Self-righteous protectionist measures only separate us to the point of redundancy.

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Latest Hot Co-op Topic: Secondhand Smoke

Submitted by lilyofthevalley, Feb 18, 2008 02:24

1. Purportedly, smoking and the second hand smoking that results from said smoking kills. So does the exhaust from motor vehicles, certain heating units (i.e. furnaces), manufacturing plants, and on and on. And, like it or not, those same fumes permeate homes everyday, to varying degrees. Many of them are odorless, but they also contribute in an accumulative way to our health's detriment over time. Yet I don't see as much of an outcry to completely eliminate or forbid them in the same way I am seeing smokers attacked in recent years.

2. I used to have the occasional bad luck of having a woman sit near me in the subway who wore a type of perfume that would, within minutes, trigger an asthma attack for me--often before I could move away from her on a very packed subway car in the hope that it would help. Should she be forbidden to wear that perfume? We now have schools that forbid children to bring peanut products to school for fear it will trigger attacks on students with severe peanut allergies. Why stop just at schools? You thought it was ok to ban people cooking fish if you could smell it, right? How about finding out that you can no longer have peanut products in your home because two people lobbied your building to have them forbidden because the very scent of them could kill them? Those kids are going to grow up into your potential neighbors at some point if their allergies don't kill them first.

How many more invasive measures will be taken over time to ensure that there is zero chance of harm being given to another? Where does it end?

There will always be circumstances where someone feels they are being wronged or even harmed. It is no different in health matters. I am still waiting for the day when someone takes all the landscapers to task for all the dust and debris they blow up while doing their work. Being that we're getting so hypersensitized to health, and how to live a perfectly healthful life, I'm sure one day it will finally come down to things like that, like outlawing perfume, like banning peanuts from even being grown. If it could hurt someone, some where, it should be made illegal, right? Because this is the direction that we're heading.

They tried this once in America--prohibition. It didn't work out. And now, an awful lot of people are still killed or harmed each year as a direct result of drinking. Harm to both the drinker and those around them, whether by drunk driving, abuse, etc. Amazingly, little has been done in that regard other than to punish those caught in the act, so to speak.

I sincerely hope that we will never see the day when where we reside is based on a very long laundry list of what it is that makes us who we are. But, sadly, I see just that happening, gradually, and with more and more intusive and self-righteous backing.

Which battles are really worth fighting for? Those of our own selfish interests? Those made in the name of the children? Which?

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Other reader comments on this article

Comment	By	Date
Smoke from my neighbors unit is making my family sick. I do not want to infringe on my neighbor's right... [MORE]	Travis	Mar 9, 2008 17:02
As a non-smoker, it is repulsive to smell cigerette smoke. Before the ban, I went to a bar in NJ... [MORE]	Sue	Feb 19, 2008 16:33
1. Purportedly, smoking and the second hand smoking that results from said smoking kills. So does the exhaust from motor...	lilyofthevalley	Feb 18, 2008 02:24
i wonder if any surveys have been done to see how high the demand for this would be. shouldn't these... [MORE]	mjg	Feb 14, 2008 12:37
I am not a doctor or toxicologist, so I cannot comment on the health effects of second hand smoke (although... [MORE]	Dave	Jan 2, 2008 16:51
I understand all the complaints about SHS. But I have to wonder what is the recourse against horrible air pollution... [MORE]	BklynGal305	Feb 14, 2008 18:16
BblynGal305 As you point out, we are weighing interests. A family's interest in eating rotten cabbage vs. your sister's interest in... [MORE]	Travis	Mar 9, 2008 17:38
Benjamin's problem is that he paid too much for a cheaply-constructed condo, like so many other New Yorkers over the... [MORE]	Mike	Dec 14, 2007 10:47
Mike is wrong here. I lived in a 3 family house with a smoker in the basement. The stench permeated... [MORE]	L Yeostros	Jan 8, 2008 10:03
That's why there has been a carefully cultivated and pervasive atmousphere of "chicken little" when it comes to second hand... [MORE]	MsProgressive	Dec 11, 2007 12:51
Superb post - Accurate and to the point, I agree fatties are next, intolerance is a hateful thing. I have... [MORE]	Vinnysmad	Dec 12, 2007 09:31
Whether you choose to believe 2nd hand smoke is dangerous (a myth like evolution and global warming, perhaps?) IT STILL... [MORE]	culprit	Dec 13, 2007 21:06
Culprit - I have a neighbor who uses plug-in air fresheners and burns potpourri candles, which 'scents' permeate the hallways... [MORE]	MsProgressive	Dec 14, 2007 09:29
Secondhand smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, over 60 of which cause cancer. Cigarette smoke does not respect boundaries and invades... [MORE]	Terra L. House	Dec 10, 2007 12:10
Oh Terra here we go again- the usual stuff being spouted by antismokers. Was the ex-Surgeon General's Reports ever based... [MORE]	Pablo	Dec 10, 2007 19:16
I am very pleased that the press is finally starting to focus on the health hazard of secondhand smoke that... [MORE]	bythebay	Dec 12, 2007 01:47
My husband and I were forced to move from a condo because I have asthma and the people below us... [MORE]	Jacque Petterson	Dec 9, 2007 21:50
I used to have sympathy for all the smokers that can no longer smoke just about anywhere they go..of course... [MORE]	Mark	Jan 6, 2008 00:43
I live in a rent stabalized building in Brooklyn. A new neighbor moved in next to me and the stench... [MORE]	M	Feb 15, 2008 16:41
It sounds like the trial lawyers are still at it, planting articles such as this. Mr. Zitomer should move if... [MORE]	Rus Mueller	Dec 6, 2007 20:39
Dear EDITORS, It was good no fire (was) present, as people start warming up their fireplaces to welcome SANTA. Albany's recent law... [MORE]	Shih-Ming Laura Yeh	Dec 6, 2007 18:29
Thanks for this very interesting and timely article. I have a related concern. My apartment windows are directly in line... [MORE]	Marcia Lawther	Dec 6, 2007 16:17
I believe secondhand smoke is an act of disrespect. The mentally of someone smoking around nonsmokers is simply of an... [MORE]	Mystique Till	Dec 6, 2007 13:43
Perhaps Mystique do your homework- the largest study on Second Hand Smoke presented in 2003 by Enstrom and Kabat showed... [MORE]	Pablo	Dec 10, 2007 19:08
It's truly remarkable to see some posts denying the harmful affects of secondhand smoke. The head in the sand approach... [MORE]	dan	Dec 11, 2007 14:22
I'm not a smoker that blows smoke in anyones face, but I resent being treated like a 2nd class citizen... [MORE]	RS Bissell	Dec 12, 2007 10:35
Mr Bissell My bad habits don't expose complete strangers to carcinogens. And as for you paying taxes on the death sticks,... [MORE]	dan	Dec 13, 2007 13:36
Consider this. It is a smokers right to choose to smoke. It is a non smokers right to choose... [MORE]	Tim Breneman	Jan 7, 2008 13:45

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