh if I wish.
There is no law preventing me from doing so.

[Pumble]

Originally Posted by Evascythe

Don't you tell me what to do.
I am allowed to laugh if I wish.
There is no law preventing me from doing so.

No, but there's forum rules to prevent you from being an idiot. Stop blindly attacking other people without posting anything of substance yourself.

I actually think that smoking is an issue being handled fairly well by the government at the moment (Canadian government, although i'm pretty sure the laws are nearly the same in the US, not sure about other areas); by discouraging smoking without banning it outright, which i doubt would have any effect outside of wasting the police's time. I think the three things you mentioned are all perfectly reasonable ways to discourage it, although i think education is the most important thing, especially with teenagers. I hate these "drugs are bad" style anti-smoking campaigns, because of course the best way to tell teenagers not to smoke is to have a bunch of adults tell them it's bad for them. I don't really know the most effective way to do this, because statistics aren't exactly effective either.

Most of the smokers left out there today are adults who know it's a health risk but have a very hard time quitting or don't bother, or stupid kids who start smoking because all their friends are doing it. I know a few of the second group who started in grade 7-9 and already want to quit today. Whatever works, i guess.

[PunkNJunk]

Originally Posted by Kilroy_x

Yeah, you tell the world what they can't do. There's nothing as unforgivable as freedom to do stupid things, especially when they don't hurt others.

yes it does hurt others.
even if its in the privacy of your own room.
when you are having your voice box removed or you have to tell your family that you have lung cancer from something that you could have prevented, when they have to suffer because their loved one is going to die because of cigarettes.
thats when it affects others.
and your going to hate yourself for it.

also smoking makes no sense.
all you do is sit there and breathe in smoke which serves no purpose.
and also if you pay 3.50 to 5.00 bucks a day for a pack of cigarettes multiply that by 7 and then by 52 and then think about what you could be doing with all that money you spent on cigarettes instead.

lemme do it for you
3.5 x 7 x 52= $1274
5 x 7 x 52= $1820

so that can cost you anywhere between $1274 - $1820 a year.

PS i used to smoke.

[ToshX]

Originally Posted by sherbtail

I really hate smoking but banning it would just be impinging on people's rights..

I wouldn't say this, because it also harms other people who don't want to be harmed. If you're walking behind someone on a sidewalk and they're smoking, you cannot just walk up to them and be all like "hey, uhh, get rid of the smoke, kay?" You either have to walk slower to get away from him or walk past him, or something just to not breathe in the smoke. It's just like smoking in a public place or while waiting for a bus. You cannot simply tell a person to stop smoking in front of you because it hurts you, they'll probably be angry and tell you to move.

Also, banning would only be reasonable when either a large majority of the population wants it banned, or when such a small minority of the population smokes that it would not change much. And in either case, it'd probably only work if they warned people years ahead of time, and there were many resources to help quit smoking. There already are, but many people can't stop smoking, even if they try with the resources provided by many companies.

Originally Posted by jewpinthethird

Walking by someone who is smoking in the park isn't going to hurt you (unless you are allergic).

Yeah, but you have to remember that we're not all perfect and young. Think of the 80 year old with asthma walking a little every day to stay alive. The second he begins breathing in smoke and coughing, his life is slightly shortened. Now imagine having to be around people like this nearly every day at that age.

Originally Posted by Pumble

Most of the smokers left out there today are adults who know it's a health risk but have a very hard time quitting or don't bother, or stupid kids who start smoking because all their friends are doing it. I know a few of the second group who started in grade 7-9 and already want to quit today. Whatever works, i guess.

The majority of smokers, and no, I'm not just talking out of my behind, statistics show this, the majority of smokers are people who started when they were younger so many years ago because most people were not aware that smoking is this bad for you. Do you notice how people even smoked on TV and no one cared so many years ago? It's because they weren't aware of exactly what it was doing.

[rickz0rz]

To summarize it all with a quote: "Your rights end where mine begin."

[ToshX]

Originally Posted by rickz0rz

To summarize it all with a quote: "Your rights end where mine begin."

Wow, that's a great way of putting it, and I'm not being even somewhat sarcastic.

[jewpinthethird]

Yeah, but you have to remember that we're not all perfect and young. Think of the 80 year old with asthma walking a little every day to stay alive. The second he begins breathing in smoke and coughing, his life is slightly shortened. Now imagine having to be around people like this nearly every day at that age.

What? That's the most poorly constructed argument ever. An old man with asthma walking in the park who hotboxes it everyday with cigarette smokers, where are you pulling this jazz from? For one, coughing does not shorten your life.

[ToshX]

Originally Posted by jewpinthethird

What? That's the most poorly constructed argument ever. An old man with asthma walking in the park who hotboxes it everyday with cigarette smokers, where are you pulling this jazz from? For one, coughing does not shorten your life.

You're missing my point. If he's inhaling enough smoke to make him cough, he's inhaling enough that it is damaging to his lungs and just overall health in general. Some people live in places in which there are many smokers and little limits to stop them from doing it in public. It doesn't matter if it's an old man or a 20 year old guy in perfect health, it's still very damaging.

[Wlfwnd91]

These are the most biased idiotic arguments I've heard >.< I think only 1 or 2 people in here have made any logical argument to serve their point, as opposed to "It's just stupid".

Second hand smoke is only damaging in large quantities, walking by someone in a park will NOT have an effect. There's cilia in your lungs that work on protecting them from those kinds of things. The only people I worry about are the kids who have parents who sit in the living room and smoke a pack a day, or something like that. And the second-hand smoke as an annoyance when you're walking behind someone or something? Come on, there's little annoyances everywhere, if we were to outlaw everything that annoyed a few people, we'd have nothing left. There's a difference between annoying and fatal.

[rickz0rz]

Originally Posted by Wlfwnd91

These are the most biased idiotic arguments I've heard >.< I think only 1 or 2 people in here have made any logical argument to serve their point, as opposed to "It's just stupid".

Second hand smoke is only damaging in large quantities, walking by someone in a park will NOT have an effect. There's cilia in your lungs that work on protecting them from those kinds of things. The only people I worry about are the kids who have parents who sit in the living room and smoke a pack a day, or something like that. And the second-hand smoke as an annoyance when you're walking behind someone or something? Come on, there's little annoyances everywhere, if we were to outlaw everything that annoyed a few people, we'd have nothing left. There's a difference between annoying and fatal.

I have an allergies to many things, including cigarette smoke. It's not annoying. It's discomforting.

[Wlfwnd91]

Originally Posted by rickz0rz

I have an allergies to many things, including cigarette smoke. It's not annoying. It's discomforting.

What do you mean you have allergies to it? Does your throat swell up, do you get hives, what? What kind of reaction do you have?

[jewpinthethird]

Originally Posted by rickz0rz

I have an allergies to many things, including cigarette smoke. It's not annoying. It's discomforting.

Blame your parents for not exposing you to enough allergens when you were a child.

[rickz0rz]

If you're referring to the Hygiene Hypothesis, you are missing one crucial point: that was developed in 1989--years after I was born, and still has yet to really hit the mainstream. And at the root, it's still just what it's name implies: a hypothesis. I guess I could blame them for things they couldn't have known, however.

[UberMario]

Hmm... I'm really surprised that America still allows cigarette ads. Canada banned them what, a decade ago?

[Wlfwnd91]

Originally Posted by UberMario

Hmm... I'm really surprised that America still allows cigarette ads. Canada banned them what, a decade ago?

I only see them occasionally in magazines or something like that. They're definitely not on tv or anything like that. Cigarette ads have gone down to almost none.

[Armadegon]

Originally Posted by Wlfwnd91

These are the most biased idiotic arguments I've heard >.< I think only 1 or 2 people in here have made any logical argument to serve their point, as opposed to "It's just stupid".

Second hand smoke is only damaging in large quantities, walking by someone in a park will NOT have an effect. There's cilia in your lungs that work on protecting them from those kinds of things. The only people I worry about are the kids who have parents who sit in the living room and smoke a pack a day, or something like that. And the second-hand smoke as an annoyance when you're walking behind someone or something? Come on, there's little annoyances everywhere, if we were to outlaw everything that annoyed a few people, we'd have nothing left. There's a difference between annoying and fatal.

Yes there is a difference however that line is very slim. Also this isn't just about people in the United States who have enough money to buy a house and mantain a reasonable standard of living. Think of that poor chinese hobo who sleeps in a cardboard box. If the guy in the cardboard box mext to him smokes he is exposed to it every day and can not do anything to get out of that situation. anyway think of the fire hazard that poses.

[sherbtail]

If a chinese hobo in a cardboard box had another chinese hobo in a cardboard box next to him smoking then he might get cancer.
This is true, however he probably deserves it and shouldn't be passing on his genes if he hasn't the sense to move his cardboard box away from the smoker...

These what if scenarios that are being posed are ludicrous...

[Idonnoimconfused]

Smoking is bad.
Secondhand smoke isn't so bad.
Why the hell are people so dumb and brain washed when it comes to secondhand smoking?
Seriously.

[GuidoHunter]

Originally Posted by Idonnoimconfused

Secondhand smoke isn't so bad

It is when you're allergic to it.

Not that I'm suggesting laws be made for my convenience, or anything; I just wanted to point that out.

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com

[ToshX]

Personally, there's little I hate more than being near a smoker while they're smoking. I can't imagine how bad it'd be for people with asthma or are just allergic to it in general.