Smoking Ban Hits Home. Truly.

[onehandle]

Source: NYT

BELMONT, Calif. — During her 50 years of smoking, Edith Frederickson says, she has lit up in restaurants and bars, airplanes and trains, and indoors and out, all as part of a two-pack-a-day habit that she regrets not a bit. But as of two weeks ago, Ms. Frederickson can no longer smoke in the one place she loves the most: her home.

Ms. Frederickson lives in an apartment in Belmont, Calif., a quiet Silicon Valley city that is now home to perhaps the nation’s strictest antismoking law, effectively outlawing lighting up in all apartment buildings.

“I’m absolutely outraged,” said Ms. Frederickson, 72, pulling on a Winston as she sat on a concrete slab outside her single-room apartment. “They’re telling you how to live and what to do, and they’re doing it right here in America.”

And that the ban should have originated in her very building — a sleepy government-subsidized retirement complex called Bonnie Brae Terrace — is even more galling. Indeed, according to city officials, a driving force behind the passage of the law was a group of retirees from the complex who lobbied the city to stop secondhand smoke from drifting into their apartments from the neighbors’ places.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/us/27belmont.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. I bet she was the inspiration for her neighbors

If you want to poison yourself, fine: do so quickly, and with my blessing. But don't you dare attempt to poison me.

[Doremus]

51. Smoke from fireplaces, barbecues and fire pits contain the same chemicals.

On quite a bigger scale too. Can you imagine how much smoke is seeping into nearby houses at this very moment? :scared: :scared:

Quick! We must ban them all now before we're all poisoned!

:sarcasm:

[KittyWampus]

54. next time I'm standing on the train platform and 2 dozen people pull out their portable grills

and fire up their charcol while waiting for the transfer train, I'll concede your point.

[Bake]

62. How about the next time you're standing at the bus stop?

And the bus pulls up, spewing its toxic cloud of exhaust fumes? Why dn't you go stick your nose down by the tailpipe and get a big ol' lungful of THAT?

We're not talking about the train station. We're talking about the woman's HOME.

Smoke Nazis ...

Bake

[roguevalley]

107. how is it that the only side smokers care about is their own? You

expect us to care about smokers but the same concern is never given to us who don't smoke. Its always one sided and name calling usually follows: smoke nazis. this issue has two sides and it would be nice if smokers could remember that. I won't bore you with the number of family members of mine that are gone from smoking. I do care that I am at risk because of people's belief they can smoke wherever the hell they want. I remember when people smoked in grocery stores.

That woman is ignoring more than half the population's desire to not be around her exhale. Why should I care about her feelings when too many smokers don't care about mine? Her affliction and smoking is an affliction is self administered. She doesn't have a right for the residual blow back of her actions to impair anyone else who doesn't want it to be theirs.

IMO

[ronnykmarshall]

115. I smoke ..

and I'm glad smoking is not allowed in places public places.

But in someone's HOME? WRONG!

And I don't care if they are renting or not this is total bullshit.

We don't smoke in our house, we smoke in our back yard. When is the smoke patrol going to ban THAT?

[Doremus]

80. We're talking about our HOMES and the right to peaceful, lawful enjoyment of same.

You believe the right to smoke in one's own home should be banned because it's possible that fumes can seep into neighboring homes/apartments.

I simply pointed out that smoke from fireplaces, barbecues and fire pits contain the SAME chemicals found in cigarette smoke (sans nicotine which is not the carcinogenic property in cigarettes anyway) and that fumes from these sources can also seep into neighboring properties.

SO,

Now I will wait for you to advocate the banning of fireplaces, barbecues and fire pits. Hell, let's make it easy and throw in the banning of all smoke-producing flames.

Waiting ....

[roody]

109. I am guessing that her apartment shares a common hallway

with the people who do not want to breathe her smoke.

[XemaSab]

111. On poor air quality days

Fireplaces etc are outlawed.

If you live in an apartment with a smoker, every day is a poor air day.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

67. Including nicotine?

[Doremus]

82. Nicotine isn't the carcinogous chemical in cigarette smoke. It's airborne "tars" and

a whole smorgasbord of hazardous chemicals that would potentially harm someone in another home or apartment.

The SAME chemicals which are a by-product of fires of all sorts including fireplaces, barbecues and fire pits.

[Carni]

102. SOOOOOOO Do you drive a car?

Because those *grease monkeys* that service it are dying from the asbestos on your brake pads when they change them and the emissions that your car spews as they diagnose it.

But keep it up with your second hand smoke argument when someone IS IN THEIR OWN HOME.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

2. Well, look at the bright side, ma'am -

from the way you smoke, it sounds like you won't have to worry about it for too much longer.

[trumad]

3. A picture of health

[druidity33]

94. WTF?

she's 72 years old... what were you expecting?

If she were in a jogging suit and smiling, without a cigarette in her hand, what would your reply have been?

She has already outlived my grandpa who died at 56 from a heart attack... a non-smoker btw.



:shrug:

[xchrom]

4. you can smoke in your unit in my condo -- BUT --

it's the law that you are responsible for keeping the smoke in your unit.

well that's impossible with dry wall construction.
you can't buy enough caulk to fill all the spots where the smoke will leak.

[chatnoir]

50. Sounds like our apt

The neighbor next to us is a 2-pack a day man and with the flimsy walls/construction the smoke comes right into our unit, even invading our clothes and enough to make me light headed.

Co-workers have asked if we've taken up smoking b/c of the way our coats smell due to the Marlboro Man living in the next apt.

[Jokerman]

5. This is insane.

The government is stopping this woman from using a LEGAL product in her OWN HOME and so-called "progressives" are lining up to applaud.

[FrankieFunk]

6. I agree

You should be able to smoke in your own home.

[deadmessengers]

38. You should, as long as you can contain your stink. n/t

[Bake]

63. Then please don't fart around me.

Contain your own stink.

Bake

[NRaleighLiberal]

7. We were born non smokers. If people choose to smoke fine - they can poison themselves.

but they DO NOT have the right to take away my choice - my birthright - to have clean air. Smoking is not a progressive issue. It is one of the strength of the addiction turning progressives into addicts that don't see through their own smoke.

[bunnies]

13. We're also born non-drivers.

What gives YOU the right to pollute MY air?! What makes YOU think I should suck your tailpipe?

And who stops that lady from soaking the womens bathroom with toxic hairspray and perfume? We arent born smelling like whores with crusty hair either.

:eyes:

[NRaleighLiberal]

15. Ah, I feel bad for smokers. to me one of the most ignorant slices of society.

You claim to love the earth, but you blow that crap everywhere, toss your butts on the ground. Sorry, this is a non negotiable issue for me. sorry for your addiction. My dad managed to quit after 50 agonizing years. He wrote about it afterward and was so regretful of the addiction. It shortened his life significantly.

[bunnies]

18. This is whats funny about people like you.

You assume that everyone who doesnt hate smokers as much as you do smokes. Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb and dumb. I dont smoke. I just really enjoy conversations with hypocrites.

Thanks for the pollution!

[NRaleighLiberal]

56. and you are assuming all sorts of things about me. epic fail.

[bunnies]

77. Such as?

Please enlighten me. You've done such a great job already.

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. Nice broadbrush there

I don't suppose you have a link that proves

1. smokers claim to love the earth

2. smokers toss their butts on the ground

I can wait. I would love to see where you are getting this information. Otherwise, it's a broadbrush, which is not an effective way to debate a subject.

Oh and BTW, my dad smoked for 60 years and it didn't shorten his life at all.

[onehandle]

40. Cigarette butts are the single most polluted item on the planet.

Somebody puts those butts out there. Who do you think it is?

______________

Cigarette butts are the most polluted item on the planet.

Take a look down when you walk down any city street. What do you see? Chances are, you will see one item over and over again: cigarette butts. About 4.5 trillion are littered annually worldwide. A cigarette butt littered on land is not just a terrestrial problem: a strong rain will wash that butt into the storm drains and straight into the water system.

As the Earth's population slowly becomes aware of the crisis facing the planet, the cigarette epidemic is gaining notice. Organizations like the Surfriders in California have long tried to clean up cigarette litter from the beaches along the west coast. Cleaning up cigarette litter on a beach is often a frustrating task. One beach clean-up group, the Sand Sifters of Boynton Beach, FL, finds that picking up cigarette butts takes up most of their time.

"During a monthly cleanup, we collect four to five thousand cigarette butts in one day," Founder Gary Solomon said.

http://pollution-control.suite101.com/article.cfm/another_reason_to_stop_smoking

______________

Cigarettes are the most littered item in America

Cigarettes are the most littered item in America—176 million pounds each year. That’s enough to fill the seats at Fenway Park 32 times. Cigarette butts and filters can also take up to 20 years to decompose. When carried into storm drains, cigarette butts go directly to nearby rivers, beaches, and bays.

http://www.thinkagainthinkblue.org/Page-272.html

______________

Tossed cigarette butts damage environment

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, as about 4.5 trillion are tossed onto public streets, in parks and waterways annually. Most people believe cigarette butts are biodegradable, but this is simply not true. They are made with cellulose acetate tow (plastic) and can take up to 10 years to decompose.

Littered cigarette butts can cause major health problems for small animals, marine life and even small children who mistake them for food. They are filled with toxic chemicals that are released into water sources when the cigarette butts are carried by the rain or wind into streams and creeks. Those who love to spend their summer afternoons in lakes and public swimming pools can ingest those toxins.

http://blog.news-record.com/opinion/letters/archives/2005/04/tossed_cigarett.shtml

[proud2BlibKansan]

66. And many smokers (everyone I know) are responsible

and DON'T throw their butts down. I know smokers who put them in their pockets if there is no trash can nearby. (I do find it interesting that the banishment of smokers to the outdoors has not led to an increase in trash receptacles for them to throw their butts into.)

So the broadbrush that smokers litter is ridiculous. No not all smokers are litterers. Some not all. But the post I responded to did not say "some".

Many non-smokers litter. An entire family threw their fast food trash out their car window just last week and some of it hit my windshield. Would it now be fair for me to assume that all fast food diners are litterers? Of course not.

Butts also turn to compost so the idea that they are a huge littering problem is nonsense.

Now I am still waiting for that poster to reply to the allegation that smokers were earth lovers.

[onehandle]

72. That's a lot of rationalizing.

And your compost plea is just plain ridiculous.

According to one of my links:

They are made with cellulose acetate tow (plastic) and can take up to 10 years to decompose.

That's just the structure of the butt itself. What's left behind? Poisonous chemicals.

Flick your butts into one of my wife's compost bins and she will kick your ass.

[proud2BlibKansan]

78. Tell her she can recycle them!

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/01/recycled-cigarette-butts-fashion-alexandra-guerrero-mantis.php?daylife=1&dcitc=daylife-article

[NRaleighLiberal]

58. sorry - I HATE smoking. no apologies here for my broad brushstroke.

[proud2BlibKansan]

73. I hate fat

But I don't go after fat people online.

[Bake]

64. Funny that you live (apparently) on Tobacco Road.

Don't assume that we smokers all throw our butts on the groud. Some of us try to be considerate.

Bake

[Doremus]

87. Ignorant slices of society ... are those who disparage entire groups of people

But you go ahead and enjoy your self-righteousness. It seems to make you feel better about yourself.

[Lorien]

52. Classic deflection technique, but it doesn't fly

The purpose of driving is to get from point A to point B-and yes, emission standards should be increased. Perfume and hair spray have never caused an illness or the death of anyone-let alone a person who was living with them. Smoking has two purposes: to give the smoker momentary pleasure and to enrich the GOP loving tobacco industry. There is nothing positive about smoking, period. It killed my grandfather (a smoker) and it also killed my grandmother (a non smoker). Both endured long, painful deaths-and for what? A fucking HABIT??? Enough with the Libertarian "it's a free country and it's my CHOICE" crap. Your elective habit should override our right to breathe clean air? Do smoker's seriously think that their right to smoke is the same as a pregnant woman's right to choose whether or not to give birth? It's an expensive, deadly, GOP enriching HABIT, and nothing more. I have yet to meet a single smoker who is willing to defend that habit against each of these facts from the American Lung Association:

Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet

Secondhand smoke, also know as environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. It is involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers, lingers in the air hours after cigarettes have been extinguished and can cause or exacerbate a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma.1

* The current Surgeon General’s Report concluded that scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Short exposures to secondhand smoke can cause blood platelets to become stickier, damage the lining of blood vessels, decrease coronary flow velocity reserves, and reduce heart rate variability, potentially increasing the risk of heart attack.2


* Secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of cancer in humans (Group A carcinogen).3


* Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke. Secondhand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic ammonia and hydrogen cyanide.4


* Secondhand smoke causes almost 50,000 deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year, including approximately 3,400 from lung cancer and 22,700-69,600 from heart disease.5


* Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at work are at increased risk for adverse health effects. Levels of secondhand smoke 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.6


* Workplace productivity was increased and absenteeism was decreased among former smokers compared with current smokers.7


* Twenty-three states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Utah, and Vermont – as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have passed laws prohibiting smoking in almost all public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars.8


* 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 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths in the United States annually.9


* Secondhand smoke exposure may cause buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 790,000 physician office visits per year.10 Secondhand smoke can also aggravate symptoms in 400,000 to 1,000,000 children with asthma.11


* 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.12 Approximately 50-75 percent of children in the United States have detectable levels of cotinine, the breakdown product of nicotine in the blood.13


* Research indicates that private 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.14

Smoking 101 Fact Sheet

August 2008

Cigarette smoking has been identified as the most important source of preventable morbidity (disease and illness) and premature mortality (death) worldwide. Smoking-related diseases claim an estimated 438,000 American lives each year, including those affected indirectly, such as babies born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking and victims of "secondhand" exposure to tobacco's carcinogens. Smoking cost the United States over $193 billion in 2004, including $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in direct health care expenditures, or an average of $4,260 per adult smoker.1

* Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer. Smoking is directly responsible for approximately 90 percent of lung cancer deaths and approximately 80-90 percent of COPD (emphysema and chronic bronchitis) deaths.2
* About 8.6 million people in the U.S. have at least one serious illness caused by smoking. That means that for every person who dies of a smoking-related disease, there are 20 more people who suffer from at least one serious illness associated with smoking.3
* Among current smokers, chronic lung disease accounts for 73 percent of smoking-related conditions. Even among smokers who have quit chronic lung disease accounts for 50 percent of smoking-related conditions.4
* The list of diseases caused by smoking includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD, including chronic bronchitis and emphysema), coronary heart disease, stroke, abdominal aortic aneurysm, acute myeloid leukemia, cataract, pneumonia, periodontitis, and bladder, esophageal, laryngeal, lung, oral, throat, cervical, kidney, stomach, and pancreatic cancers. Smoking is also a major factor in a variety of other conditions and disorders, including slowed healing of wounds, infertility, and peptic ulcer disease.5
* Smoking in pregnancy accounts for an estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies, up to 14 percent of preterm deliveries, and some 10 percent of all infant deaths. Even apparently healthy, full-term babies of smokers have been found to be born with narrowed airways and reduced lung function.6
* In 2005, 10.7 percent of all women smoked during pregnancy, down almost 45 percent from 1990.7
* Neonatal health-care costs attributable to maternal smoking in the U.S. have been estimated at $366 million per year, or $704 per maternal smoker.8
* Smoking by parents is also associated with a wide range of adverse effects in their children, including exacerbation of asthma, increased frequency of colds and ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome. Secondhand smoke causes more than an estimated 202,000 asthma episodes, 790,000 physician visits for buildup of fluid in the middle ear (otitis media, or middle ear infection), and 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) cases each year.9
* In 2006, an estimated 45.3 million, or 20.6% of adults (aged 18+) were current smokers. The annual prevalence of smoking declined 40 percent between 1965 and 1990, but has been virtually unchanged since then.10
* Males tend to have significantly higher rates of smoking prevalence than females. In 2006, 23.6 percent of males currently smoked compared to 17.8 percent of females.11
* Prevalence of current smoking in 2006 was highest among American Indians/Alaska Natives (32.2%), intermediate among non-Hispanic whites (21.8%) and non-Hispanic blacks (22.6%), and lowest among Hispanics (15.1%) and Asians (10.3%).12
* As smoking declines among the non-Hispanic white population, tobacco companies have targeted both non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics with intensive merchandising, which includes billboards, advertising in media targeted to those communities, and sponsorship of civic groups and athletic, cultural, and entertainment events. In 2005, advertising and promotion by the five major tobacco companies totaled $13.1 billion.13
* Tobacco advertising also plays an important role in encouraging young people to begin a lifelong addiction to smoking before they are old enough to fully understand its long-term health risk.14 Ninety percent of adults who smoke started by the age of 21, and half of them became regular smokers by their 18th birthday.15
* In 2007, 20 percent of high school students were current smokers.16 Over 6 percent of middle school students were current smokers in 2006.17
* Secondhand smoke involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers from other people's cigarettes is classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a known human (Group A) carcinogen, responsible for approximately 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 (ranging 22,700-69,600) heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers annually in the United States.18
* Workplaces nationwide are going smoke-free to provide clean indoor air and protect employees from the life-threatening effects of secondhand smoke. Nearly 70 percent of the U.S. workforce worked under a smoke free policy in 1999, but the percentage of workers protected varies by state, ranging from a high of 83.9 percent in Utah and 81.2 percent in Maryland to 48.7 percent in Nevada.19
* Employers have a legal right to restrict smoking in the workplace, or implement a totally smoke-free workplace policy. Exceptions may arise in the case of collective bargaining agreements with unions.
* Nicotine is an addictive drug, which when inhaled in cigarette smoke reaches the brain faster than drugs that enter the body intravenously. Smokers not only become physically addicted to nicotine; they also link smoking with many social activities, making smoking a difficult habit to break.20
* In 2006, an estimated 45.7 million adults were former smokers. Of the 45.3 million current adult smokers, 44 percent stopped smoking at least 1 day in the preceding year because they were trying to quit smoking completely.21
* Quitting smoking often requires multiple attempts. Using counseling or medication alone increases the chance of a quit attempt being successful; the combination of both is even more effective.22
* Nicotine replacement products can help relieve withdrawal symptoms people experience when they quit smoking.23
* There are seven medications approved by the FDA to aid in quitting smoking. Nicotine patches, nicotine gum and nicotine lozenges are available over-the-counter, and a nicotine nasal spray and inhaler are currently available by prescription. Buproprion SR (Zyban) and varenicline tartrate (Chantix) are non-nicotine pills.24
* Individual, group and telephone counseling are effective. Telephone quitline counseling is widely available and is effective for many different groups of smokers.25
* Nicotine replacement therapies are helpful in quitting when combined with a support program such as the American Lung Association's Freedom From Smoking (FFS), which addresses psychological and behavioral addictions to smoking and strategies for coping with urges to smoke.

For more information on smoking, please review the Trends in Tobacco Use report and Lung Disease Data in the Data and Statistics section of our website at www.lungusa.org, or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

Sources:

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses United States, 1997-2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . July 2005. Vol. 54;25:625-628 .
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS). Tobacco Use in the United States. January 27, 2004.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cigarette Smoking Attributable Morbidity - U.S., 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2003 Sept; 52(35): 842-844.
4. Ibid.
5. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2004.
6. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Women and Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, 2001.
7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Vital Statistics Reports. Births: Final Data for 2005. December 5, 2007; (56)5.
8. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. State Estimates of Neonatal Health-Care Costs Associated with Maternal Smoking U.S., 1996. Vol. 53, No. 39, October 8, 2004.
9. California Environmental Protection Agency. Proposed Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant. June 2005.
10. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Analysis by the American Lung Association, Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Cigarette Report for 2004 and 2005. April 2007. Accessed on February 8, 2008.
14. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preventing Tobacco Use among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General, 1994.
15. Mowery PD, Brick PD, Farrelly MC. Legacy First Look Report 3. Pathways to Established Smoking: Results from the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Washington DC: American Legacy Foundation. October 2000.
16. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance � United States, 2007. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. June 6, 2008; 57(SS-04).
17. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Office on Smoking and Health. National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). 2006 NYTS Data and Documentation. April 18, 2008. Accessed on April 30, 2008.
18. California Environmental Protection Agency. Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke. June 2005. Accessed on 4/30/07.
19. Shopland DR, Gerlach KK, Burns DM, Hartman AM, Gibson JT. State-Specific Trends in Smokefree Workplace Policy Coverage: the Current Population Tobacco Use Supplement, 1993 to 1999. J Occup Environ Med 2001; 43:680-686.
20. National Institute of Drug Abuse. Research Report on Nicotine: Addiction, August 2001.
21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Center for Health Statistics. National Health Interview Survey, 2006. Analysis by the American Lung Association, Research and Program Services Division using SPSS and SUDAAN software.
22. Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.
23. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking and Tobacco Use. You Can Quit Smoking. Accessed on October 2, 2007.
24. Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, et al. Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Clinical Practice Guideline. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service. May 2008.
25. Ibid.

*Racial and ethnic minority terminology reflects those terms used by the Centers For Disease Control.

Secondhand Smoke and Children Fact Sheet

September 2008

Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. Secondhand smoke contains more than 250 chemicals known to be toxic or cancer causing, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, ammonia, and hydrogen cyanide.1

* Infants and young children are especially susceptible: their lungs are still developing and childhood exposure to secondhand smoke results in decreased lung function. Children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from cough, wheeze, phlegm and breathlessness.2
* In children, exposure to secondhand smoke causes over 202,000 asthma episodes in children with asthma.3
* The current Surgeon Generals Report states that there is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure. Even brief exposures can be harmful to children.4
* Infants and children suffer additional acute lower respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, due to secondhand smoke exposure.5
* Of children 3 to 11 years of age, almost 60 percent, or 22 million, are exposed to secondhand smoke. Almost 25 percent live with at least one smoker, compared to 7 percent of nonsmoking adults.6
* Secondhand smoke exposure causes buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 790,000 visits to health care providers. Middle ear infections are the most common cause of childhood operations and of childhood hearing loss.7
* A California EPA study 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths are annually associated with secondhand smoke exposure.8
* Babies whose mothers smoke while pregnant or who are exposed to secondhand smoke after birth have weaker lungs than other babies, which increases the risk of many other health problems.9
* Babies are 20 percent more likely to be born low-birth weight if their mother was exposed to secondhand smoke during the pregnancy.10

For more information on smoking, please review the Trends in Tobacco Use report and Lung Disease Data in the Data and Statistics section of our website at www.lungusa.org, or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

Sources:

1. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2006. Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke Factsheet. January 4, 2007. Accessed on July 30, 2008.
2. Ibid.
3. California Environmental Protection Agency. Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant. Executive Summary. June 2005.
4. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2006. Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke Factsheet. January 4, 2007. Accessed on July 30, 2008.
5. Ibid.
6. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2006. Secondhand Smoke Exposure in the Home Factsheet. January 4, 2007. Accessed on August 28, 2008.
7. California Environmental Protection Agency. Identification of Environmental Tobacco Smoke as a Toxic Air Contaminant. Executive Summary. June 2005.
8. Ibid.
9. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. A Report of the Surgeon General, 2006. Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke Factsheet. January 4, 2007. Accessed on July 30, 2008.
10. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Preveniton. Preventing Smoking and Exposure to Secondhand Smoke Before, During and After Pregnancy. July 2007. Accessed on September 18, 2008.

[NRaleighLiberal]

59. Thanks. Well done. We need to realize that nicotine is prob. the most addictive substance

and that smokers can't see this as they argue for their pathetic habit.

[bunnies]

76. Whats the point of this post?

I dont give a rats ass what the point of your driving is. There are other ways to get from point A to point B without polluting MY air with your toxic exhaust. YOUR exhaust, causes the same effects as passive second hand smoke. So spare me the holier than thou bullshit. mmkay?

And as for your little ALA rant, it might be better directed at an actual smoker. Care to talk about your exhaust now? :shrug:

[roguevalley]

108. equating smoking and driving is ridiculous. both suck and one

can get better, especially with electric cars, etc. how can you improve smoking? you can't. They won't do it and you can't.

this is a dirty assinine addiction and the sooner it ends the better. Since american companies are losing market here, they are dumping this shit on foreign countries and watching the profits and not the body count. It will be one of the biggest killers worldwide.

Defending smoking is like defending typhus or syphilis. Defending the preventable and the indefensible. IMO

[ElsewheresDaughter]

24. then you had better start walking and biking everywhere you go because i feel the same way about ..

your use of an automobile!

[NRaleighLiberal]

60. and how do you know I use one? nice broad brushstroke

[druidity33]

99. do you use a car? nt

[Jokerman]

26. But you can take away their choice?

Where exactly is a smoker supposed to exercise their rights?

I've never smoked and I've supported most of the restrictions put on smokers in the last several years but this crosses the line.

People here scream bloody murder when a pharmacist refuses to fill a prescription for a legal product or when the government otherwise invades our privacy but stopping someone from using a legal product in the privacy of their own home gets a pass as long as the only ones hurt are those "evil smokers". Just wait until society declares that something you like to do is "evil".

I find it hard to believe that anyone is in danger from second hand smoke in a neighbors apartment.

[druidity33]

95. that's funny...

"birthright to clean air"

:rofl:
:rofl:
:rofl:

[skypilot]

8. I'm really interested to know...

...how the people who want to see pot legalized feel about these smoking bans. Because if all these bans should become the law across the country, people are going to have a hard time finding a place to light up a cigarette or a joint.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. I actually have known several people who ARE allergic to pot

I watched one girl break out in hives at a party where they were smoking pot. Never seen cigarette smoke have that effect on anyone.

[Randomthought]

19. it has that effect on me

just before I start wheezing

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. You break out in hives?

[Randomthought]

44. yep

All over my face

[Le Taz Hot]

25. As a (now) non-smoker

and a regular pot smoker I say the same rules should apply in both cases. Non-smoking means non-smoking. Now, if I could only ban people from bathing in stinky-ass perfumes/colognes that didn't set off my asthma, my world would be much more pleasant.

[skypilot]

28. But the question remains:

Where would you be able to light up a joint. From what I've seen on this board, some people would like to see smoking banned even outside. So if people couldn't smoke in bars, outside, or even in their homes where would that leave pot smokers even if pot were legal like cigarettes currently are.

[Le Taz Hot]

34. Same place I light my pipe now

(not into joints) -- in my house or outside and away from people. I know the type of housing that is involved here. It's low-income housing for elderly and the disabled, obviously a population with more health concerns than the general populous and therefore more susceptible to irritants, particularly carcinogenic cigarette smoke. All in all it really is just a matter of trying to be mindful of who is around you before you light up. Besides, we ARE talking California here. It's not like we're dealing with -40 temperatures.

[skypilot]

37. I got you.

I guess I'm really interested in hearing from the hardcore anti-smokers who don't want people to be able to smoke cigarettes anywhere;who, in fact, would like to see them made illegal. I'm really interested to know if there is any overlap between the anti-cigarettes crowd and the "make pot legal" crowd. Because I think a nation-wide ban on smoking would affect pot smokers to an extent which I don't think they've considered.

[Winterblues]

83. You can eat pot and still get a good high, you don't have to smoke it

Why don't you eat tobacco and then the problem will be solved?

[skypilot]

88. See post #45 below.

on edit: And just because people CAN eat pot doesn't mean that they will. I know plenty of pot smokers and they are exactly that: pot SMOKERS. Even the ones who grow their own.

[madmom]

30. Right there with you sister. I've had to actually get up and leave a meal because the

woman behind me had on so much "stink good" my food tasted like it.

[dysfunctional press]

42. you don't have to smoke pot to ingest it.

if it were legal, and more freely available, more people would cook with it instead.

[skypilot]

45. Same is true with tobacco...

...but some people are always going to prefer to consume pot or tobacco by smoking it.

[druidity33]

100. who told you that?

Ingesting tobacco will make someone VERY sick. Chew is entirely different from eating weed... you're only consuming your own saliva (filled with nicotine, tobacco juice, and other chemicals). Snuff is a whole different story.


:shrug:

[skypilot]

106. Chewing tobacco and snuff...

...are exactly what I was talking about. There are ways to consume something without actually eating it. I never meant that people can EAT tobacco, but that there are ways to consume it besides smoking it. But my point still stands: that in the case of both pot and tobacco, there are going to be people who prefer to smoke them rather than consuming them in some other way.

[bunnies]

9. Its ok because shes a smoker.

"Progressives" wouldnt give a shit if smokers were lined up and shot on the street. Unless, of course, they were allowed a final cigarette.

[rurallib]

21. I for one could care less if someone smokes. I simply think that

the pollution from the smoke should not be allowed to infiltrate where people gather. And yes that would include apartment buildings. Perhaps there should be am apartment building for smokers only. Public places and accomodations should be smoke free.
MAD magazine proposed a "smokers suit" about 40 or 50 years ago, anticipating the day when smoking would finally be seen for the noxious polluting activity that it is. It was a fully enclosed zip up coverall that kept all the smoke inside the suit. Seems like a fine idea.
My state passed a law to stop smoking in restaurants and bars etc. It is so nice to go into a restaurant and not smell the stink of tobacco.
If someone wants to smoke, they should simply do it someplace where it will not bother others.

[bunnies]

32. And while we're at it...

lets send the toxic hairspray users to that same place where it will not bother others. The pollution should not be allowed to infiltrate where people gather. Why should I have to suck in the toxins of some ones vanity?

And I dont want anymore people driving by my apartment, either. Theres no reason that I as a non-driver should have to breathe in everyone elses toxic exhaust. Especially when it has the same effect as second hand smoke...

Everybody drives though, so I guess we'll just stick to singling out the smokers.


... Lung Chi Chen, of the New York University School of Medicine, reported research where he exposed one group of mice to second-hand cigarette smoke equivalent to passively smoking three or four cigarettes a day and a second group to the fine particles present in air pollution, in concentrations similar to a big city. He found that both particles and smoke produced around the same amount of change in the hardening of the arteries, which can lead to heart attacks.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/19/pollution.health

[Doremus]

47. I assume you are also opposed to fireplaces and barbecues.

And bonfires.

Same noxious chemicals seeping into living rooms and through the cracks of nearby houses.

Will you start the referendum? Hurry, there are people breathing the fumes as we speak!!!

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. Really.

I don't buy this crap about smoke filtering through walls either.

Reminds me of my mom who decided after living with my dad for 30 years that she was all of a sudden allergic to smoke. She had this fake little cough. The whole family knew she was making up her allergy as one more way to convince him to quit smoking. It was really ridiculous. Even my siblings who didn't smoke thought she was being silly.

And for the smoke nazis, neither of my parents died from smoking or second hand smoke.

[The River]

23. It Does Filter Through Walls

My neighbor knows when I'm smoking in my room.
Differences in air pressure when HVAC is on in one unit and off in
another or outside doors open.
The smoke enters through electric wall plugs, pipe holes
under sinks etc. and travels through wall voids.

[drm604]

84. Absolutely it does.

My downstairs neighbors smoke. I do not, and I do not allow smoking in my apartment. I can often smell it and my clothing sometimes smells like smoke. Unfortunately, the neighbor is related to the landlord.

Since the landlord is also a friend of my family I get a good deal on the rent and I simply can't get what I have here for the same price elsewhere, but it galls me that I have to smell, and worry about the effects of, someone elses smoke.

[RetailSlave]

35. Oh, smoke DEFINITELY leaks into adjacent units...

my next door neighbor will NOT have her lease renewed, because she's smoking in her unit, in violation of the terms of her lease. Everybody on the floor knows she smokes, and everybody has contacted the building owner about it. Smoke particles are tiny, and buildings are porous.

[Greyskye]

112. You should have smelled my wife's last apartment

This was not a common hallway apartment complex - each apartment had a door to the outside. But the 2 elderly chain smokers (on oxygen, no less!!!) on the other side of the common wall lit up so much that her clothes smelled like she was a smoker herself.

Not only did the place stink when they were there, we were constantly afraid that they'd blow the place up with their brilliant combination of smoking and oxygen tanks. :eyes:

[patriotvoice]

17. It's not her "own" home -- she doesn't "own".

She lives there, by the grace of a lease under whose terms she is obligated to hold. The lease undoubtedly says something to the effect of "You will follow the laws of the land while occupying this premise," thus aligning her obligations with those of the police state. She is free to move and to "own" her own home, thus exempting herself from the whims of landlord and municipal lords.

Nonetheless, I find this law noxious, but the motivations I understand: laws limit individual freedom when there exists real dangers for community safety. The argument here is made for second hand smoke wafting through ventilation. I personally find that more annoying than threatening, but I can see some individuals being seriously impacted by it (allergies, elderly, etc.). The better solution, in my opinion, would be to force new complexes to support individual unit HVAC, such that no transmission can occur between units and for existing units to install filters.

The better argument for this law, however, is that of fire safety. Specifically, cigarettes are a frequent cause of working domicile fires, more so to simple bad luck than deliberate negligence: a stray ember on an apparently cold butt blows to a flammable couch, where it slowly smolders and soon rages. A similar law prohibiting space heaters in shared dwellings are on many cities books in the NE.

[Jokerman]

33. Renters have rights as well.

Police can't search my apartment without a warrant even if the landlord gives permission. Most of our laws put renters on the same level as home owners.

You did hit the nail on the head about better rules for air quality. IMO that would solve many of the public smoking issues. I've been in bars where someone was smoking a cigar at the next table but good air handling equipment made it a non issue. I've also been in bars where one lit cigarette across the room can be annoying.

I've alway thought the solution to smoking in bars & restaurants should be handled as an air quality issue with health department regulating the standards. If you can allow smoking and keep a minimum amount of fresh air for your patrons, you get a pass.

[patriotvoice]

41. Renters do have constitutional rights, but other derived freedoms vary from state-to-state

In NC, for example, the landlord has the right to enter the premise at any time, for any reasonable reason, at the discretion of the landlord. Thus, if a landlord suspects a water pipe is leaking, he may enter without appointment or permission. Or if a landlord thinks a child is being neglected, he may enter to inspect. Or if a landlord thinks *any* illegal activity is being carried out, he may enter to inspect. All of these fall under the broad category of "community health and public safety" for which the landlord may interdict, under suspicion alone, without advance notice.

Other states are more restrictive on the landlord. Generally those that require advance notice to inspect are more stringent on the landlord and the rental is more like one's "own" home. See:
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectId/FE2A286B-BD9F-41A5-B6C332C6FCF8E4D8/213/178/131/ART/

Otherwise, absolutely: address the points of air quality and fire safety, not second-hand smoke.

[peacetalksforall]

27. If you live in an apartment or duplex it isn't really your 'home' as far as

decency in relationships to your neighbors no matter who owns the apartment. Paying rent doesn't mean it's your own home. This is about proximity, discomfort, illness, disease, cost of treatment, death.

I feel I have lived a limited and narrow life because I haven't wanted and couldnt' stand being around the toxic ingredients of cigarettes. I feel I have lived in kind of a prison trying everything to avoid them. I have had limited relationships and have ended many of them.

We're not talking about tobacco and smoking it, we're talking about 100-200 toxic inredients, plus tobacco and burning it.

It doesn't make sense to be protected in the workplace (execpt for entering, exiting, open windows, clothes-hair-skin of co-workers), then go home and suffer it.

It's the toxic ingredients - cigarettes are a horror of chemistry.

What is at odds here is that the same legal process that attempts to help the environment and the process that helps citizens avoid suffering from it, is the same process that allows manufactureres to add the 100-200 toxic ingredients to the tobacco and make a fortune from it while their lobbyists buy out the FDA and Congresspeople.

Smoking is often only talked about in regards to the act. What lies below the act is the problem A deadly and discomforting act with real chemistry going on.

She should rent a house, close the windows, and ruin it. And citizens should to someothing about the toxic and deadling ingredients that are allowed to be contained within the cigarette.

[bunnies]

39. Not all cigarettes have toxic ingredients...

So lets be clear about what you're saying.

If every smoker smoked toxin-free cigarettes you'd have no problem with people smoking? :shrug:

[skypilot]

46. This is another question that's been on my mind.

Would people be so hostile to cigarette smokers if cigarettes were all natural? I don't sense the same hostility towards pot smokers here.

[bunnies]

55. Strange, isnt it?

Smoke *this* plant and your a despicable piece of crap... smoke *that* plant and youre a good 'progressive'.

I dont think it would matter what cigarettes people smoke. Most people I've encountered who hate smokers are going to hate them no matter what. The 'toxins' thing is just a good 'progressive' reason to hate them. No one ever asks the smokers what brand they smoke before they start the ridicule.

Its pretty ridiculous, imho.

[peacetalksforall]

81. People tell me that all the time - some are less toxic? I consider it hooey

until I seel the lists laid out. But, I'm told that will never happen because the ingredients are kept secret for competitive reasons. Most likely, the real reason is because it would show the raw, devastating facts.

Show me the added ingredients of a non-toxic cigarette.

I believe it is a MYTH that there are non-toxic cigarettes. Some mention xxx Spirit/American Spirit? Don't know about the ingredients, but that is one very fowl and offensive cigarette.

[Doremus]

53. "A deadly and discomforting act with real chemistry going on" i.e. fireplaces, barbecues & fire pits

Amazing the hypocrisy that passes for logic around here.

[peacetalksforall]

86. Well, try this. There are people at work to improve and remove

the transportation problem. There are choices about charcoal or wood - there are plenty of scientists who will say what is going on so that people can make wise choices.

There is a collective knowledge and there is progress for government laws.

Finally, laws started helping the non-smokers.

The key is that everyone who wants to do something for others and the earth can do it INDEPENDENTLY of any laws. They can do it on their own.

We're stuck with technology of cars and trucks and airplanes. We're cutting through the hold of the oil barons who've rigged the transportation industry to rely on them. There are many people working and the news is buzzing with trans. breakthroughs.

No oil baron or briguet manufacutrer has a hold on smokers the way smokers have a hold on themselves.

I understand addiction, I'm nearly finished with a soft drink addiction. I have some tests of my will yet to go through, I'm sure. I don't berate anyone for their addiction, I berate them for the habits and abuse that go with it because it hurts others physcially, emotionally, and psychologically.

I have had illness and expenses from lung problems living in a variety of environments and climates. But, I had to work and smoking was allowed in the workplace. I go out of my way to avoid cigarettes - yes, I am in a self made prison because of the abuse of others and disrespect while others indulge in their very physical (and I say toxic) habit.

What really gets me is how snotty smokers can be in defending their abuse of others - especially as I said - since they are capable of handling it INDEPENDENTLY of laws.

I say thank you to the smokers who are considerate - there are more and more of them. I notice it and I am appreciative.

[Bake]

68. Lived in PRISON??? Exaggerate much?

Smoke Nazis just crack me up ...

Bake

[peacetalksforall]

89. Yes, I live in a self inflicted prison to avoid smoke. Intimidate much?

Want to help with my medical expenses from lung problems? Want to help advise me about migraines that can come on in about 15 seconds of being hit with it?

[druidity33]

101. do you have an opinion

about Organic additive-free cigarettes?

I smoke roll your own American Spirits, always outdoors. I own my own home but never smoke indoors and never have. I believe it is important to respect the people around you. My wife doesn't smoke. I have 3, maybe 4 smokes a day and have for a few years now.

If i seemed like a reasonable and otherwise likeable person, would you decline to visit my home because i smoke?

Not trying to be snarky, but wondering where the line is for some people on this thread...

[ProgressiveProfessor]

65. There is also a libertarian angle to this

[Mojorabbit]

69. Amazing isn't it. nt

[K8-EEE]

98. I'm applauding!

I would hate to be her neighbor! I wouldn't mind people smoking once in a while but smokers that age are addicts who do it CONSTANTLY and stink up the whole building.

[panader0]

10. Abortion is still legal

[ComtesseDeSpair]

11. She's Renting

She doesn't have the right to screw up property that she doesn't own. I remember a neighbor in one of my apartment complexes who was a chain smoker. The walls were stained brown and the stench was unbelievable in her apartment. Everytime I set foot in her place I thought about how much work it's going to take to restore that place to a livable condition when she eventually died from emphysema. The carpets would need to be replaced and the walls scrubbed and repainted - and they probably STILL wouldn't get rid of that stench. It was soaked into the woodwork! But smokers like this lady don't think about that sort of thing, do they? It's all about THEM and THEIR rights. Sigh...

[mac56]

16. Why doesn't some landlord who is a smoker step forward

and offer her a more compatible place to live? Serious question.

[Robb]

20. Well, likely the so-called "smoking apartments"

...would be unable to discriminate against non-smokers who wanted to live there. And then this process could begin again. :shrug:

[Bake]

71. From the sound of it, they wouldn't have to discriminate ...

The non-smokers just wouldn't WANT to live there.

Bake

[Lilith Velkor]

113. Oh yes they would.

Just like the non-smokers who all suddenly wanted to drink at the one dive bar in town that allowed smoking.

In many towns. Simultaneously. What an odd coinkydink....

[ozu]

29. Well

Probably for the same reason bar/restaurant owners aren't allowed to provide a compatible establishment for smokers.

[crim son]

36. I understand the woman's outrage & I hope she understands

the outrage or people for whom cigarette smoke is a huge problem. The comparison to perfume is not valid: I can't tolerate cigarette smoke, nor can I wear any kind of fragrance whatsoever, however I don't cough and choke when people are wearing a little bit of scent. There is no such thing as "a little bit" of cigarette smoke however. One of the greatest days I can remember is the day they banned smoking on international (and not just domestic) flights. Before that, flying was pure hell, as was dining in most restaurants. As for smoke seepage through walls, it happens! My bf lives in an apartment; he's a nonsmoker having quit a decade ago but sometimes his clothing smells like smoke because his neighbor is always lighting up. Smokers who visit him must take their cigarettes outside but he has no recourse with this woman next door.

Cigarettes should be illegal anyway.

[bunnies]

43. The comparison to perfume IS valid.

My mothers throat closes up around people drenched in perfume. She chokes. Actually CHOKES for some asshole to crust their hair or scent themselves.

And your car exhaust is a dangerous to me as second hand smoke is to you. Are you going to stop driving or do you think its your right to pollute my air?

[krabigirl]

48. Cigarettes should be illegal?!?!

[chatnoir]

57. Smoke seepage does happen -- just ask us

It's vile but our clothes even smell like the neighbor man's smoke. And that's even with all doors/windows closed - it just seeps thru the walls, making us somewhat dizzy. There's no such thing as a little smoke -- he lights up and within 10-15 secs our whole flat is invaded by the smell.

And we have no recourse at all. We can do nothing except move even though we've been here years before him.

[Doremus]

85. With such a violent reaction to cigarette smoke I'll bet you also avoid

fireplaces, barbecues and fire pits!

I say let's ban them too! We don't want selfish fireplace owners poisoning their neighbors, do we?

[krabigirl]

49. This is BS.

[serrano2008]

61. Good - save money on smokes to buy her own house

Then she can smoke and truly not bother anybody.

Sounds like a good plan.

[K8-EEE]

97. Bingo!! She can buy her own little Casita Del Fuego

Great idea!

[lumberjack_jeff]

70. If she'd saved that money for 50 years, she wouldn't need to rent. n/t

[Bake]

74. And if she didn't eat, she'd have even MORE money.

And just think how much she'd have if she didn't buy toilet paper ...

Bake

[roody]

110. They are 5 dollars a pack in California.

[truebrit71]

75. Wow. Now THAT is bullshit. If it was government housing maybe..but if you pay rent light up!!

What's next, can't cook pungent meals because it might offend your neighbours?

Fucking stupid and a MASSIVE over-reach IMHO...and I am a (very) recent ex-smoker...

[FredStembottom]

79. America's Great Placebo Issue lives!

Can't stop globalization.

Can't say no to illegal war.

Can't help the environment.

Can't stop the looting of our treasury.

Can't unionize our workplaces.

Can't stop nuclear proliferation.

BUT.... we can ALL slap smokers again and again and again.

Feels GOOD!

:toast:

[Doremus]

90. Best post of the thread.

Jumping on the PC train is so comforting. One could even say it's addicting. ;)

[Poll_Blind]

91. California: Doing all it can to make smoking the "rebel", "edgy" thing to do.

  Who is this going to stop, really?



PB

[Prophet 451]

92. Ridiculous

I'm a smoker. I have no problem keeping my smoke away from those who don't want it. I have no problem with not smoking in public places. Not being able to smoke in the pub is a minor irritation but for the general health, it's one I don't mind too much. But to ban people from smoking in their own homes takes it to a ridiculous level of picking on someone just because it's acceptable to do so.

[crimsonblue]

93. I'll be sure to blow smoke in somebody's face on my walk to class tomorrow....

one inhale of second hand smoke every day for 30 years is no worse than commuting to work with your windows down. I say we ban rollable windows in cars!

[K8-EEE]

96. Why does she think the other tenants should have to smell her constant smoking?

It's obvious to me that if it's between a smoker and a non-smoker, the non-smoker gets fresh air and the smoker should be inconvenienced.

Smoking is dumb, toxic and smelly. Hopefully it is phasing out. My daughter has 9 college roommates and not one of them smoke. Well, not cigarettes anyhow.

The annoying thing about 2 pack a day smokers like this lady is they are just CONSTANTLY polluting, except when they're sleeping! Boo frickin' hoo.

[Cronus Protagonist]

103. There is ONE clear, EASY SOLUTION to this problem

Ban tobacco, sell weed instead.

[AsahinaKimi]

104. In all honesty...

I used to live in an apartment where the neighbors downstairs smoked. I could smell it in my house..and it even attached itself to everything in my house including my clothing. I even had the windows closed. Gag!!

I am so glad I live in a smoke free place now.

[BR_Parkway]

105. Did they ban all the cars from the parking lot as well? Sure seems

they're going to be putting out more chemical waste than the amount produced by cigarettes.

[Ayesha]

114. Smoking indoors = Disgusting

Have you ever been in the home of someone who smokes inside? Yellowed walls, filthy curtains, and the smell...I am shocked any apartment complex allows it due to the damage it causes.

In a privately owned home, smoke all you want, destroy your investment - but when it affects others, take it outside in a well ventilated area.