Originally Posted by
DenverBrian
Cannabis has carcinogens, no?
Yep. There's a lot of false information spread on the internet about cannabis just like with e-cigarettes. Anything that is burned emits toxic fumes. There's a reason why the tobacco industry have never came close to inventing a safe cigarette. It's just impossible. I feel like people are just looking for a justification to doing something stupid. If people want to smoke cannabis, then that's fine, but I can't stand people going around spreading BS like how it's "safer" than cigarettes.
Originally Posted by
xiphoid76
I didn’t know airports still had smoking rooms in the USA. I see them in Japan, but guess I have never looked for them here. I am based at MSP, and know we don’t have them.
Me neither. I was surprised when I saw this on the news. I recalled seeing smoking rooms at Chinese airports. It's a disgusting habit, but I guess I'm not surprised since there's more Chinese smokers than the entire population of the US.
Originally Posted by
BamaGirl
I fly out of LAS. It seems like I have a magnet that my seatmate has spent as much of their time before boarding in the smoking areas as possible (often with the additional smells of still being drunk/not bothering to shower). What a lovely way to start the day.
While I doubt LAS will abolish the smoking spaces any time soon, I am thrilled ATL is doing so. It seems a lot of people transiting ATL-BHM use them too.
When I was younger, I use to work in the hospitality industry and I was shocked at how many people smoke. When they come into the office, they just smell really bad and quite frankly, I get a little pissed off cuz I'm breathing in that crap. It's 2019 and quite frankly, people should just stop doing this disgusting habit. It'll be better for their health and their wallets.
Originally Posted by
SSF556
I am and always will be a skeptic when it comes to secondhand smoke. The internet has opened up the door to hundreds of articles that question the long term affects of secondhand smoke.
I am not a skeptic though when it comes to alcohol abuse and the death that it causes. Just had a neighborhood kid kill himself when he fell off the roof of a fraternity houses at Clemson University...guess what impaired his judgement? That "person" drinking has affected someone...he has affected his Mom and Dad, his brothers, his friends,....
Disclaimer - I am all about personal freedom BUT...I do see alcohol as a bigger personal threat to me than smoking, yet smokers have been banished to the bowels of buildings and to the sidewalks across the street. Yet I have watched many people drink and drink on an airplane or at a business function or on a golf course and then get in their car and drive home!
Originally Posted by
Bradhattan
Think about the repercussions to social security if we don't let people enjoy vices that shorten their lives (I smoke). This push toward health will have its consequences....long live transfats and cigarettes....in fact, make it Gitane!
It's a fact that the US spends more on health care and not getting the desirable outcome. I'm all for personal freedom and I'm not trying to do my part and turn this into a debate about whether universal free healthcare is suitable for our country or not. At the same time, if people want to smoke and drink, then they should bear whatever the financial consequences will be for treating them afterwards.
Originally Posted by
hockeystl
Yep, bad news for nonsmokers in the bathrooms who will now have to breathe in the toxic byproduct of the rule-breaking, inconsiderate addicts who light up in a stall.
I've experienced that way too much in China. Unfortunately this will become a reality unless there is an effective mean to enforce the rules and laws in the restrooms.
Originally Posted by
kop84
Write this up as being an unintended consequence of treating smokers worse than we as a society treat dead-beat dads. As a former smoker, I'm telling you that it is a serious addiction that will override your common sense...I never smoked where I wasn't supposed to but I wasn't that heavy a smoker.
Smoking should absolutely not be allowed inside anymore. But half the time to have a "quick" smoke break its a 20 minute walk, then you need a team of sled dogs, and then you have to answer the bridge troll's three questions to get to the 2 square feet in a city block it's "ok" to smoke...I'm exaggerating but not all that much for people who work in skyscrapers.
We can get a small outdoor area at most airports where someone can smoke quick before their flight. It wouldn't be that hard or expensive. Some Cyclone fencing and a few old coffee cans will be more than enough for the smokers to not sneak one in the airport bathroom.
Yes I know people should quit. But it's perfectly ok at the airport to have a huge steak, loaded baked potato, and a huge slice of cheesecake, washed down with 3 beers and a scotch, then hop on a motorized cart to get dropped off at the gate, or maybe a quick pit stop to grab a Double Shake Shack burger for the flight complete with a Coke the size of a large movie theater popcorn. And just before you board pop a couple of Xanax to help you relax.
TLDR: give smokers a tiny outdoor area and they won't smoke inside.
I don't want to sit to a guy who just smoked. It's disgusting. I recognize that this is a serious addiction, but that's not an excuse to subject me to breathing in that crap. I should have the right to sit in a truly smoke-free environment.
Originally Posted by
kop84
Then what about people who have poor eating habits, don't exercise, etc. Because Heart Disease is the number one killer accounting for nearly 1/4 deaths in the US. Starting to play to moral arbiter of what vices are covered and what aren't gets dangerous quickly. As someone said upthread, would you rather sit next to someone who smelled like cigarettes or someone spilling into the seat next to you?
That is true, but smoking also cause heart disease. I don't know if it's possible to craft the best possible public health policy given how political this can easily get. Perhaps we should tackle these issues one issue at a time? Quite frankly, I don't know what's worse, but how many of us here are comfortable sitting next to someone who smells like an ashtray? Can you imagine flying across the Atlantic with a guy like that? I pray to god that I won't end up in that scenario and it has happened yet...