Are smokers unaware how horrible their smoke is or don't they care how hard it is to breathe?

Question

I am constantly INFLICTED with the smoke of cigerettes. I walk by someone and I literally can't breathe. (I'm not exagerating.) Do smokers just not care or do the just not realize that they are a problem to non-smokers?

I realize smokers have a right to smoke but do they have a right to pollute my air?

I'm not really talking about the smoker and how they don't care about their health.. I'm concerned about the pollution they cause for others. They have the choice and can screw up their health. I don't want them to screw up mine. I am an innocent bystander.

To "can of beans," there is no exageration! I have a chronic cough due to the dry air in California. When I breathe in the smoke I can't breathe because I am coughing even harder!

Answer 1

I loathe smokers as well. I think the majority of them don't care either way. Who came up with the concept of lighting something on fire and inhaling it? That is just insane! I think cigarette smoke smells worse than a sewer.

Answer 2

You are living in the world of wag the dog. The smokers in the world are not the ones that create the problems--they are the ones blamed for problems..You will get your baby way sicker by driving with your windows down, or walking on a city street. There are more issues at stake than second hand smoke. Fossil fuels are the real problem---your fire place, your BBQ, your Tiki torches on the patio, aircraft and the list goes on. Don't blame the smoker.

Answer 3

Unfortunately Smoking is a very Strong addiction.
Smokers don't mean to subject the world to the smoke but it's an unavoidable effect that their addiction has on everyone else.
Addiction sucks for them too! On behalf of smokers everywhere
SORRY!

Answer 4

They don't have the right to pollute our air. Not only is it inconvenient and bothersome for us but breathing in second hand smoke in the long run may also lead to the same diseases eg. COPD, cancer, heart diseases suffered by chronic smokers. If you could just see a COPD patient gasping for every breathe, you'd really think twice about lighting up or in your case breathing in cigarette smoke. Your reaction may occur in people with extreme allergies that exposure to any strong odours cause them to have nasal congestion and difficulty in breathing.

There had been laws prohibiting smoking in all public places but some smokers may just forget or else do not mind about other people. Don't hesitate to speak out and remind them of YOUR RIGHTS to clean, safe air.

Answer 5

generally we don't realize how we smell for example, as far as choking i must imagine you are exaggerating a little, i'm breathing that same stuff straight in, it can be irritating if your not accustomed to it but it won't prevent you from breathing or make you choke, there are much worse vapors in the air that you probably live with everyday and are used to. It's just an easy thing to target these days. Also we aren't allowed to smoke anywhere at least not in NY so you aren't in any smoke filled rooms unless it's a friends by choice.

i try not to blow it in anyones face, that's rude even if they smoke and if i know someone has a problem with it i do my best to avoid them.

in an enclosed space any fumes including build up of co2 from respiration is bad, but the amount of air pollution from ciggarettes is almost non existant compared to smoke stacks at factories and the 10 feet of dead vegetation alongside americas highways and biways.

Answer 6

As a former smoker, I suspect that your reaction is somewhat extreme. It seems like most of the nonsmokers I know, while not loving the smell, can certainly cope with it for brief periods of time.

Anyway, smokers can't really tell, no. Smoking deadens your sense of smell, and secondhand smoke is *nothing* compared to the amount you get when you're actually smoking. They don't much mind it.

Answer 7

I don't know but i'm guessing that they just don't care. It bothers me so much that they pollute the air and cause cancer in people that don't even smoke. It's horrible! If they're going to do it, do it where no one has to breathe it in! Like a bumper sticker said, "Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a pool"

Answer 8

I smoke, and i guess yes, i do have the right to pollute the air? If that's such an issue to you, then why don't you care about cars and other things that pollute it more? I am a mix between don't care and don't know. The smoke doesn't bother me too much, so i don't understand how much it affects anyone else, and i feel like people complain about it, just to complain. If it does bother them that much, move away from me because it doesn't seem like such a big deal to me (obviously, since i smoke). i guess i don't know how much it affects people so i think everyone is just being a big baby about it. Also, why people smoke shouldn't make them idiots or anything. why are any of you to judge? i don't tell you guys you are dumb for eating fast food or anything like that, so must everyone judge us? If i know my smoking really bothers a friend, i go outside, move or stop while i'm around them, but as for a stanger. They do unheathly things people don't like too, so why can't i?

Answer 9

We are not unaware that we are polluting. Are you aware that driving, using canned hairspray, etc.. etc.. etc.. pollutes? Using plastic bags when you go to the grocery store, or buy plastic or styrofoam cups pollutes the earth even further. Do you go into a rage when you see people doing all of this? Probably not. Do you care about that? We are humans, parasites on the place we call home. And if it is so horrible to you to be around smog- move. People do it everyday.

Answer 10

yo homes, ever seen a crackhead or smack junkie? unfortunately some of us smokers literally have to smoke in order to stay alive. contradiction, hell yes it is. not much can be done about it though, the chemicals in cigarette smoke work on the very same parts of the brain affected by heroin and crack use. great companies these cigarette makers aren't they. great humanitarians every one of them. i mean its great they get us addicted to something that will kill us in a very horrific way and then get people like you to blame us for it. wow what a country we live in. i do sympathize with you. but if you want people to stop smoking then get drugs like well-butrin legalized for otc sale. the patches and the gum DO NOT work they just get you addicted to less offensive forms of the drug. i personally have quit at least 50 times. am i weak minded? maybe but i quit coke with no help it was hell but i did it. i quit all other drugs except for cigarettes and damned if i can kick this habit. not really wanting your pity just a little understanding. i mean since you don't smoke you could probably not breathe for the few seconds it takes you to go around the offending person. and besides already we have freeze our nards off just to get a fix so we don't kill all the non-smokers with 2nd hand smoke. which while harmful, has been blown way out of proportion. now to the "air" : dude if think somebody coppin a fix is polluting your air why don't park that vehicle of yours stop using all refrigerants, deodorants, most common building materials, electricity, and all other forms of energy consumption. that smog you see isn't from me huffin a marliegh its from CARS and TRUCKS and TRAINS and from people being more concerned about how big there suv is instead of caring whether people will be able to breathe tomorrow. you want to breathe stop the damn brazillians from whacking the trees that mke 20% of the earth's oxygen. next time your neighbor is grilling out with charcoal go smack him in the head and say stop i can't breathe. isn't gonna get ya anyplace at all. btw to everyone that reads this get us smokers un-addicted to this crap and then you won't look at us like we're not human anymore.

Answer 11

And I can say the same thing about other women's perfume (and some men's cologne) - I can't breathe when I smell it. I guess they don't realize they're a problem either.