I used to play chess in a park. People would sit down and watch the games and light up a cigarette and blow the smoke in my face. And they couldn't understand why I got mad! Now we have formed a chess club in the public library and in Mayor Bloomberg's libraries smoking is verbooten and I say thank you Bloomberg. I'm not your fan, would never vote for you but at least you saved me from a disgusting cancer causing gas attack. I believe there should be a death penalty for anyone who smokes. Even if they smoke in their own house, they are doing harm to their family members. Normally I am against the death penalty but they're going to die anyway from their obnoxious weed so why not give me the pleasure of watching them hang?
Really? Frank124c I think I recall reading you live somewhere in the NYC area at one point. I used to live in Yonkers, I've worked in Manhattan; so I know you're suggesting a lot of penalties in your city. If we implement the death penalty for smokers, why stop there? Should we implement such a penalty as well for people who drive drunk and by their carelessness cause the death of another person? If so, why stop there? Should we implement the penalty for people who drive slow in the left lane (in the NYC area it's not uncommon to encounter people driving 90 MPH) and cause an accident which results in someone's death? And if so, why stop there? Should we implement the death penalty for someone who eats far more than they require while others die of starvation? And if so, should we implement the same penalty for abusive people who by their words or actions cause another to commit suicide?
I was not serious about the death penalty, I am against the death penalty, and I am against war and abortion as well but make no mistake about it, blowing smoke into someone's face is a form of physical assault. Second hand smoke does cause cancer. Tobacco is a drug and it should be outlawed. Just restricting its use is of no help since people do smoke in their homes and it has been shown that second hand smoke is harmful to children. As for drunk drivers, people are killed by drunk drivers and the laws against drunk driving are not severe enough. Over eating does not cause harm to others because food is plentiful here in the US. Food shortages do exist in some parts of the world but the cost of shipping food from the US to those places is prohibitive. I am against floridation of water and I believe it does cause cancer. Air pollution and water pollution also are problems to be dealt with. And it is very annoying to be trying to play a game of chess in the park and have someone who has nothing to do with the game to sit down, light up his cigarette and blow smoke in your face! I am from NYC and I do give Mayor Bloomberg credit for outlawing cigarette smoking in public parks even though I do not like him and I believe he bought the election.
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4058
People don't like the second hand smoke because they say it will give them cancer/asthma/etc. People don't like the second hand smoke because of the smell.
What people need to realize is that the quality of the air in your average city is toxic and filled with airborne particulates which you cannot smell and which are very dangerous; from these pollutants you cannot escape. Second hand smoke is only a drop in the bucket, so to speak, compared to all the other toxins in the air we breathe.
It's a shame that we can barely breathe the air, and we can barely drink the tap water anymore because they are both polluted.
Most tap water contains traces of pharmaceutical drugs and metabolites which were urinated out by those taking those drugs/medicines and which cannot be effectively removed by water treatment plants. Also, the chlorine and fluorine are nasty chemicals in the tap water. I don't want these things in my water, can we ban them please?
The uproar over second hand smoke is just another way to distract you from all the other pollutants in the environment.
A drop in the bucket? 14,612 people were murdered in the U.S. two years ago. Does it matter if one person died? Of course not according to your logic. It's just a drop in the bucket.
Try telling all this to a child that has lung cancer because their parents smoke. Better yet, address all the families and people that have been affected by secondhand smoke. I highly doubt you would have the courage to stand up to so many people.
The pollutants in the air are severely dilluted and our bodies can adapt to processing many of the toxins in the air. Am I saying that our air is clean? No I am not. It's just that air pollutants can lead to a lower quality of life sure, but second hand smoke can kill.