4 ms·

I take it seriously enough that I hold my breath while walking past someone smoking.

fasquoika 9y ago
That's honestly ridiculous. I'd understand if you just don't like the smell, but there's no real health risk involved in walking past someone smoking
- loco5niner 9y ago
  I agree. It is ridiculous. But it's also ridiculous for someone to polute the air in a public space (it's different if they are off somewhere I can easily avoid by walking a different way). And yes, I also do not like the smell, but it's both. I also have minor breathing problems that I don't want aggravated.
dionidium 9y ago
I mean, this demonstrates my point.
- loco5niner 9y ago
  Secondhand smoke (SHS) has the same harmful chemicals that smokers inhale. There’s no safe level of exposure for secondhand smoke (SHS). - American Cancer Society "Secondhand smoke harms children and adults, and the only way to fully protect nonsmokers is to eliminate smoking in all homes, worksites, and public places" - Center for Disease Control "At least 69 of the toxic chemicals in secondhand tobacco smoke cause cancer" - National Cancer Institute
sova 9y ago
A friend of mine said that when they were young they went to a museum and saw two lungs: one of a daily smoker, and one of someone who simply lived in a dense city with poor air quality. The lungs looked almost the same shade of gray. Of course, the smoker's lungs were worse, but air pollution from the bus is not exactly good for you.
- dionidium 9y ago
  It's not just that there are so many other risks present in cities -- e.g. it's probably more dangerous just to be walking there in the first place than it is to pass a smoker -- it's that, like, how potent do you imagine cigarette smoke to be that just passing near some every once in a while is going to significantly harm you? I can't even begin to imagine what kind of model of the world you'd have to be working with to believe that, which is why I deliberately chose the word hysteria to describe it.
  - loco5niner 9y ago
    I guess I just equate smoking with poison. I think it's equally illogical to be purposefully ingesting poison on a daily basis. For myself, I prefer zero purposeful ingestion, even if I am ignorant of the effects.
    - nnfy 9y ago
      We [myself former] are not simply poisoning ourselves for fun. There are a multitude of benefits afforded by nicotine in the short term, including improved focus, reduced anxiety, and of course the habit of a smoke break is great for clearing the mind. Your problem is that you, as you say, equate smoking with poison. That's hyperbolic. One could say the same about sugar, but it would sound just as ridiculous. It's almost as if smokers are dehumanized these days, and non smokers deliberately ignore reasons to smoke. There has also been ample evidence of neuroprotective effects of nicotine[0][1] for decades now. I dont mean to suggest that you go out and start a pack a day habit, but my point is that walking past a smoker won't give you cancer. [0]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19714494 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19714494 [1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772120 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772120
      - loco5niner 9y ago
        Those short-term benefits are far outweighed by the long-term negative effects, and there are far better ways to enjoy those short-term benefits (there may be a few specific scenarios I am ignorant of, diseases, etc, but I'm sure those are few and far between) The real problem is people selling short-term benefits over long-term consequences.

That's honestly ridiculous. I'd understand if you just don't like the smell, but there's no real health risk involved in walking past someone smoking

loco5niner 9y ago
I agree. It is ridiculous. But it's also ridiculous for someone to polute the air in a public space (it's different if they are off somewhere I can easily avoid by walking a different way). And yes, I also do not like the smell, but it's both. I also have minor breathing problems that I don't want aggravated.

dionidium 9y ago

I mean, this demonstrates my point.

loco5niner 9y ago
Secondhand smoke (SHS) has the same harmful chemicals that smokers inhale. There’s no safe level of exposure for secondhand smoke (SHS). - American Cancer Society "Secondhand smoke harms children and adults, and the only way to fully protect nonsmokers is to eliminate smoking in all homes, worksites, and public places" - Center for Disease Control "At least 69 of the toxic chemicals in secondhand tobacco smoke cause cancer" - National Cancer Institute

sova 9y ago

A friend of mine said that when they were young they went to a museum and saw two lungs: one of a daily smoker, and one of someone who simply lived in a dense city with poor air quality. The lungs looked almost the same shade of gray. Of course, the smoker's lungs were worse, but air pollution from the bus is not exactly good for you.

dionidium 9y ago
It's not just that there are so many other risks present in cities -- e.g. it's probably more dangerous just to be walking there in the first place than it is to pass a smoker -- it's that, like, how potent do you imagine cigarette smoke to be that just passing near some every once in a while is going to significantly harm you? I can't even begin to imagine what kind of model of the world you'd have to be working with to believe that, which is why I deliberately chose the word hysteria to describe it.
- loco5niner 9y ago
  I guess I just equate smoking with poison. I think it's equally illogical to be purposefully ingesting poison on a daily basis. For myself, I prefer zero purposeful ingestion, even if I am ignorant of the effects.
  - nnfy 9y ago
    We [myself former] are not simply poisoning ourselves for fun. There are a multitude of benefits afforded by nicotine in the short term, including improved focus, reduced anxiety, and of course the habit of a smoke break is great for clearing the mind. Your problem is that you, as you say, equate smoking with poison. That's hyperbolic. One could say the same about sugar, but it would sound just as ridiculous. It's almost as if smokers are dehumanized these days, and non smokers deliberately ignore reasons to smoke. There has also been ample evidence of neuroprotective effects of nicotine[0][1] for decades now. I dont mean to suggest that you go out and start a pack a day habit, but my point is that walking past a smoker won't give you cancer. [0]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19714494 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19714494 [1]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772120 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11772120
    - loco5niner 9y ago
      Those short-term benefits are far outweighed by the long-term negative effects, and there are far better ways to enjoy those short-term benefits (there may be a few specific scenarios I am ignorant of, diseases, etc, but I'm sure those are few and far between) The real problem is people selling short-term benefits over long-term consequences.