Constructive ways to combat 2nd hand smoke?

[alp227]

First off, I apologize for my earlier post about that person I saw smoking with her kid walking with her. I self-deleted it to douse the flamefest.

That being said, I maintain my opinion that one should absolutely not smoke when children are present and that smokers should be considerate of other people's space. But I pledge I will never, ever, EVER call CPS on somebody simply because that person smokes near a kid. The costs outweigh the benefits by the scale of an elephant vs. a squirrel. I had no idea that simply expressing my thought at the time that parents who smoke near their kids should lose the kids would spark so much anger round here, but now I know why.

So what are constructive ways to make a society of polite smokers?

[madinmaryland]

1. "polite smokers" is an oxymoron. The same as a "compassionate conservative" nt

[krawhitham]

26. What bullshit. I never vape where smoking is not allowed

So basically I just vape in my home and car

[madinmaryland]

30. No. Your comment is bullshit. I am happy you are trying to quit, but

say that smokers hanging outside the doors of buildings is just disingenuous.

Smoking RJ Reynolds' death sticks are far different than your electronic vaporizer.

[Kolesar]

2. My old boss filled my cubicle with tobacco smoke

I am glad he retired early. He was an insulting dork.

[Gravitycollapse]

3. Build a bunch of those airport smoking boxes.

[Travis_0004]

4. If they are outside, just give them some space

Given that there are indoor smoking bans, I doubt you will enocounter too many smokers inside, and I guess if its their house, their rules. If you are outside, give them a bit of space, of course walking by one won't kill you during the second you are close to them.

[Bluenorthwest]

5. I read your other post, I think polite nonsmokers is more the topic of the day.

HATE, take her children!!!!!
How is that polite?

[bbgrunt]

40. not only not polite, but seriously twisted and sad.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. I really do not know

...

[1000words]

7. People are either considerate or they're not.

Might as well ask how to make a society of polite phone users.

[Politicalboi]

8. Just stay away from us

Go breathe the smoke of a cars passing by. If kids wander into my space, that's "their" problem. It's NOT going to kill them.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

9. Carry a battery operated fan, turn on and point at said smoker

I have scar tissue in my lungs because my parents smoked when I was little. I have no sympathy for smokers. I have been hospitalized countless times for respiratory illness as an adult and almost died four or five times. I have terrible allergies and grew up in a dirty un airconditioned house.

I have never smoked. Second hand smoke gives me bronchitis and sinus infections.

[Tx4obama]

10. NON-smokers can stay at home with the blinds pulled - that way ya'll won't see us smoking :) n/t

[silverweb]

11. Create a society of generally considerate people.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Easier said than done. Start with "the man in the mirror" and pass it on daily.

[shraby]

12. Why is it necessary to do that? There doesn't HAVE to be someone at the "back of the bus"

all the time. Give people their space fer cris' sakes. Leave them alone, they have been banned from smoking in just about every conceivable place except outside and in their own home.
I'm a "used to be" smoker who quit about 7 years ago, and I dislike people thinking they have the right to tell others how to live their lives. Go back under your bridge.

[Nye Bevan]

13. The more complaints and dirty looks they get, the more likely they are to quit,

which is good for everyone in the long run. Especially given their special exemption from littering laws.

[pintobean]

16. .

[Nye Bevan]

29. And here she is in later life, trundling around an oxygen cylinder for her emphysema....

[onehandle]

14. Smokers are selfish addicts that produce the single most polluted item on earth.

Cigarette butts.

Luckily public smoking, be it traditional or electronic, is being phased out through restrictions.

[Comrade Grumpy]

15. I thought addiction was a disease, not a moral failing.

At least that's what NIDA tells me.

Do you have a different theory?

[onehandle]

20. A lot of smokers cry 'freedumb' when you threaten their 'right' to pollute non-smoker's air.

Addiction becomes selfishness.

And then there are the butts.

[mokawanis]

18. What I posted in another thread

A lot of people do fling the butts anywhere and everywhere with disregard for what others think, and they have the same attitude about exposing people to second-hand smoke. It's legitimate to criticize people for these things.

There are also smokers who are considerate of others. They make an effort to avoid exposing others to their second-hand smoke, and they pocket the butts.

But my question remains. Why do people advocate for treatment for addicts, unless the addiction is tobacco? Addicted to coke, or oxycontin, or alcohol? You need help! Addicted to tobacco? Fuck you!

[onehandle]

21. Treatment for nicotine addiction has been common and over the counter for decades.

I would support government programs to eliminate smoking.

[brewens]

17. I try and avoid any problems but as a cigar smoker, I've gotten some complaints even outdoors.

I smoke quality cigars that even quite a few non-smokers love the smell of. Then there are those that hate it as well, even cigarette smokers.

One thing I object to is people overreacting to someone at work that smokes. So if a normal smoker goes out to have a cigarette on their break and comes back in and you are able to smell that they have been smoking, so what? About as quick as they take their coat off, take drink of their coffee and get back to work, it's pretty much gone.

Now if it's a heavy smoker that smokes several in their car on the way to work and really reeks of smoke, I can see that being offensive, but someone that's reasonable careful, leave them alone! Yes you can tell, and yes it is a smell but it's not like bad breath or body odor that is persistent. I've been a non-smoker around smokers, a smoker and then again a non-smoker. I know what it smells like and it's not that big of a deal.

[Nye Bevan]

27. Smokers literally leave a trail around the office when they return from a smoke break.

The smoke clings to their clothes and takes a while to dissipate. It's not exactly surprising that the non-smokers who picked up the slack while you were outside puffing away aren't too happy about it. Especially when they have to step over your pile of discarded butts on their way back to their cars at the end of the day.

[VanillaRhapsody]

34. I have a problem with people who wear perfume to the office.....(and everywhere else)

but I cannot get perfume wearers to just stay outside with their smell....can I get some legislation on that?

Or how about people that don't bathe and stink....can we have legislation about how often a person must bathe too?

[brewens]

38. I had one woman at our blood center that would come in with some perfume that was like

an old aunt would wear! I mean you could freakin' taste it! And she was just miserable in the mornings! I called her "Chrissy the Angry Dwarf"! She wasn't really a "little person" but was short and stout and had a nasty disposition. Also habitually late and did not last long. thank God!

[Luminous Animal]

36. Really. Nonsmokers don't get breaks? Because, in California, it is the law.

[brewens]

37. I actually don't smoke at work at all these days and when I did, it was only on my scheduled breaks

that everyone else always took and sometimes abused. I wouldn't ever fire up a nice cigar that's going to take 45 minutes to properly and thoroughly enjoy at work these days.

I'm also a Nazi about people throwing their butts on the ground. That's the kind of thing that gets us smokers in trouble. i've been tempted to feed guys cigarette butts over that and I damn well could!

As far as anyone picking up my slack buddy, I've done hard physical labor jobs most of my life that most people couldn't do or would be too much of a wuss to even apply for! Try a day on a delivery truck unloading a whole truckload of of beer or dairy by yourself or go out commercial hydroseeding some time! That's close to crab fishing pal!

[Texasgal]

19. I find most smokers to be polite.

Actually. And just for the record I do not smoke.

Most smokers I know are actually quite considerate of non-smokers. I find the anti-smoker brigade to more of the issue to be honest with you.

I've never known a smoker to blow smoke in the face of a non-smoker. I've never known one to insist on smoking indoors. Seems to me the non-smoke crowd needs to calm down and stop freaking out.

[onehandle]

23. 'Non-smoke crowd' = 83% of Americans. nt

[Nye Bevan]

28. I've known plenty who insist on smoking on beaches and in parks.

Ah, the smell of secondhand smoke on a perfect spring day when enjoying the great outdoors. And the pile of discarded butts to boot.

[VanillaRhapsody]

35. So how do you feel about charcoal grills in the park....?

[Zorra]

22. Water pistols (waterarms) with a 20 ft range have been 100% effective for me.

It takes about a week of practice with a waterarm to shoot them accurately. I prefer the Super Soaker Zipfire Blaster, it's compact, semi-auto, has an adequate magazine, shoots a quick short burst, and has an accurate range of over 20 ft.

The longer range gives you a good head start if you should need to run, but once you get really good at using a waterarm you can learn to stash it quick, and if you learn how to act innocent the irate smoker never even knows who doused their butt.
Always remember to shoot from the side of the smoker, never from the front, so that you don't hit your victim with any of the water, because in some states this can be considered an assault, which is actually kind of strange, because water is harmless, but second hand smoke is not. You'd think deliberately subjecting people to second hand smoke would be considered an assault instead of harmless water, but hey, that's capitalism for ya.

Because their smoke was drifting into my home, I started dousing my neighbors butts from a well camouflaged blind about 20 ft away from their patio, and after a few weeks of scanning the skies for incontinent birds ("goddam bird shit on my cigarette again, Dickie Wayne, can you believe it?1?1?") immediately after their smokes got doused, and not understanding why their smokes keep going out, my neighbors decided to start smoking inside their trailer. I feel kind of bad about this, because their 80 year old mom stays inside the trailer, and she carries one of those oxygen mask/oxygen tank thingees on her wheelchair (right next to her cigarettes) because of her advanced terminal emphysema.

That's one way that really works.

(Oh, yeah ~ Never use pepper spray. The second hand spray is harmful and can drift, and cause serious discomfort for any innocent bystanders)

[Gidney N Cloyd]

24. That's a lot of rationalization packed into one OP.

The replies to your earlier thread left you a lot of clues. Not just a "flamefest." You may want to go back and read them again.

[dembotoz]

25. there are a-holes on both sides--have not smoked in over 30 years and yet sometimes the smell of a

cig smells just so good.

try to ignore both sides

[pipoman]

31. I've noticed that the most outspoken anti - smoking people

are often gluten free by choice. .

[MrMickeysMom]

32. I tried to suggest, alp227...

The best way is to call out the benefits of not smoking in a public forum. If the letter to the editor idea was too general, then you might consider getting an asthma educator to do something publicly on behalf of lung health. Make a public statement at an event or council meeting. Get heard so that the subject becomes a public forum for education.

I don't know one person who doesn't think smoking is bad, even when they do it in front of their kids. That person needs education and if you aren't the person to publicly do it, sponsor someone to do it somehow.

I'm with you on the idea. I see too many quality of life issues make people sad, due to smoking.

[beaglelover]

33. No, I think you deleted the first thread because......

you realized that you were very wrong and almost everyone told you to mind your own damn business.

If you want to eliminate second hand smoke outside, make smoking tobacco illegal. Until you accomplish that, just grow up and deal with it. Maybe once you grow up a little you'll realize that not everything is perfect in this world. And as one of the other 'antis' pointed out, the percentage of the population who smokes in America is about 12% and has been going down for years. So, people are either dying or quitting on their own and fewer younger people are taking up the habit.

[undeterred]

39. The reason I don't like being around cigarette smoke

is because if I am around it for more than a few minutes it will trigger a migraine headache. Unless I have the medication on hand to abort the headache I am destined for hours of excruciating pain and nausea.

I may be in a situation where I don't have the medication because I can't afford it, or I have to drive home 70 miles to get it and by the time I get there I'll be puking in the car.

So its not just that I find it a little annoying and would like you to blow the smoke in another direction if you could. My reaction to it is pretty extreme. And a lot of smokers just don't get it, even when I explain it to them. They can't believe that something they think is so wonderful could make somebody else so miserable. But it does.