What do you think of the Surgeon General's report on 2nd hand smoke?

Question

"The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance but a serious health hazard," said Richard Carmona.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/06/27/involuntary.smoking.ap/index.html

What do you think of this new warning from the Surgeon General - do you think it will lead to more smoke-free establishments and workplaces? How about parents who smoke around their children? And ultimlately, do you think this will hurt the tobacco industry?

Answer 1

I think this is insane and thats a loaded answer. Sadly enough science has become politics..

Answer 2

Problems with second hand smoke has been an issue that has been around a long time. The surgeon general's in the past have always known about the dangers so it is nothing new.What is new is now after all the public outcry throughout the past 10 yrs. or so people are now trying to do something about it. It's not just the tobacco co. worried about profit loss alot of restaraunts and bars are also. I work in a bar and to make it a smokefree environment could mean profit loss or worse a problem to public safety at times to have some drunk or unruly patrons hanging outside local watering holes for a quick smoke! But the health risks are definatly there, and no matter what the reports say it still all comes down to personal choice, If you smoke go where they allow it and if you don't then go elsewhere. Either way at least the most important places are smokefree such as,hospitals,and most workplaces. As far as parents, upon delivery of a child they should be well informed of the risks to their children and reminded that just walking outside to catch a quick butt in the long run is easier than midnight trips to the emergency room due to asthma attack caused by smoking around children. By the way I too am a smoker yet try to do it responsibly not to cause others discomfort!!

Answer 3

I do think and hope that there will be more smoke-free establishments and workplaces. Having children of my own, I have never approved of smoking around children in a closed environment or within 6 feet of a child for that matter. One this is a very hazardous situation for children due to secondhand smoke and two doing so sets a bad example for children to follow. As far as wether the Tobacco industry will be hurt, I am sure that they will or at least claim they will to stop the ban.

Answer 4

I know when I was a kid growing up, my best friend's mother, father, and older brother smoked. I would come home and have to go to the basement to strip because the smell on my clothes was strong enough to trigger my mother's asthma. Based on that, you can tell I do not find anything surprising in this warning.

The thing people need to remember is this: Everyone will react to things differently, but there is a proven link between smoke as an airborne pollutant and many health conditions. Second smoke is not filtered, and in some ways is WORSE than inhaling through a cigarette.

I do think this warning will accelerate an already existing trend of tighter laws regulating smoking, but I do not think it will change the course of what is happening. In MD (where I live), many counties have already totally banned smoking in all public places, including bars. While naysayers said many of them would go out of business, that has not been the case.

The tobacco industry will weather this, mainly because they are smart. They know they have a product that is addictive, so the market exists and will not go away with a new law. they also know that the government is not likely to go the prohibition route since that created so many problems when it was tried with alcohol.

Last thought: Next possible battleground over smoking: bingo halls!

Answer 5

I've known this has been true for years. As far as what nolongeramused says above me, so what if second hand smoke is not a serious health threat (which anyone who's not a total idiot knows it is), it's still an unnecessary annoyance that non-smokers shouldn't have to deal with. People don't need to smoke, they just do because they are too weak or lazy to quit. Heck, I'd like to walk around naked everywhere but I can't do that, and you know why? Because it's not making anyone any money. The only reason the tobacco industry is still as prominent as it is is because it's making a lot of people a lot of money, and they have a lot of influence in the government, which also likely makes a lot of money from the tobacco industry. I can't blame the investors in the tobacco industry for wanting to make money though; if I had a lot of money to invest I would probably invest in tobacco companies as well because you know people are always going to be buying the product, and if people are going to be stupid enough to smoke and someone is going to make money off of it, it may as well be me! I don't think this will ultimately hurt the tobacco industry because they are too powerful and wealthy, and a lot of smokers and potential future smokers are redneck, ignorant, morons who won't believe or care what the surgeon general has to say. I'm lucky enough to live in Utah, which has a low number of people who smoke (when compared to other states) and a Clean Air Act that prohibits those idiots who do smoke from smoking in restaurants and public buildings. I heard they are also going to outlaw smoking in public parks too, which is fine with me, because even if I can't smell their stench, people smoking are still very atrocious and trashy to look at!

Answer 6

I don't think it is going to make much of a difference towards the smoke-free enviorments. Reason being, in Shreveport La, there is ban here that you can not smoke with in 25 feet of a public building or in a restaurant that doesn't have a bar, I see so many people light up as soon as they walk out that door. As for parents, I think it may have an influence. My roommates smoke outside so that they aren't in the face of the kids plus it doesn't stink up the house either. The tobacco industry wont hurt because like someone else said.....smokers are going to smoke, I think the only way it will hurt the tobacco industry is if they jack the price of a pack of smokes up for like $10.00 a pack.

Answer 7

Years of research show smoking is harmful to your health; however, much of it is correlational and not causal. While one is more likely to encounter health problems, not everyone will. That is why some people ignore or don't believe it. But they need to think about it this way. If records showed lottery winners all purchased their tickets the day before the drawing, would that be enough to get you to buy the day before? Or will you wait for absolute proof: everyone who buys the day before wins. Life is not absolute.
To respond to the followup questions...
Yes, there will be more smoke-free establishments and workplaces. That is already happening.
Parents who smoke are playing the odds with their children's lives. Shame on them!
No, the tobacco industry will always make money.

Answer 8

The only surprise in the report is that it took so long for it to come out. It's seemed pretty obvious to me that 2nd-hand smoke was a hazard - not sure why "science" took so long to prove it.

In Minnesota we've already banned smoking in a lot of places -- it's so nice to be able to go out for the evening and not have to take a complete shower and do laundry the second I get home!

As for the tobacco industry, it's an industry built entirely on addiciton, illness, and death. I think it's time we, as a nation, realize that and do something about it.

Answer 9

As a former smoker and someone who has worked with smokers, I believe it was only a matter of time before this warning came out. I think it should be the decision of a business owner to allow smoking in their business not the government. Also, when we were in Boston for vacation last summer, I asked the owner of a tavern if he saw sales go down. I quote "At first business was down, but now we notice we have more non-smokers frequenting our business than we have in the past" As far as the tobacco industry......we are not the only country who smokes, therefore I don't think it would be aproblem. I believe that parents who smoke will end up getting sued by their own children if they end up with lung cancer.

Answer 10

The Surgeon General's warning is dead on. I know from first hand experience, second hand smoke leads to serious health issues. My child developed a lung problem after his father continuously smoked in his presence. More smoke-free environments are inevitable, however, smoking is a hard habit to break for millions of people, therefore, the tobacco industry will continue to prosper.

Answer 11

Its been a long time in coming!

Tobbacco lobbyist are an inventive bunch. Always saying its "junk science", when now they have the data over all the years, and can safely say that cigarrette smoke, especially second hand smoke is bad for everyone.

It doesnt take any scientific facts, only common sense, that you can get hurt by second hand smoke.

When I was a kid, my mother smoked and there would be a cloud of smoke, visible in the sunlight, and I used to remark to her that I thought that was bad, and she told me to forget about it. I was right, even as a kid!!

Will this affect establishments? Quite possible, a lot of places are banning cigarrette smoking in bars and restruants in my area, and I applaud it! Though, the bar owners complain that they will be losing money, it has yet to be seen.

Will people stop because of the Surgeon Generals report? No! They are hooked, like C Everet Koop said, Cigarrette smoking is addictive as heroin, and I am one to believe it.

But, thier kids will know, to get out of the room, when thier parents smoke, and I dont allow my kids in any place, where anyone smokes. Especially me, with my asthma!

I wish you well..

Jesse