23
Smokers: Step Away from the Building!
13 Comments | Posted by gimme-five in Health, Politics
One thing that I have not been able to get over is the smell of tobacco. I absolutely hate it. When I am walking somewhere and have to go by someone who is smoking, I will deliberately go out of my way so I don’t have to breathe in the smoke. I know it’s a little “extreme” to do this, but I really, really do not like cigarette smoke.
It makes your breath stink. It makes your clothes stink. It makes your hair stink. It makes anything you’re carrying stink. And it makes everyone around you stink. Furthermore, it kills you. And it kills your friends. There is absolutely nothing good about tobacco.
I have friends who smoke. My boss and some of my co-workers smoke. They are really great people, I don’t want to make it look like I hate smokers. I don’t hate smokers, I hate smoke!
Ok, that’s enough prefacing of this article. One of the problems I have with smoking is that often, smokers will step outside a building to smoke, but stand only a few feet away from the door to that building, so that when anyone opens the door, all of the smoke rushes right in and it’s just as if they were smoking inside the building. Futhermore, anyone who is trying to enter the building has to walk by all the smoke and breathe it in and it’s just unpleasant. Thus, it would be great if smokers could stand a good 15-20 feet away from a building while smoking. That would make life much more pleasant for everyone.
I guess this article isn’t very controversial, but maybe somebody will get angry and leave a reply. People tend to be really angry when they know they’re in the wrong.
13 Comments for Smokers: Step Away from the Building!
Dick in Hand | March 23, 2006 at 3:35 pm
Ben | March 23, 2006 at 5:38 pm
They already go outside. Now you want them to stay 15-20 feet from the building too? So they can smoke…in the middle of oncoming traffic?
You should avoid coming to Europe. I feel like smoking is much more prevalent here. It’s pretty much unavoidable, and you just learn to live with it. I find that unless the smoke’s not pointed straight at me, you can get used to ignoring it. And I figure, since most public places are either smoke-free or have small designated smoking areas, it’s enough that they step outside for a cigarette.
Author comment by george | March 23, 2006 at 11:59 pm
I think it’s tough to learn to live with something that actually has a pretty solid chance of killing you as a secondhand smoke breather.
Ben | March 24, 2006 at 9:46 am
George…how likely are you to die from second-hand smoke from WALKING BY? It’s not as though you live with a smoker and have to breathe it regularly.
Author comment by george | March 24, 2006 at 12:44 pm
It doesn’t matter. It’s still a much larger impact on your health (occasionally walking by smokers once or twice a day such as on campus) than you think. Of course it’s worse living with someone, but there are plenty of people who die from secondhand smoke that were never anywhere near smokers throughout their lives.
Joel | March 25, 2006 at 3:53 pm
I’m gonna say driving through rush hour traffic will probably have a greater impact on your lungs then occasionally walking by Tucker
Author comment by george | March 25, 2006 at 5:19 pm
I don’t know whether or not that’s true, it very likely may be, however, that still doesn’t give smokers the right to hurt others.
Shaniqua | March 27, 2006 at 10:45 am
Futhermore, anyone who is trying to enter the building has to walk by all the smoke and breathe it in and it’s just unpleasant. Thus, it would be great if smokers could stand a good 15-20 feet away from a building while smoking. That would make life much more pleasant for everyone.
I guess this article isn’t very controversial, but maybe somebody will get angry and leave a reply. People tend to be really angry when they know they’re in the wrong.
How’s this: I get angry by white-bred preppies that posture about walking through a small amount of personal pollution but seem not to be all that concerned about global warming or corporate polluters as long as it adds to the bottom line this quarter. The foremost thing on the mind is if the stock is a candidate for shorting.
Walking through smoke is unpleasant, but not nearly as bad as having to work in a smoke environment for 20 years as a non-smoker and many had no choice on that. My point is that this seems to be an aesthetic issue since I doubt that you’re gonna get cancer from walking through secondhand smoke on an infrequent basis. And that’s what we’re concerned about — aesthetics — rather than survival of the ecosystem (and the economic ecosystem) due to climate changes…
Don’t get out and contribute to Greenpeace or WWF, don’t write your congressman, don’t make climate awareness your personal survival goal, don’t vote based on survival but instead vote on litmus planks. And by all means, write the next aesthetic piece on the guy next to you that uses too much cheap cologne. Stetson? That s*it is nasty. It has to be said.
Dick in Hand | March 29, 2006 at 1:51 am
I believe CA forbids smoking in bars and restaurants to protect workers safety from carcinogens.
For a second there I got a little confused why someone should contribute to the WWF to help Hulk Hogan, Superfly Snuka, Paul Orndorff or Rowdy Roddy Piper.
Author comment by george | March 29, 2006 at 8:19 am
Shaniqua, are you accusing me of not caring about the environment… because I’m definitely an environmentalist?
Sure, there are bigger issues out there, but why not take care of this one too?
Shaniqua | March 30, 2006 at 8:12 pm
For a second there I got a little confused why someone should contribute to the WWF to help Hulk Hogan, Superfly Snuka, Paul Orndorff or Rowdy Roddy Piper.
http://www.owow.com/RingsideWith/LindaMiles-Shaniqua/index.htm
I gots a vested interest in the WWF, dat why!
jon h | April 8, 2006 at 3:18 pm
Yep… i agree with shaniqua on this one george…
Just because it is a popular issue doesnt mean it is reasonable issue.
Yes, living in a house where somebody is smoking all of the time is unreasonable.
Here are some examples from my risk analysis class.
All of these will increase your chance of death by .000001 in each yr
smoking 1.4 cigarettes
drinking .5 liters of wine
spending an hour in a coal mine
traveling 6 minutes by canoe
if you want to be worried…there are a gazillion things to worry about. random contaminants in drinking water, preservatives in food, walking near the tailpipe of the bus, and forget about driving anywhere. Sure there are alot of things that people don’t like, and i guess it is your right to whine about it…
You may want to move to Calabasas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/national/19smoke.html