Extreme Non-Smokers?

[ChuckB]

see ... I have a real life flame suit

" Luke, I am your father " .. (breathes) .. " How about a smoke so we can talk about it ? "

 

[U2_rocks]

I must say, I'm pretty anti-smoking.

And I don't think one can equate sensitivity to cigarette smoke with cat allergies. Cigarette smoke has zero benefits beyond the satisfaction derived by the smoker, and plenty of drawbacks to everybody around (not just the sensitive ones); cat ownership provides lots of benefits to owners and cats, and is only a problem for a few who are allergic. Cats are much easier to avoid in general than smoke.

Pollution is a problem too, but vehicles are currently necessary - cigarettes are not.

I am not unsympathetic to those with cig habits - I know habits are hard to break. I just wish cig smokers could appreciate the effect that the smoke has on everyone around, and be a little more discreet in where they smoke! Just like I wish drivers of smoking cars would go and get them fixed so i wouldn't have to run my a/c all the time, and those neighbors of mine across the field would quit burning rubbish and grass at all hours!

 

[Planogirl]

Ya know, I'd love to have a cat. DW's mom and step dad have a cat, and DD just loves the little furball. 'Course, I'm also an animal lover, and cats just seem like a great pet.

Only one problem...I'm deathly allergic to cat hair. So, guess what I do...

I avoid places that have cats. No long trips to MIL's house...even have to be careful going into a pet store. Even people that have cats at home (one of DW's best friends, who occassionally spends the night at our house when she and her family are in town) can cause me to have allergic reactions, just by the hair present on their clothes (and yes, the clothes are as "clean" as a washer and dryer can get them...doesn't matter).

So...Should we pass a law to ban cats, since I and many others out there could have drastic health problems if exposed to them?

Of course not. I must make allowances in my life for my health issue. I would never ask my MIL to get rid of her cat, nor would I forbid DW's friend from staying at our house (and saving on a hotel bill). We just make allowances, and work around my problem.

Oh, but smoking is somehow "different", right?

In short...it's your health problem, so you need to deal with it. I'd hardly say it is "considerate" to try to force everyone around you to change their life just so that you don't have to change yours.

Sorry...JMHO.

It's funny that you would mention cats. There's been discussions of dogs being allowed in so many public places nowadays and how that affects people who are allergic to dogs. Maybe there should be designated dog places?

I wish that people would keep in mind that there are all kinds of rude people not just some smokers. I saw a man throw a beer bottle out of his car today into a nice, grassy, park-like area. That was quite rude IMO and inconsiderate smokers are no ruder. Rudeness comes in many forms.

As for people blowing smoke in someone's face, I've never seen that here either. I also never find cigarette butts in my yard and I never see anyone lighting up in areas where it's not allowed. I just don't have that problem. However, the Dallas area is extremely polluted by auto emissions and that does give me problems.

 

[cteddiesgirl]

We indeed have WAY too many smokers in Indiana. BUT, I live in Indy and have never seen anything like was described. In my observations it is the exception, not the rule, FWIW.

You don't see it unless you look for it or experience it first hand. And I never said it was the rule. But I have had it happen quite a bit in my life and I'm only 33. You're probably not 4'7" so people who like to be mean don't think they can walk all over you. They try that with me. And my best friend only weighs 95 lbs at 5'7" (health problems) so they think they can walk all over her too. And you can't say that you've never seen or known a mean spirited person in your life. Smoker or non-smoker.

Oh, but smoking is somehow "different", right?

In short...it's your health problem, so you need to deal with it. I'd hardly say it is "considerate" to try to force everyone around you to change their life just so that you don't have to change yours.

Sorry...JMHO.

Sorry, but you're saying that non-smokers should just hole up in their homes and not live a life just so smokers can go on with doing whatever they want. Fact is, having a cat is pretty much kept in the home. Smoking is not.
Non-smokers and people with allergies and asthma to smoke have dealt with these problems and have changed their lives to suit smokers ever since smoking began. We now want to be able to live a life just like you do. And the laws are changing because it is now recognized that smoking causes many health problems for those that don't smoke. You are basically stating that it's ok to take a gun and just shoot it randomly in the air above a crowd of people. And who ever gets hit with the bullet, "well, that's their fault and they should have stayed home". It's the exact same thing.
And trust me. I deal a lot with various health and allergy problems.

Tell me as you were leaving you accidentally dumped 5 beers in their laps. Please.

LOL. I wish! But no. We were much more polite to those jerks than we should have been. Of course, after a while (right before my friend had her asthma attack), I did start kicking the backs of their seats until we left so that they could not enjoy the game either.
And I wasn't so polite with my words to them after she started her attack and they just laughed and blew more smoke in her face. Suffice it to say that I said things that can't be said here.

I must say, I'm pretty anti-smoking.

And I don't think one can equate sensitivity to cigarette smoke with cat allergies. Cigarette smoke has zero benefits beyond the satisfaction derived by the smoker, and plenty of drawbacks to everybody around (not just the sensitive ones); cat ownership provides lots of benefits to owners and cats, and is only a problem for a few who are allergic. Cats are much easier to avoid in general than smoke.

Pollution is a problem too, but vehicles are currently necessary - cigarettes are not.

I am not unsympathetic to those with cig habits - I know habits are hard to break. I just wish cig smokers could appreciate the effect that the smoke has on everyone around, and be a little more discreet in where they smoke! Just like I wish drivers of smoking cars would go and get them fixed so i wouldn't have to run my a/c all the time, and those neighbors of mine across the field would quit burning rubbish and grass at all hours!

Exactly!
March 2006

Secondhand smoke, also know as environmental tobacco 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. 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 Secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of cancer in humans (Group A carcinogen).
2 Secondhand smoke causes approximately 3,000 lung cancer deaths and 35,000-62,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year.
3 A study found that nonsmokers exposed to environmental smoke were 25 percent more likely to have coronary heart diseases compared to nonsmokers not exposed to smoke.
4 Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at work are at increased risk for adverse health effects. Levels of ETS 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.
5 Since 1999, 70 percent of the U.S. workforce worked under a smoke-free policy, ranging from 83.9 percent in Utah to 48.7 percent in Nevada.
6 Workplace productivity was increased and absenteeism was decreased among former smokers compared with current smokers.
7 As of 2005, 9 smoke-free states prohibit smoking in almost all workplaces, including restaurants and bars (CA, CT, DE, ME, MA, NY, RI, VT and WA).
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 1,900 to 2,700 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 700,000 to 1.6 million physician office visits per year. Secondhand smoke can also aggravate symptoms in 400,000 to 1,000,000 children with asthma.
10 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.
11 Approximately 50-75 percent of children in the United States have detectable levels of cotinine, the breakdown product of nicotine in the blood.

 

[disykat]

I have to explain the "fake cough" to those who don't get it. I have cough varient asthma, so I avoid areas where people smoke. If I am unable to, I have to do throat clearing and light coughs to try to prevent a full fledged coughing spasm. Trust me, you'd rather have to hear that than a coughing spasm - which is very intrusive and impossible to ignore.

While I certainly wouldn't call it murder, I don't want to smell ANYTHING on anyone from several feet away.

I try to be polite and avoid smoking areas. I would try to nicely point out to a smoker that they were in a non-smoking section, I'd hope they'd do the same to me if I wandered into a smoking section.

I really don't have a problem with people choosing to smoke in places where it's allowed. I DO have a HUGE problem with someone flicking ashes or tossing butts. I would definately love to see people held accountable if they start a fire.

 

[lulubelle]

The old smoking debate. Wow. Always amazes me.
So many intolerate non-smokers as well as "rude" smokers. They are everywhere. But there are a lot of considerate smokers (my DH) and tolerant non-smokers (me) out there. I guess I just don't get all the hate...against the smokers. We are posters on a Disney website, let's keep it friendly, don't verbally beat each other up!

 

[Teejay32]

LOL. I wish! But no. We were much more polite to those jerks than we should have been. Of course, after a while (right before my friend had her asthma attack), I did start kicking the backs of their seats until we left so that they could not enjoy the game either.
And I wasn't so polite with my words to them after she started her attack and they just laughed and blew more smoke in her face. Suffice it to say that I said things that can't be said here.

Well....things are a little different here. Smoking isn’t allowed in public areas. So in a packed house you have the non-smokers, ex-smokers, anti-smokers, the smokers who are behaving themselves and craving nicotine, the smokers who went all the way out to smoke in some alley somewhere and had to fight their way back in, etc. etc. Now picture two guys blowing smoke around and thinking it’s funny. They’d probably be taken out back and shot.

]I have to explain the "fake cough" to those who don't get it. I have cough varient asthma, so I avoid areas where people smoke. If I am unable to, I have to do throat clearing and light coughs to try to prevent a full fledged coughing spasm. Trust me, you'd rather have to hear that than a coughing spasm - which is very intrusive and impossible to ignore.

I understand that, but I've also seen people put on a show, even at WDW. They make it a point to walk by the smoking area, like they're hoping for the chance to confront somebody. Some people are just rabid over it.

 

[CheshireVal]

I'm sorry, but I really don't believe that any one person has encountered NUMEROUS smokers who like to intentionally blow smoke in non-smokers faces. The only way I can possibly see that happening is if the non-smoker is particularly rabid and rude and therefore probably deserves it. Or... maybe the non-smoker hangs out in too many places with ex-cons or other unsavory characters.

 

[DISUNC]

Did anyone from this Thread happen to see last nights 20/20 special, John Stossels "Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity"????

This issue was one of the subjects!

 

[cteddiesgirl]

I'm sorry, but I really don't believe that any one person has encountered NUMEROUS smokers who like to intentionally blow smoke in non-smokers faces. The only way I can possibly see that happening is if the non-smoker is particularly rabid and rude and therefore probably deserves it. Or... maybe the non-smoker hangs out in too many places with ex-cons or other unsavory characters.

Excuse me? You're calling me a liar?
You have no idea what I've been through. Not one single person here knows me irl or knows what's happened to me.
I don't hang out in smoking places. I usually avoid them because I can't stand to be around smoke and have allergies to it. The only place I have to hang out around is the public bus stop. And that's only because I have no choice. I'm never rude to people unless they are rude to me. Even when they light up in a non-smoking area such as the local mall.
Here's a count of the times it's happened:
During the baseball game that I described (early to mid 90's)
Inside the local mall after it went non-smoking and someone was protesting the new rule (mid to late 90's)
And yes, several times at the bus stop downtown waiting for my bus to go home. (since the late 90's)

You people trying to call people liars need to check yourselves. You believe what you want, but do not come on here and publicly call me a liar. I have been on here for a while and and have never been so rudely treated just because of my opinion and my statements. You can argue points with me. But never go around telling people that they've never had happen what they say they've had happen. Do you believe people when they say they've had an accident on one of Disney's rides? Generally you do even though that kind of thing doesn't happen often and you may have not had it happen to you. So why is what so different about what I say? Just because YOU don't agree with my opinions, I'm instantly branded a liar.
You may find what I say hard to believe because you've never had it happen to you and you don't look for it. I don't look to see if people are blowing smoke in people's faces.
All I know is that I've had it happen on several occasions in my life. I'm not talking about just within the last year or two. And no, there is no way to prove something like that.
So go on believing whatever you want. Just do not be calling me a liar.

 

[Planogirl]

The old smoking debate. Wow. Always amazes me.
So many intolerate non-smokers as well as "rude" smokers. They are everywhere. But there are a lot of considerate smokers (my DH) and tolerant non-smokers (me) out there. I guess I just don't get all the hate...against the smokers. We are posters on a Disney website, let's keep it friendly, don't verbally beat each other up!

ITA. There's always a handful of fanatics on both sides of the issue who make having a logical discussion about this just about impossible.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Technically, second hand smoke is murder.
Smoking in general is suicide.

I couldn't agree more!

As a side note-I feel everyone has the right to be intolerant of smoking and smokers. When your nasty habit hurts me or mine, I am justifiably intolerant.

 

[Planogirl]

Polite smokers keep their habit to themselves and in no way hurt anyone but themselves. The only question is the great outdoors which supposedly belongs to everyone. I don't smoke but have no problem with someone who smokes outdoors in certain areas.

As for calling smoking murder or suicide, that's not true IMO. Murder implies intent and I dispute that there's any intent.

 

[Honu]

For the life of me I don't understand why anyone would go out into public and do something they know will cause discomfort to others and just not care.

 

[VSL]

Smoking is suicide (for the smoker) and manslaughter (for the non-smokers around the smoker).

I'm not a smoker. I absolutely detest smoking.

And, I don't know if any other non/anti smokers agree with me (and my BF), but whenever I find out that someone smokes it somewhow lowers my opinion of them. I feel kind of letdown when I find out that someone I like/admire smokes. I don't necessarily dislike people just because they smoke, but I find myself thinking less of them because of it.

And it looks so sad and pathetic.

 

[vivilasvegas]

Smoking is suicide (for the smoker) and manslaughter (for the non-smokers around the smoker).

I'm not a smoker. I absolutely detest smoking.

And, I don't know if any other non/anti smokers agree with me (and my BF), but whenever I find out that someone smokes it somewhow lowers my opinion of them. I feel kind of letdown when I find out that someone I like/admire smokes. I don't necessarily dislike people just because they smoke, but I find myself thinking less of them because of it.

And it looks so sad and pathetic.

Your post is sad and pathetic, and insulting, and rude, and.....

I don't smoke anymore, and I would never be friends with someone like you.
You come across as very judgemental and full of yourself.

Do you think less of people who can't control their eating also? Does it look "sad and pathetic" to you?

I'm sick to death of these posts. It's an addiction, and some of you are so thick-headed you can't seem to get that. Most people start smoking when they are younger and don't care about the warnings, by the time they start to pay attention to that, it's too late, they are addicted.
Oh, that's right, I forgot, they just purposely want to kill people.

And for those who can't believe there are rude anti-smokers, read the last two posts above mine.

Right now, I miss smoking.

And by the way, eating crap is suicide also. No exercise is suicide also. Reckless driving is suicide also.

 

[TCPluto]

I avoid places that have cats.

So...Should we pass a law to ban cats, since I and many others out there could have drastic health problems if exposed to them?

Oh, but smoking is somehow "different", right?

In short...it's your health problem, so you need to deal with it. I'd hardly say it is "considerate" to try to force everyone around you to change their life just so that you don't have to change yours.

Sorry...JMHO.

Your cat analogy makes absolutely no sense in the present arguement over smoking.

Unless these cats are wandering around in public restaurants, bars, WDW, etc., you simply don't put yourself in the position to come into contact with them (the cats). Your mother inlaws house is not a public place.

Yes, smoking is different, no question.

 

[TCPluto]

Your post is sad and pathetic, and insulting, and rude, and.....

That's a little extreme, isn't it?

I didn' get this out of that post....

 

[vivilasvegas]

That's a little extreme, isn't it?

I didn' get this out of that post....

Well I did, funny how that is....is that the only part you read?

 

[VSL]

Your post is sad and pathetic, and insulting, and rude, and.....

I don't smoke anymore, and I would never be friends with someone like you.
You come across as very judgemental and full of yourself.

Do you think less of people who can't control their eating also? Does it look "sad and pathetic" to you?

I'm sick to death of these posts. It's an addiction, and some of you are so thick-headed you can't seem to get that. Most people start smoking when they are younger and don't care about the warnings, by the time they start to pay attention to that, it's too late, they are addicted.
Oh, that's right, I forgot, they just purposely want to kill people.

And for those who can't believe there are rude anti-smokers, read the last two posts above mine.

Right now, I miss smoking.

And by the way, eating crap is suicide also. No exercise is suicide also. Reckless driving is suicide also.

Actually, I myself have disordered eating - and yeah, it is a part of me that I see as sad and pathetic. And I agree that it is up there with smoking as suicide.

Yes, my respect/opinion of someone is lessened when I find out they are a smoker. I feel that it is a disgusting habit. As is my disordered eating.

I meant to add to my post - I really don't care if you smoke. Really - go ahead, kill yourself. I really do not care in the least. And I won't give you all the 'scare' that you already know. But don't endanger my health in the process.

So it's an addiction. So what? Does that mean that they are doomed forever? No. EVERY TIME that person lights up they are making the decision to feed their addiction - to stay addicted. Don't get me wrong, I imagine that it is really d$%^ hard to break it, but it can be done.

WHO on this thread said that smokers 'purposely want to kill people'?

(I'd also love to know how I'm being 'full of myself' - I've admitted a small number of my own faults on this post, I know I'm not perfect)