Personal Freedoms and Second Hand SmokeFollow

Yep, that guy rules.

Edited, Sep 16th 2006 at 9:59am EDT by Tare

What a ****.

Sorry to bump it again, but this:



...deserved to be seen!

Ok, I know that I'm a little late in reading this; however as a parent and an asthmatic, and unfortunately a resident of California >.< I have a slightly different perspective.



This new bill and law is for the small children. This means those that are under the age of 6 and weigh less than 60-lbs. The effects of second hand smoke on a child are devistating!

Yes, CA has laws banning smoking in restraunts, bars, all public buildings, 15-20' around the entrance to any public building, taxis, mass-transit, etc. Is this a little much? Maybe. However I have yet to see a police officer give someone a ticket for standing too close to a door way to a public shop or other facility where the smoker is infringing upon the 15-20' distance that they must maintain. But California also has mulitple laws for air pollution that are not just state laws but also federal laws.

Now, yes in a way the smoking in a vehicle which is private property can be considered an invasion of privacy. But if an officer sees a car seat or child in your vehicle and sees you with a cigarette, he has probable cause. The officer most likely would have probable cause if he saw that your car had "hazy" windows. Current law for police officers is that if you are driving erratically they have probable cause to pull you over and to do a field sobriety test. If they pull you over for speeding and notice a peculiar smell eminating from your car they have cause to investigate. And they easily get you to agree that they can look in you vehicle by asking the simple question of "Can I take a look in your car?" The only requirement that is made of an officer is that if he/she suspects that the smell is from an illegal substance they are to radio in for assistance with the request of a dog.

But the main factor that I see behind this bill is a movement by the Health Care Organizations. They have gotten tired of seeing a large influx of young children coming into the emergency rooms who can not breathe easily. The first thing that is done to a child when they are brought into an ER for this is for them to exhale into a machine thru a flowmetre (which measures their lung capacity) and for them to be hooked up to an O2 saturation machine (finger clip that checks just how much oxygen you are actually getting each time you take a breath). Most children are not born with asthma it is something that they develop due to their environs. Hospital officials and lawmakers both know from research that 1 in 4 urban children will develop asthma and that cigarette smoke is the leading factor to its development.

But if you thing about this bill in a differnt light of that by choosing not to smoke around your children you are ensuring that they have a better chance of surviving you. That you will be helping to keep hospital insurance costs down because you will be decreasing the number of office visits for smoking related causes, etc.

Some common triggers for Athma include:

* Colds
* Molds and fungi
* Pollens (from trees, grasses, weeds)
* Dust and dust mites
* Furry or feathered pets (e.g., cats, dogs, birds)
* Cockroaches
* Exercise (e.g., running)
* Cigarette smoke and air pollution
* Strong smells (e.g., exhaust fumes, perfumes, cleaning products)
* Changes in weather
* Foods such as nuts, shrimp, and those containing sulfites
* Medicines that may cause an allergic reaction such as aspirin or ibuprofen

As I said to begin with I am an asthmatic. For me, it is triggered by pollens, cigarette smoke, and strong smells.

I try to avoid being in places where people congregate to have their quick nicotine fix. If I can't avoid the area I try to hold my breath as long as I can while quickly moving thru the area. But there is nothing that can be done if you work in a cubical and one of your office mates thinks that it's a good idea to douse themselves in parfume after every cigarette break because they can't smell just how much they already have on. Now if only there was a bill to stop those girls at the parfume counter from trying to spray you with that stuff as you walk by.

Personally, I don't have a problem with someone wanting to smoke. It's their health that they are degrading. I do have a problem if they insist upon having that smoke and continuously blow their foul smoke in my direction. As a parent of two young boys, my husband and I have discussed what smoking does to the body and how it can and would affect them. (They are 8 and 5 yrs. old.) Since both of my boys love sports and they are really rather attentive to seemingly everything, I don't have a problem explaining this type of stuff to them. Even if I do have to go into massive detail and explain it several times. For some reason the, "It's bad for you, and not something that I would want you to do." explaination doesn't work with them.

In the case of vehicles, the best thing about a new car is that it smells CLEAN! If the car is smoked in the nicotine residue settles and lingers in the vehicle. And the only ways I know of to get rid of that smell is to steam clean the car from top to bottom or to just get a different car that hasn't been smoked in. That same smell or odor clings to the clothing of people who smoke or who are around it. It is also secreted by the smoker, second-hand smoker as well, when they sweat as their body is trying to detoxify itself.

As adults, we have the right to make certain decisions that affect our health and well being. As children we generally didn't have the ability to make those decisions for ourselves. As a parent I'd like my kids to be kids for as long as they can and not have to worry about these types of things. But I am also not one to side-step around the issue when they come to me asking questions.

How the FUCK does a cockroach cause asthma?

Edited, Nov 28th 2006 10:04pm by Rimesume

You ever try to breath with a lung full of cockroaches?

How'sbout I define "****"?