I am pissed..... My disability has to do with breathing....

[WCGreen]

Meaning I can't w/o the aide of Oxygen.....

With the Oxygen, I can live a fairly normal life, a life that let's me get around fairly easily and to enjoy what our great country has to offer....

But still, there are places I can not go....

Places that I could go, if only people were prohibited to smoke....

Smoking is a choice. My condition, BTW, has nothing to do with smoking. My condition was not....

So all of the venues where good live music here in Cleveland allow smoking....

That means I can not enjoy live music. Period.

Since I am unable, by my disability, from participating in something that people who are not disabled can enjoy, should smoking be prohibited in all public places to comply with the disabilities act...

I ask this because all of the venues I looked into had handicapped accessible rest rooms, parking spots and ramps....

And yet......

Am I being too picky because I want to enjoy live music? Is it too much to ask those who are smoking, because of a choice they have made, to refrain for an hour or two so those of use who can not tolerate smoking can enjoy live music as well????????

[motely36]

1. I love the fact that Delaware is smoke-free in public buildings

restaurants, bars, etc.

[WCGreen]

2. I called about a show here in Cleveland

and the woman told me it would be smoking....

When I told her I couldn't come....

She said, ah that's too bad and hung up.....

[sallyseven]

6. In Mass no smoking in bars, restaurants,

Public buildings, It is hardly worth smoking. Been off the butts since 1989.

[LynneSin]

18. Yep, we were the SECOND state to do that...

..California was the first.

I loved going to Philly and seeing live music there but I hate to say it, I pretty much stopped going because I hate coming home smelling like a damn ashtray.

New York City and Boston also have banned indoor smoking.

I know you can smoke in DC and I'm expecting the bars to be smoking for the DC gathering. I'll just put up with it and jump in the shower as soon as I go home

[napi21]

3. Are you talking about concerts in a park? Outside? n/t

[WCGreen]

7. It's all inside.....

Outside, I don't have a problem, unless someone is sitting right next to me...

I point to the tand and they have all said, Oh Okay.....

[Spinzonner]

4. Well, you could tell them

that personally you don't mind if they smoke but that they might blow the place up and you all with it if they don't stop while you're there.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. My dear WCGreen....

Many cities have outlawed smoking in all indoor venues...bars, restaurants etc. without any loss in revenue...And most of them have found that their revenues increase because the non-smoking crowd comes out more...

There are many groups working for these goals: ASH (action on smoking and health), Americans for Non-Smokers' Rights..to name just a couple...

Of course you're not being too picky! Second-hand smoke is a dangerous killer...

I'm with you on this one!

:loveya: :hug:

[WCGreen]

8. Peggy I would think that too....

that the owners of these cafes would be looking to attract the people out here who don't enjoy sitting in an ash tray for a few hours just to watch a band play.....

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. You would think so....

I guess there are some folks who are just stuck in the past when it comes to smoking issues...

Since you don't have anything better to do (LOL) you might look up those orgs I mentioned and see if they're active in Ohio...they most likely are...


Check your PM in a minute...




:pals:

[Southsideirish]

11. Restaurateurs like Mike Ditka and others are fighting a potential smoking

ban presently in our City Council (Chicago.) That is so mean, when it has been proven that employees are much healthier in restaurants and bars where smoking has been stopped.

[WCGreen]

12. Just another reason to hate that fascist pig

[MissMarple]

14. Mike Ditka...geesh.

:eyes: He must be a Neanderthal.

[XemaSab]

23. so lame...

especially since there's research that shows that a smoking ban doesn't hurt business. If it's good enough for NY and California...

[BikeWriter]

10. We don't need no fuck'n cigarettes!

We don't need no second hand smoke. Let those who can't live without their poisonous toxin go elsewhere to take a toke!

[johnnie]

13. The Gund is non-smoking

I went to The Beachland Ballroom here in Cleveland and the show was non-smoking in the club, you had to smoke in the bar. There are many outdoor shows that might be OK to see that the smoking might not bother you.
Granted, most bars in Cleveland are smoking, but not all music is performed at the bars. What kind of music do you like?

[WCGreen]

15. The Beachland was the place I called......

For the KAsey Chamber show next weekend. It was advertised in the Ballroom

[johnnie]

21. It is up to the performer

They can request a non-smoking show. That's what happened when I went ot see Slaid Cleaves there. They announced that the singers requested people don't smoke in the ballroom and everyone at the show who smoked didn't light up in the ballroom. I didn't hear any complaints.

[WCGreen]

24. How was that show. I wanted to see that show bad

I love Broke Down. That is one of my favorite songs...

And My Drinking Days Are Over is so telling...

Now that is country like it should be.....

[johnnie]

29. Oh man... you should have went

It was just solo this year. He was here with Ray Wylie Hubbard and someone who I feel so bad that I can't recall the name off the top of my head.
It was a great show. They each did a set and then came out and did a "songwriter in the round" type thing.
I saw Slaid last year and he had the band, it was a great show and I even found a person who recorded it.I got to yap with Slaid a bit at both shows. Great guy.
The new CD is pretty good too, but Broke Down is a great disk all the way thru.

[WCGreen]

32. I saw a couple of good people at the Bluebird Cafe in

Nashville.... Get on down there if you can,,,,,

Anyway, Kenny Kesney, no big fan, but he walked in there and sang his heart out....

Of course this was before he was popular....

I said to my friends, Great voice, horrible schnosss

[WCGreen]

17. All kinds of music....

A few weeks ago I wanted to see Al Stewert in Lakewood. It was at a smoking bar...

I know the Gund is non smoking but most of the bands that play there are not what I want to see.....

[CottonBear]

16. We have a no-smoking in public places rule here in Athens, GA.

It used to be banned before 11 pm and allowed until 2 am. Now there is no smoking allowed in public spaces except in some private clubs and private events held in public clubs rented for the event. Lots of great music of all sorts here too!

Good luck finding places to hear music in your town!

[WCGreen]

20. Thanks. I am just so pissed about this.......

[CottonBear]

26. Speak w/ your local elected officials.

Ours was a city ban at first. The state then instituted a statewide ban which went into effect on Mon. Aug. 1. The smokers go outside and sit on patios, decks or sidewalk cafe areas or stand on the sidewalk.

[JohnnyBoots]

19. Boston and NYC went smoke free, why not Cleveland?, start

a petition for a bill.....eventually I think all places(except maybe the tobacco belt) will be smoke free...

[WCGreen]

22. Actually, i am already talking to a couple of Cleveland

Councilpeople......

I still have some connections....

They are getting ready to introduce it but are having trouble getting enough support from their collegues. It's an election year....

[JohnnyBoots]

27. good luck. It is a very worthy endeavor. All else fails, would

that violate the ADA or is it discrimination?...I know it is a stretch, but that could be your leverage.

[WCGreen]

28. I'm talking to an attorny tomorrow night about this

[XemaSab]

25. Not to mention all of California...

You can still find a few scattered bars where people smoke, but it's illegal.

[leetrisck]

39. They should ban the drinking

in those damned bars also or take it outside.

[XemaSab]

42. hey now!

I appreciate the opportunity to get s***faced while protecting my health.

:D

[leftofthedial]

30. move to boulder

[GoddessOfGuinness]

31. That sucks.

Besides, I would think that these places would get more business if non-smokers knew they could go without stinking of tobacco afterward.

[Democracy White]

33. I think smoking should be banned from all public spaces...

There is nothing more than I can stand than being in a restruant, in the FUCKING NO SMOKING SECTION and still be bothered by the smoke from the smoking section that somehow wafts it's way to where I am sitting.

Dee

[miss_kitty]

34. Your thoughts on the ADA are very smart

and *I* think should be applied. That's how we got wheelchair ramps, special parking places etc.

People only think of 'disabled' as people in chairs, for the most part. They have to know people with other disabilities to apply it elsewhere. I have a 'hidden' (for the outside world, anyway) disability, and I know I get looks when I use a handicap spot and whip out my hang tag.

With the aging population, problems like yours will be more commonplace, and many more states seem to be leaning toward 'No Smoking'. We have a "ban in the workplace" initiative that got signatures like crazy. That would ban it just about everywhere, except tribal casinos (and probably any other businesses located on tribal lands). This came on the heels of a public places ban the Health dept imposed in Pierce Co-Tacomans were not happy campers and they bitched and moaned and got it overturned.

I quit in Feb 1998. Haven't had one, but I choose not to now! :D

:hi:

[WCGreen]

36. I had that same fear of ridicule when I put the handicap

ticket on the mirror.....

Before I got the o2 tank, I would fake limp so they wouldn;t think I stole my dad's HC ticket just to get a better spot....

[miss_kitty]

37. In Washington, we get ID cards

So if a cop or a volunteer checker with ID asks, I'll show. Everyone else can go to hell. Unless they're obviously disabled :evilgrin:

But no one has asked me yet.

[WCGreen]

41. We have to hang them....

Which is okay......

I guess....

[miss_kitty]

43. Oh we have the hang tag

It's just if you are hanging a tag, you or one of your passengers better be carrying the ID card, too.

[WCGreen]

45. We don't need that here yet.....

[XemaSab]

35. Oh, and as a lifelong asthmatic

you have my complete and total sympathy.

:hug:

[misanthrope]

38. I'm right there with you...

...although I'm not on oxygen yet. From the looks of things, though, it won't be long.

And everywhere you go in this South Alabama town, you find cigarette smoke.

As a musician and jazz aficionado, music is about the only thing I have to alleviate the misery of living in this place from which my wife refuses to relocate. But I can't enjoy my one respite anymore due to my emphysema and others' insistence on assaulting bystanders with their fumes.

If your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins, then shouldn't your right to smoke end where my atmosphere begins?

[Ladyhawk]

40. I love California's no-smoking laws, but they don't cover bars. :(

I get sick when exposed to cigarette smoke, so I was ecstatic when the no-smoking laws were passed. Still, I think smokers have rights to certain places...but I really wish there was such a thing as a no-smoking bar. No one really wants to do that. :( :( :(

A friend of mine gets sick when exposed to almost any chemical. He can't go anywhere without it costing him dearly. He's sick for days.

My personal opinion is that humans were not made to live the way we live and that chronic illnesses are the price we are paying. We are exposed to too many chemicals, even before birth. I know so many who are suffering because of this.

I'm sorry you can't hear live music. I really can't either, unless I am prepared to get sick, but until smoking becomes less common, I doubt either of us will get our wish.

[alarimer]

44. I really hope more cities pass smoking bans in bars

and restaurants. Here the pro-smoking folks managed to get an item on the ballot in September, about whether or not to allow smoking in restaurants. The city (Corpus Christi) has passed an ordinance to ban smoking in places that were primarily restaurants. Now some establishments (like TGIFridays) EXPANDED their bar are so as to get around that law but the smokers whined enough that they got their way on the ballot initiative. If it passes, smoking will be allowed in bars, restaurants etc with NO hope of ever rescinding it. The council will not be able to do anything. Pisses me off because single issue elections never attract very many voters except for the ones who are passionate about the issue so I am really afraid that it will pass.

I feel for you because, while I hate smelling like cigarette smoke, it is not a health issue (well except for the cancer thing...)

[Ladyhawk]

46. I have to agree with you. I can't stand cigarette smoke.

I doubt the freep town I live in is going to do that, however.

[Ladyhawk]

47. Cigarette smoke is TERRIBLE for vocalists.

You'd think the band members who have to sing wouldn't want that shit near their vocal cords. I can hardly squeak after breathing it.

[misanthrope]

49. They don't...

..but hereabouts their choices are to tolerate the smoke or don't work.

That's the Alabama version of "liberty."

[HysteryDiagnosis]

48. Have you ever read anything like this... and would you be

interested to read more.....

http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-046a.shtml

References | Disclaimer | Abstracts | Print Version

Emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease


Treatment

Vitamin A
Relieving Breathlessness
Nondrug Therapies
Exercise and Nutrition
Regenerating Alveoli
In patients with emphysema, normal lung tissue is often replaced by large "bullae," large balloon-like structures that press on normal lung tissue and reduce the person's lung capacity even further. If the lungs are full of bullae, the lungs become too large for the chest cavity and cannot expand properly. Bullae can be surgically removed in a procedure called bullectomy if they are large or localized, or the lungs can be surgically reduced in size to make them fit better in the chest cavity. Some patients have noted significant improvement in symptoms after lung volume reduction surgery, but the procedure carries high risks, including death. The National Emphysema Treatment Trial is a five-year study currently underway to evaluate the effectiveness of lung volume reduction surgery. So far, results seem to indicate that there is a higher risk of mortality for emphysema patients with a low forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and either homogeneous emphysema--evenly distributed bullae all over the lungs--or a very low carbon monoxide diffusing capacity. "Low," in this case, means under 20% of the normal capacity. Patients with this profile should probably consider medical treatment and pulmonary rehabilitation instead of surgery.

Emphysema is a pulmonary deficiency usually caused by years of free-radical damage that results in degenerative changes in the air sacs of the lung. Free radicals and changes of antioxidant enzymes are also thought to play a role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Pulmonary oxygen radical injury and the protective role of antioxidant enzymes in COPD were measured in one study. The results suggest that the increased free-radical toxicity and decreased glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities in red blood cells are involved in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Misso et al. 1996; Tekin et al. 2000).

In another study, an imbalance between oxidants and antioxidants in smokers and in patients with airway diseases such as asthma was proposed. Antioxidants were measured in a group of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients. The results showed that smoking, acute COPD attacks, and asthma are associated with a marked oxidant/antioxidant imbalance in the blood, associated with evidence of increased oxidative stress (Rahman et al. 1996).

In more recent research on the effects of smoking, it was concluded that antioxidants that have good bioavailability or molecules that have antioxidant enzyme activity are therapies that not only protect against the direct injurious effects of oxidants, but also may fundamentally alter the inflammatory events that have a central role in the pathogenesis of COPD (MacNee 2001).

The suggested daily dose of antioxidant nutrients for patients with these lung diseases is 3 tablets 3 times a day of Life Extension Mix and 1 capsule a day of Life Extension Booster. In order to help break up the thick mucus, 600 mg of N-acetyl-cysteine should be taken 3 times a day, along with 2 grams of vitamin C.

If the combination of these nutrients does not sufficiently break up the mucus, Pulmozyme, a drug used to treat cystic fibrosis, can be prescribed by your doctor. Pulmozyme is the most effective mucus-eradicating drug available. However, it is approved only for cystic fibrosis and, as a result, physicians often fail to prescribe it for acute mucus problems.

[WCGreen]

52. Thank you....

I have brochectasis.. And tougch of Emphysema

[HysteryDiagnosis]

57. Won't you please do this.... just google for your condition or

any disease for that matter and glyconutrients... see what you find, and know this, you won't be disappointed. Glyconutrients are known to help the body recruit its own stem cells and thus enhance regeneration and healing.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

58. Just to show you that some of this information is in the

mainstream....

1: Acta Paediatr. 2002;91(7):793-8. Related Articles, Links


Antioxidant effect of beta-carotene in cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis: clinical and laboratory parameters of a pilot study.

Cobanoglu N, Ozcelik U, Gocmen A, Kiper N, Dogru D.

Department of Pediatrics, Bavindir Hospital, TR-06520 Sogutozu-Ankara, Turkey. [e-mail]

The carotenoids are potent antioxidants with the ability to quench singlet oxygen and other toxic oxygen species. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the protective effect of beta-carotene on oxidant system in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and in patients with bronchiectasis (BE) caused by a reason other than CF. Eighteen children with CF and 15 children with BE followed in the Pediatric Chest Disease Unit of Hacettepe University, and 15 healthy children participated in the study. Compared with the controls, significantly lower plasma levels of beta-carotene were found in the CF group and significantly lower plasma levels of vitamin E in the CF and BE groups. The standardization of carotenoid levels for total cholesterol did not significantly attenuate these differences. In addition, there were significantly higher levels of malondialdehyde (a marker of lipid peroxidation) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in children with CF and in children with BE than in normal subjects. After 6 mo of beta-carotene supplementation, the plasma levels of beta-carotene and vitamin E increased and the plasma levels of TNF-alpha and malondialdehyde decreased in both groups. CONCLUSION: Potent antioxidants, beta-carotene and vitamin E are deficient in patients with CF and in patients with BE, and they are more susceptible to oxidative damage. These patients may benefit from beta-carotene supplementation.

Publication Types:
Clinical Trial
Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 12200905

[KamaAina]

50. Aren't there at least non-smoking *sections* in Clevo?

I tend to shy away from total bans because, well, Mom's a smoker, and one never knows what other females might be :-) , but sheesh! Any place large enough to handle a name act could have a non-soming []section, for Pete's sake!

[WCGreen]

51. Just the smell of smoke gets me to coughing and then hacking

And then, well it ruins the experience for me and those around as well....

[Skittles]

53. when I smoked, I never smoked inside

it just seemed rude to be around people it bothered...I always stepped outside for a quick one.

[WCGreen]

54. Bless you......

[KitchenWitch]

55. Minneapolis has banned smoking now

St Paul has a ban, but if over 50% of the proceeds of the establishment are from alcohol, then they can apply for a "smoking" license.

Suburban Hennepin County also has a ban. (Minneapolis is in Hennepin County.) There is no ban in Ramsey County (the county that St Paul is in).

[LaurenG]

56. Give it time

My guess is that smoking will eventually be prohibited in any public place. I believe Boulder Co. has a no smoking ordinance, no smoking even on public streets.

[pitohui]

59. not sure why you can't enjoy live music

i see people w. oxygen tanks, and sometimes several people, in casinos all the time where not just cigarettes but actual cigars are being smoked

sometimes the same person using the oxygen tank is the person smoking

if the tanks were that explosive, we'd have casinos full of old folks burning down all over the place

if you wait to live your life until you have an ideal situation, you might wait a long time