Mostly a "feel good" type of law - enforcement will be spotty at best. Lots of people will see it as an infringement of their 'right' to smoke in their own home/car.
I want to see a global ban on cell phone use (non-emergency!) in the car while driving. Another hard one to enforce!
Not here! take seat belts, you won`t get across town with out one on here. Cell phone? same thing, you can get away with it, but it won`t be long and you`ll get whacked hard. Text msging is my pet hate, you look in the mirror at the traffic lights and the pretty young thing behind you has her eyes down into her lap, you know she`s sending a text..
A lot of the times, ` rights` don`t count for much here. Well, maybe not a lot, but some of the time. I`ve known a lot of people, couples who both smoke and hey oh, thier kid or kids have asthma, you say` jeez man, you think its a good idea to smoke around them, especially in the car? you `ll get ` oh, it doesnt make any difference, or ` I`ll do what I want`
South Australia has just passed a law where a $75 on the spot fine can be issued for smoking in a car with kids under 16.
Here in Colorado, a Condo Complex HOA Passed a covenant banning people from smoking in their condo or on/around the property. It was taken to court and the court upheld the HHA Covenant.
I hate smoke from cigarettes. I am glad that a law was passed here keeping it out of public restaurants/buildings.
I am kind of up in the air, though, regarding this newest deal of banning it from a condo complex. I don't know what to think of it. I hate cigarette smoke, but I can't help to think what else they may want to ban because of this covenant being upheld. Are they going to ban guns from being in a Condo because there are small children in the adjacent condos or because people think they are scary?
Here is a link to the story in our Rocky Mountain News paper:
I think it is a great idea. A child shouldn't be forced to breathe cigarette smoke. I spent my childhood suffering with asthma which was made much worse because both my folks smoked like chimneys. Back then the danger wasn't quite as well understood.
When the powers that be realize "ohhh, cigarette smoke smells so bad" is a valid excuse to ban one personal right, they'll thing "ohhh, black powder guns smell so bad when you clean them". Then, say adios to your BP Revolver, Muzzleloaders, and the like.
When rights are revoked without good reason, it opens the door for all rights to be revoked without good reason.
__________________ Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself – Twain.
So, we`ll only ban people from firing black powder guns in cars. Pretty silly arguement, if something has been proven to cause medical issues, not just stink, then are we only looking out for kids interests? A kid can`t say, screw you and ya smoke old man, and get out can he/she?
Johnny, I assume by "medical issues" you are referring to lung cancer, asthma, emphysema, among others. How many of these illnesses can be attributed to second hand smoke, and how many can be attributed to a genetic predisposition to those illnesses?
If second hand smoke were as deadly as everyone claims, I would have dropped dead 20 years ago. At current, I've been an everyday smoker for the past 9 years, and on my worst day I can win a 500 yard footrace against anyone who is not a track star.
Smoking is the easiest habit to blame every illness on, just because is it a common habit. If there were legitimate proof that smoking is 1/10th as bad as any of the anti smokers claim, it would be outlawed around the world.
My great aunt and great uncle are an example of what I am talking about. Each were the same age, and both started smoking at age 13, Almost 80 years later, my great uncle passed away of a stroke. Two months later, my great aunt commited suicide. Neither had any documented smoking related illnesses, no cancer, no asthma, nothing. Up to age 87, Ronald (great uncle) walked the 75 yards to the mailbox.
In this situation, both should have died long before they did. Because not only was he getting his own smoke, he was getting her second hand smoke, and the same for her, her smoke, plus the second hand from him.
I guess I'll believe that smoking kills or even moderately harms when it does it to me. I expect a very long doubt in the killing power of cigarettes.
__________________ Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself – Twain.
Okay, predesposed to aquiring a condition such as asthma, would it not be increased if the childs parents smoke, and therefore smoke in a confined space such as a car?. I had asthma as a child, had it quite badly I might add. No one had a history of in my family before hand. My father smoked heavily and in those days wouldnt have thought twice about it in the car with me or my brothers or sisters in the car. He`d have done if he KNEW it was harmfull to us anyway, sorta tool he is.
I used to get car sick, lots of kids I knew did too, funny how its almost unheard of now that less people smoke at all, let alone in the car. My grandmother smoked till she was in her late 70`s, said if it was going to kill her it`d better hurry up, or something else would. There is plenty of people who have smoked and lived to a great age, you can say that about any drug really. Some people will live on no matter what, perhaps you`re that type mate, good luck if you are!
I can`t beleive all the reports that smoking is harmfull, or even potentially harmfull, are fabricated. I know how much better I feel after 3 years not smoking. I will say, that there is a big push on here to give smoking the heave ho. there are slogans and songs ` no body smokes here, anymore` popular opinion coupled with the tremendous cost of cigarettes here have seen to that.
We have a very good public health system, but it has been historically dragged down with people with self inflicted illnesses, such as smoking related conditions. Also, the government reaps a HUGE ( 70% or more of the price of a pack of cigs is excise and tax ) maybe the cost of less people smoking will offset this I dunno.
If people want to smoke, thats not my concern. however if people smoke around their kids without a second thought that its harming them and its proven that it is harming them, then I see no rights lost in legislating against the practice. I can`t see that we have the right to make kids sick.
Nor can I see that it would be a huge victory to the anti`s, there`d be plenty of gun owners who agree that smoking aorund kids in a confined space, which is what this was all about, is wrong.
Well RR, consider yourself lucky but keep your will and your kids health ins. updated. For a period of about 2 yrs. I got to go to the emergency room almost every month where I got to drink a foul-tasting, neon green liquid and then breath into a machine for 1\2 hr. or so to clear the mucus from my lungs. It took changing doctors to figure out that it occurred every time I went to my aunt's house, which was about an hour drive, with both of my folks smoking in the car. FWIW my dad died @ 68 and my mom died @ 70-both of cancer. My mother also had 4 heart-attacks that the docs. directly linked to her smoking.
As long as I can remember, my mom was a bit "stout", prob. around 180-190 lbs. Before she died, she had dropped to under 90 lbs, and would cry in the hospice because she couldn't smoke. If you think this some kind of conspiracy then you are just fooling yourself. Think of it this way, we all hate people acting stupid with guns, which we all enjoy, because they might hurt or kill someone. You obviously enjoy your habit but when you die 20 yrs. early, or one of your kids develops breathing probs., guess what, YOU are "hurting or killing" someone.
Your "worst days" are going to get worse over the years, RR
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rookie_Rover
Johnny, I assume by "medical issues" you are referring to lung cancer, asthma, emphysema, among others. How many of these illnesses can be attributed to second hand smoke, and how many can be attributed to a genetic predisposition to those illnesses?
If second hand smoke were as deadly as everyone claims, I would have dropped dead 20 years ago. At current, I've been an everyday smoker for the past 9 years, and on my worst day I can win a 500 yard footrace against anyone who is not a track star.
Smoking is the easiest habit to blame every illness on, just because is it a common habit. If there were legitimate proof that smoking is 1/10th as bad as any of the anti smokers claim, it would be outlawed around the world.
My great aunt and great uncle are an example of what I am talking about. Each were the same age, and both started smoking at age 13, Almost 80 years later, my great uncle passed away of a stroke. Two months later, my great aunt commited suicide. Neither had any documented smoking related illnesses, no cancer, no asthma, nothing. Up to age 87, Ronald (great uncle) walked the 75 yards to the mailbox.
In this situation, both should have died long before they did. Because not only was he getting his own smoke, he was getting her second hand smoke, and the same for her, her smoke, plus the second hand from him.
I guess I'll believe that smoking kills or even moderately harms when it does it to me. I expect a very long doubt in the killing power of cigarettes.
They're already worse than you think. You claim you can outrun anyone who's not a track star in a 500 yard race, but I'm highly skeptical. I used to smoke, and I felt a huge difference when I quit.
You can always throw up individual instances of someone who beats the odds. It's called anecdotal evidence, and it doesn't prove the odds aren't there. No one has claimed that everyone who smokes will die a horrible death. But they have a lot higher chance of doing so.
Just a little common sense should tell you breathing smoke instead of clean air for hours every day of your life can't be good for you, and it's probably doing damage.
My wife used to smoke in the car. She'd crack a window and turn on the outside air of the AC or heater, but it still bothered me. I put up with it. But as soon as the kids got old enough to talk, they complained non-stop until she quit doing it. Good for them.
My deceased father in law smoked Camel non filters for over 50 years thinking they weren't harming him. For the last 10 years of his life he suffered terribly from emphysema. He knew he should quit smoking, and tried several times, but couldn't because nicotine had him hooked. Even on his deathbead in the hospital he begged us for cigarettes while oxygen was being administered to him.
I cannot understand how anybody who witnesses such as terrible painful death could continue to smoke and claim there are no problems with smoking.
FYI...I smoked 1/2 a pack of cigarettes a day from 1956-1964 but quit cold turkey. Best health move I've ever done and only hope it wasn't too late.
My response to the assertion that it doesn't hurt anyone is that we can respectfully disagree and breathe according to our choices. The problem comes when someone insists on smoking in a circumstance where someone else has to breathe it against their will.
There are many smokers who are more considerate of others, but far too many are so wired through the addiction that the thought of them violating someone elses airspace by smoking in an enclosed area with them does not compute.
Addiction is slavery and like other kinds of slavery once it takes control of your actions it forces your world views to change to accomodate it because to break it would require a difficult, deep, comprehensive change of life.
Chemical addictions, while harder to break due to their physical nature can also be faced more directly and clearly due to that same physical nature. Other addictions can be rather sneaky, like ego, entertainment, materialism, and sexuality, since the addiction is a misuse of something that is a good and even necessary thing. Ie believing only what entertains you, aquiring materials irresponsibly, and seeking sexual satisfaction in a way dishonoring to yourself and others.
Far as the law goes, I do think it's wrong to smoke in an enclosed area with a child, but I'm not so sure a government exercising that kind of control would be any better. This is one example though where if people don't make good choices independently of government, things all go to heck.
One thing though that is absolute hogwash - the idea that no one knew the dangers of smoking until mid this century. I can go back hundreds of years to find writings observing the exact same things about tobacco that we know today. Perhaps not the details of cancer, but a heck of a lot.
__________________
Trust is earned, not... GIVEN away. - Worf
