First, I would like to start off with some real statistics that affect our daily lives. These statistics have been found from multiple sources.
- When someone smokes a cigarette, only about half of the cigarette is actually being smoked by the person, and the other half is, well, going into the air around them (i.e. the air we are breathing in).
- The correct term for secondhand smoke is 'environmental tobacco smoke', or ETS, and this causes more than 3,000 non-smokers to die from lung cancer.
- Continual exposure to ETS has been known to double to risk of a heart attack.
- Secondhand smoke, even in small amounts, can be dangerous to one's health.
- The adults who smoke has decreased by almost 20% since 1965.
So, the next time you step into a restaurant, and the hostess asks you, "Smoking or Non," think before you say "First Available Please." Here are some more facts about smoking.
Now I would like to turn over to a recent issue in California about banning public smoking in apartment complexes and condominiums. Last week, the legislature in two cities in California, Belmont and Calabasas, decided to vote on the issue of smoking in rented areas. The smokers are of course concerned with how they are going to be able to smoke if the place they live in is completely smoke-free. Read what some people have to say about this CA issue. According to USAToday, the apartments may have designated areas in the buildings in which the smokers can smoke, but the main purpose of this proposal is to keep the non-smokers still non-smokers. You can find out more about this story here.
I believe it is a good idea to make apartments and condos smoke-free especially if the tenants do not own their individual complex. What would happen when the next family comes to move in, and all the furniture smells musty and of smoke? Some people are arguing and that is where they live and they pay to live there, and that they are being denied their rights. I say no. If these people want to be able to smoke and can afford to live in an apartment complex where they can smoke and leave everything smelling like smoke, they can walk outside to a designated area, probably about 50 feet outside of their door, and light a cigarette. Smokers, is it really that hard to walk outside for five minutes if your body is craving that measly cigarette?
2 comments:
I personally can not stand the smell of smoke and I think we should follow suit of some of the other states that have banned smoking in public places. It is not fair that people who choose to smoke, knowing the damage it causes to their lungs, not only effects their body, but it also effects the people who make the choice not to smoke to protect themselves from lung cancer. Secondhand smoke is a huge deal and i can't believe it is the cause of over 3,000 non-smokers deaths from lung cancer. Is that statistic annual? Tobacco companies say that there is no research to prove that smoking causes cancer. Unfortunately they are right because scientists can not conduct an experiment to see whether or not cancer is caused by smoking simply because it is unethical. The means wouldn't justify the end. It is quite obvious that smoking is not a healthy habit just from the symptoms it causes in smokers like increased heart rate and blood pressure and shortened breath since it cuts off oxygen flow to muscles, the brain, and tissue. But how do scientists prove that smoking causes cancer if there are no experiments done to confirm these results? How do they make this relationship? In order to educate people in making the right decision about smoking, it is vital that they understand these relationships.
Krista, the 3,000 non-smoker deaths is annual and it is a serious issue. Smoking health effects should be shown in school because it would help people see what they might end up like if they chose to smoke. Sometimes people can't quit smoking and it causes cancer in many areas such as the lungs and heart. The reason scientists can't prove that smoking causes cancer is because they can't just isolate someone in the laboratory and expose them to secondhand smoke for 20 years and then see how they turn out. There are so many other conditions in the atmosphere that can cause cancer such as exhaust fumes from cars and the sun, it is hard to tell where the cancer is really coming from. I will address your questions in one of my future posts. Thank you for the questions!
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