Smoking

[bobthedj]

I am a heavy smoker and i think the best thing that could happen for me is smoking to be banned in all public places this might sound selfish but not as selfish as i'v have been affecting none smoking peoples rights for clean air for years. What do you think?

[WillowTheWhisp]

I admire your attitude.

Do you feel that banning smoking in public will help you to cut down or even stop?

As I said in the previous thread on this subject I do not object to people having the right to smoke. I only object to having no option but to breathe in their second hand smoke when I have never smoked and never wanted to.

Thank you for understanding that we have a right to clean air.

[vorlon24]

If bob's a heavy smoker, it might help him cut down, but I can't see him stopping immediately.

Unless he lives in a public place, of course...

I gave up smoking 4 years ago. I cut down first and then stopped completely a few days later

[bobthedj]

I am sure that banning smoking in public would cut down the habit and i am sure that i am not the only smoker that feels the way i do. I was the last idiot in the gang who didn't smoke and felt i was'nt part of it.

[Fearon1]

yep i agree

[-pixie]

I know that my friend who smokes, always says she doesn't smoke as much when she is around people who are not smoking. I suppose she just doesn't think about it as much.

[princesshales]

now i'm only 14 and i agree with you y should young children suffer. my dad smokes and i want im 2 stop and i think what u have said is brave of you and igree this would prob help others 2 stop if we stopped it in public places as some people only smoke because there mates smoke when they go out and think it makes them look big. well done and i think u have the guts 2 give it up

[Less]

Originally Posted by princesshales

now i'm only 14 and i agree with you y should young children suffer. my dad smokes and i want im 2 stop and i think what u have said is brave of you and igree this would prob help others 2 stop if we stopped it in public places as some people only smoke because there mates smoke when they go out and think it makes them look big. well done and i think u have the guts 2 give it up

Could you PLEASE not use this silly, telephone English, what you have to say is most important but why should people like me have to use some sort of translator?

[Acrylic-bob]

I couldn't agree more, Less.

It's not big and it's not clever. SMS-speak may be fine for tweenies, among themselves. But I object to having to have a translator handy to make sense of some of these posts.

[MUMMIBOO]

Well i have an opinion on this one, i am a smoker but im not a driver and i have to breath all the nasty gases from cars every day, a little test if i were to be in a room with a car running for half an hour and in a room full of tobacco smoke for half an hour which would do me the most harm?
Point made thank you.

[vorlon24]

Depends on how full it is with tobacco smoke.

Get a few people chain smoking and it can be quite uncomfortable.

[Fearon1]

well said less

[-pixie]

Originally Posted by MUMMIBOO

Well i have an opinion on this one, i am a smoker but im not a driver and i have to breath all the nasty gases from cars every day, a little test if i were to be in a room with a car running for half an hour and in a room full of tobacco smoke for half an hour which would do me the most harm?
Point made thank you.

So...just because its not *as* harmful, its ok then?

[Less]

Originally Posted by -pixie

So...just because its not *as* harmful, its ok then?

How much harm will be suffered when you finally throw that keyboard you are using away? It isn't bio-degradable but your perfectly happy to use it even though umpteen pollutants have been released into the atmosphere in it's production!

We ALL turn a blind eye to what we do that isn't friendly to nature, but we all expect others to behave!

[Acrylic-bob]

This from the BBC might be interesting...

Car exhausts contain a range of toxic substances that can have a serious impact on health. Once released into the air, these substances are breathed in and transported in the bloodstream to all the body's major organs.
Potentially dangerous vehicle emissions include:

• Carbon monoxide
• Nitrogen dioxide
• Sulphur dioxide
• Benzene
• Formaldehyde
• Polycyclic hydrocarbons
• Lead
• Tiny suspended particles

It is estimated that air pollution - of which vehicle emissions are the major contributor - is responsible for 24,000 premature deaths in the UK every year. Many of these deaths are due to asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory diseases - all of which are known to be aggravated by exposure to car fumes.

A Dutch study, published in March, of 632 children aged 7 to 11 years found that respiratory disorders worsened as air pollution increased.

Impact on blood

Many pollutants produce harmful effects on the blood and the coronary system. Researchers estimate that one in every 50 heart attacks in London are triggered by air pollution.

Lead, for instance, interferes with the normal formation of red blood cells by inhibiting important enzymes. It also damaged red blood cell membrances and interferes with cell metabolism in a way that shortens the survival of each individual cell. This can lead to anaemia - a shortage of blood cells - which can reduce the body's ability to circulate oxygen and vital nutrients.

Benzene has a suppressive effect on bone marrow and impairs the development of red blood cells. Exposure to the chemical may result in a diminished number of blood cells - cytopenia - or total bone marrow loss.

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is similar to suffocation. CO binds to the haemoglobin contained in red blood cells 200 times more effectively than oxygen, and so can dramatically reduce the ability of the cells to transport and release oxygen to the tissues of the body.

Toxic chemicals may also stimulate the immune system to attack the body's own tissues, particularly the cells that line human blood vessels.

The damage is initially slight, but it can build up with repetitive exposure to toxic substances and eventually lead to blockage of the blood vessels, increasing the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.

Central nervous system

Research has shown that exposure to lead can lead to behavioural changes. It can also impair mental function, causing problems with learning and memory.

German research suggests that the impact of lead on the central nervous system may grow with advancing age. The immune system appears to be particularly vulnerable to the effects of pollution.

Substances such as benzene, nitrogen dioxide and small particulate matter interact with the immune system and may cause changes, ranging from overactive immune responses to immunosuppression.

Cause of cancer

Long-term exposure to Benzene has been shown to be linked to leukaemia. It is also thought that the harmful impact that the chemical can have on the immune system may lower the body's defence against tumours. Polycyclic hydrocarbons are also thought to be carcinogenic.

Several of these compounds have caused tumours in laboratory animals when they ate them, when they were applied to their skin, or when they breathed them in the air for long periods of time. Studies in animals have also shown that polycyclic hydrocarbons can cause harmful effects on the skin and on body fluids.

(Source: BBC News)