Second Hand Smoke - is it dangerous?

[Cow Poke]

what kinda irks me is that a lot of people are so against smokers and SHS and want to basically ban tobacco use altogether, but at the same time want to legalize marijuana.

derp.

Well, yeah, and what's REALLY hard about being against smokers is that, if they STOP purchasing smokes, there's all that tax revenue down the drain.

[Sparko]

Well, yeah, and what's REALLY hard about being against smokers is that, if they STOP purchasing smokes, there's all that tax revenue down the drain.

That's OK, they make up for it by taxing you for being healthy with Obamacare.

[Carrikature]

Not me; I imagine that idea comes from there being a filter on cigarettes for the smoker but no filter for the non-smoker. That doesn't seem nearly as important, however, as cumulative exposure to fine particulates and carcinogens. I'm not sure if that was ever a consensus position in the medical field but I wouldn't think that it would have been.

—Sam

This is a pretty good summary of what I understood to be the case. Why else were filters required?

[Carrikature]

Well, yeah, and what's REALLY hard about being against smokers is that, if they STOP purchasing smokes, there's all that tax revenue down the drain.

I'm not sure these are the considerations we should base policy decisions upon.

[Cow Poke]

This is a pretty good summary of what I understood to be the case. Why else were filters required?

To lure people into a false sense of security that they can continue smoking.

[Cow Poke]

I'm not sure these are the considerations we should base policy decisions upon.

Nobody made such a claim -- it's just another opportunity for the government to make money off "sin".

[Sam]

but wouldn't the smoker also be exposed to the same levels of SHS as well as the direct smoke?

Yeah, but at a lower concentration/dose. I doubt it matters all that much; filter or no filter, smoking courts the Reaper. I figure it's mainly marketing, like how some soda/pop/coke is now sold with "all-natural cane sugar," as though it were better for your health than HFCS.

—Sam

[Sam]

Nobody made such a claim -- it's just another opportunity for the government to make money off "sin".

Or to recoup some of the treatment costs that are incurred by smoking. Any road, I think the revenue generated by smoking is probably more than offset by the treatment costs of smoking among Medicaid/Medicare/CHIP patients.

[Cow Poke]

Or to recoup some of the treatment costs that are incurred by smoking.

There's always a good reason to do bad stuff. Seriously, though, I wonder HOW MUCH of cigarette tax revenue goes to research.

Any road, I think the revenue generated by smoking is probably more than offset by the treatment costs of smoking among Medicaid/Medicare/CHIP patients.

Yeah, but I'm suspicious that precious little, if any, actually goes to such offset. Like the gas tax builds roads and bridges, and like the Texas lottery would fund education...

[GoBahnsen]

I would post in here, but it could end the thread. See the thread on depression started by Teal. I killed it

[KingsGambit]

I remember reading about some public official who blamed a drop in organ donations on more people wearing motorcycle helmets.

[Sam]

There's always a good reason to do bad stuff. Seriously, though, I wonder HOW MUCH of cigarette tax revenue goes to research.

Yeah, but I'm suspicious that precious little, if any, actually goes to such offset. Like the gas tax builds roads and bridges, and like the Texas lottery would fund education...

Hrm. According to NYT, the federal government takes in about $7 billion per year in cigarette excise taxes. The Tax Policy Center reported that all 50 states combined pulled in $17.1 billion in 2009. So we can say that's about $25 billion in total revenue for 2009. A CDC study found that tobacco-related expenses for Medicaid cost $22 billion in 2009. If we were to add in CHIP and Medicare, we'd probably be looking at medical expenditures for tobacco-related health problems at least doubling the revenue generated by excise taxes in 2009.

Nothing really to spare for research, when the big picture is factored.

—Sam

[GoBahnsen]

Amazing...the thread continues...

My dad was a life-long smoker. Died of a stroke at 80. He ate lots of sugar too and had really bad blood sugar levels. He would get a lot of pee on the floor in the bathroom and track it out into the entry hall. Really sticky floors. How sad.

I like cigarette smoke. Think it smells great. Wish I could smoke. I would if it was good for me and didn't make me smell like cigs.

As to second hand smoke? My mom was exposed to it all her life, lots of it. Died at 84 after falling and hitting her head...was like a stroke. Sorry for rambling

[Carrikature]

Amazing...the thread continues...

My dad was a life-long smoker. Died of a stroke at 80. He ate lots of sugar too and had really bad blood sugar levels. He would get a lot of pee on the floor in the bathroom and track it out into the entry hall. Really sticky floors. How sad.

I like cigarette smoke. Think it smells great. Wish I could smoke. I would if it was good for me and didn't make me smell like cigs.

As to second hand smoke? My mom was exposed to it all her life, lots of it. Died at 84 after falling and hitting her head...was like a stroke. Sorry for rambling

I think there's a reason they call it "increased risk". Biology is weird.

[Catholicity]

I quit smoking. I was well on my way to being a complete quitter (spousal encouragement/want to quit) when I found out that I was expecting. Needless to say, That did it. I'm done.

Now of course I really can't stand the smell. I don't like it. Its disgusting. I can't believe I smoked for all that long.
The only reason I think I did was because I was in a horribly stressful environment with little support system.
As far as second hand vs regular, their both bad. Even when I did, I didn't in front of my daughter/when I was pregnant. She didn't need it. I always went outside. Smoke is very dangerous. As for increased Risk. Well two can play Russian Roulette, and the Gun never goes off. But with Cigarette smoke, Its sort of like playing RR with a semiautomatic weapon. Sooner or Later, it'll fire, but with what disease, when and how, you don't have a clue. Heart and Stroke are the most common. Cancers and COPD follow. It aggravated my asthma symptoms and if that's all it ever does, I'm lucky, but the dang gun still fired.