Smoking

[thaibel]

I'm quite an heavy smoker. Here in Belgium and most of the western world they look like u r a criminal when u smoke. Untill 1 year ago we stilll had a smoking room in our office. But now since June we hv to go out the building to smoke. Only during the coffe break :wink: . Also from 1 January we r not allowed to smoke in a restaurant anymore. I understand it, but it kills the fun for me going to dinner with friends and having a chat with them.

But I think, depending from country to country, there's still some 30 % to 40 % percent of the population who smokes. Also when I look on the profiles here, I can see that most of the people r non-smokers???? I try to be as polite as I can be. If I 'm invited by a friend who doesn't smoke, most of the time I go out and smoke in the garden, unless the friend says he doesn't mind.

What is the policy about it in Thailand or other countries?

I found this pic very funny: a ceiling painting for a smokers' room

[afook06]

Second hand smoke is dangerous and has been proven!

[frankenburner2]

Second hand smoke is dangerous and has been proven!

really?...prove it.

[frankenburner2]

ya ya...i know....but i recall an episode of "Bullshit" and they claimed there was no actual proof...suggesting the stats offered by the American Cancer Society weren't factual.....anyway...a quick google but can't find anything to the contrary....so I guess I'll just have to keep smoking outdoors!

[zeusbheld]

ya ya...i know....but i recall an episode of "Bullshit" and they claimed there was no actual proof...suggesting the stats offered by the American Cancer Society weren't factual.....anyway...a quick google but can't find anything to the contrary....so I guess I'll just have to keep smoking outdoors!

riiiight and if penn and teller say "there's no proof" they MUST be right.

care to define "actual proof"?

i'd also be interested in THEIR evidence that the stats "weren't factual." what does that sentence even mean? are they accusing the american cancer society of making up the numbers? or merely saying there is room for doubt?

regardless of how solid the evidence that second-hand smoke is a serious health risk, the evidennce that your smoking is killing YOU is more than solid enough. smoke as much as you can...

[frankenburner2]

ya ya...i know....but i recall an episode of "Bullshit" and they claimed there was no actual proof...suggesting the stats offered by the American Cancer Society weren't factual.....anyway...a quick google but can't find anything to the contrary....so I guess I'll just have to keep smoking outdoors!

riiiight and if penn and teller say "there's no proof" they MUST be right.

care to define "actual proof"?

i'd also be interested in THEIR evidence that the stats "weren't factual." what does that sentence even mean? are they accusing the american cancer society of making up the numbers? or merely saying there is room for doubt?

regardless of how solid the evidence that second-hand smoke is a serious health risk, the evidennce that your smoking is killing YOU is more than solid enough. smoke as much as you can...

taken too seriously!.....i couldn't find what they were talking about....no biggie...just being contrary for the sake of it...oh..and btw....YES..they were accusing the american cancer society of making up the numbers?

[The Punisher]

There are few things I really loathe, but being near a smoker in an otherwise 'clean' enviroment is one of them. :evil:

[MikeAussieGuy]

Enough said on this subject, BUT here is my 1 satang worth.

What really annoys me is when people smoke or light up when other people are eating. I always ask them if they can wait until I or others finish. Lighting up over dinner when people are eating is just bad manners and shows the weakness of the person to control an obvious addiction to smoking.

If they havent the courtesy to wait 10 minutes for a smoke then I dont want to associate with them anyway, so I'll leave if they continue. Beats me why people can sit on a plane for hours on end without a smoke but cant do without one for 10 minutes.

BTW I do have an ocassional smoke.

[frankenburner2]

ya ya...i know....but i recall an episode of "Bullshit" and they claimed there was no actual proof...suggesting the stats offered by the American Cancer Society weren't factual.....anyway...a quick google but can't find anything to the contrary....so I guess I'll just have to keep smoking outdoors!

riiiight and if penn and teller say "there's no proof" they MUST be right.

care to define "actual proof"?

i'd also be interested in THEIR evidence that the stats "weren't factual." what does that sentence even mean? are they accusing the american cancer society of making up the numbers? or merely saying there is room for doubt?

regardless of how solid the evidence that second-hand smoke is a serious health risk, the evidennce that your smoking is killing YOU is more than solid enough. smoke as much as you can...

taken too seriously!.....i couldn't find what they were talking about....no biggie...just being contrary for the sake of it...oh..and btw....YES..they were accusing the american cancer society of making up the numbers?

will you accuse your canadians of making stats up too?

Second-hand smoke by Canadian Cancer Society

jeez...ring the bell already! maybe you two SHOULD start smoking....i know it helps me to relax...

[hbkbkk]

how about the other kind of smoking in thailand.

I understanding it can be an addiction too

[zeusbheld]

jeez...ring the bell already! maybe you two SHOULD start smoking....i know it helps me to relax...

fb2 dear, if you're an example of how smoking helps one relax, screw cancer, emphysema etc., i can't think of a better reason to avoid smoking

[PattayaDaz]

Very anti social and should be banned.....What really annoys me are guys I work with who stop every hour for a smoke..off they go for a 10 minute break...at the end of a twelve hour shift they have only done eleven hours work.....worse in a confined space the smoke makes everything stink.... If ya gotta do it there should be a hermetically sealed smoking room like in Singapore airport. Where they can sit and smoke in shame.....

[Guest]

There are not many things that Ireland can claim to be world leaders in but there is one little thing which has been very progressive.

We banned ALL smoking in ALL working places. ITS AGAINST THE LAW! First country in the world to do so and a model for others to follow, including our nearest neighbour, the UK which nevertheless seems inclined to do a bit of a half assed job of it and compromise/which renders the whole point of it somewhat dilluted. Anyway.... back in Ireland

No half ass measures that pandered to the interest groups. No just a blanket ban. The logic of which is simple. Why on earth should people [in bars and restaurants especially] have to suffer [and yes it is suffering/ the stinking smell in addition to the known adverse health effects] because of someone elses dirty disgusting personal addiction.

Imagine the following scenario.

A restaurant or bar or office/general workplace with lots of people interacting and in the middle of this some people start spaying the air around them with airfreshner or lets say lynx. they do these sprays every now and then but these are not even going to cause any health risks. People would think they were nuts!

Yet through years of conditioning and gross ignorance smoking has been allowed to flourish and grow worldwide eventually for it to be uncovered and unmasked as the foul dirty disgusting habit and addiction it is. The more developed countries increasingly have less and less tolerance for this evil blight on humanity.

Personally I could care less what people do in their own space or in their own homes so long as it does not effect those around them [like building a bombfire in your back garden would not be acceptable] but when it comes to this really dumb and disgusting habit I have no tolerance and hate that we even have to indulge these addicts.

IT IS NO SURPRISE that smoking is on the decline in populations with higher education levels and increasing in poorer countries. Like religion [say the catholic/christian churches for example and islam too] the target is the poor and uneducated populations as they are seen as ripe markets for what they are selling.

As for the ban in Ireland? It has been a resounding success. People are generally law abiding so it is possible to implement such a ban in the UK which would have have many similar cultural and social customs and traditions.

Smoking is unlady like and the old hollywood image of it been sexy and glamourous is long gone now and only proof that people will buy into anything if it is marketted/sold aggresively and deviously enough.

Fact is that not only is it a totally unhealthy addiction but it is also a totally disgusting and smelly habit which literally polluts both the environment and the people who are the vehicle of this pollution.

Case in point, I am just on my second day in Bangkok on my holidays and the Hotel I am staying is a good example of the implications of smoking. Two floors of a very tall tower are totally non smoking.

I had stayed here before and was told then that room I got was non smoking. It turns out that I somehow felt there was something different just from the walk from the room to the lift as compared when I had stayed on a previous trip. That difference was the stench of a smoking floor as opposed to the non smoking floor! Needless to say I made a point of asking for the non smoking floor this time!

Though that turned out to be a whole other story in which I got a free upgrade to a fantastic suite twice the price of what I paid for [which was 2800 baht to begin with anyway so also pretty good too] Jasus how can u not but love Thailand! I fecking love this country!

Also I had a brother stay who stayed in the same hotel and smokes yet his room seemed smaller and less good than mine. I asked about this and the price was not the same for two different rooms coz the smoking room was alot less value and so he literally was paying for his bad habit/addiction in more ways than usual.

Bottom line is that eventually through education and social evolution smoking will be relegated to the same status as spitting in public. It will die out in the more developed countries and only the few oddballs will continue this truly ghastly social ill.

Now that I have that off my chest I off for a swim!

[zeusbheld]

Very anti social and should be banned.....What really annoys me are guys I work with who stop every hour for a smoke..off they go for a 10 minute break...at the end of a twelve hour shift they have only done eleven hours work.....worse in a confined space the smoke makes everything stink.... If ya gotta do it there should be a hermetically sealed smoking room like in Singapore airport. Where they can sit and smoke in shame.....

while i am not a fan of smoking and i think there's a substantial amount of evidence that secondhand smoke is harmful, and i like the idea of sealing smokers in a box while they do their deed, smoker-herding can go too far...

in new york, smoking is banned from bars. wtf, people go to bars to improve their health??

[frankenburner2]

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...see? i'm relaxed

[CoffeeBreak]

jeez...ring the bell already! maybe you two SHOULD start smoking....i know it helps me to relax...

But I am not! :twisted:

[Guest]

Very anti social and should be banned.....What really annoys me are guys I work with who stop every hour for a smoke..off they go for a 10 minute break...at the end of a twelve hour shift they have only done eleven hours work.....worse in a confined space the smoke makes everything stink.... If ya gotta do it there should be a hermetically sealed smoking room like in Singapore airport. Where they can sit and smoke in shame.....

while i am not a fan of smoking and i think there's a substantial amount of evidence that secondhand smoke is harmful, and i like the idea of sealing smokers in a box while they do their deed, smoker-herding can go too far...

in new york, smoking is banned from bars. wtf, people go to bars to improve their health??

No people go to bars to have a few drinks! Great so fuc off outside if u wanna smoke! The way around this in Dublin is that pubs/bars started to build/develop outdoor areas in which the staff working need not ever enter!

Harder to do in NYC of course considering the cold weather you get in winter

The big point is that why should people who happen to work in bars have to suffer this?

I do think that people can go overboard in reacting to smokers and some sympathy is a good thing here. For example anytime I have friends or family in my apartment I never ask them not to smoke but I APPRECIATE IT when visitors take it upon themselves to not smoke in my home.

The two exceptions are my brother and my mother. What can I do ? tell them not to visit me? Nah I just have to open the windows and try have them sit near it coz honest to god everytime they visit I really do notice the smell ages after each visit.

[frankenburner2]

jeez...ring the bell already! maybe you two SHOULD start smoking....i know it helps me to relax...

But I am not! :twisted:

shhhhhh...go back to sleep!

[English_George]

love the thread.........

It lets every non-smoker say what they've wanted to say to a smoker, when he's lit up next to them, but has avoided the confrontation. Banning smoking in public places is the only solution. I've had people in smoking bars asking me to not smoke and I've thought to myself "the whole place is smokey, are you going to make your evening by outlawing every cigarette in the place?" It's not the smokers fault it's the proprietor's.

If it's a question of preference then.......I don't like you're aftershave, it makes me feel sick, it's spoiling my cigarette.

I don't like your loud obnoxious baffoon behaviour whilst i'm enjoying my cigarette.

The only solution is to ban smoking in public places as i said above, i'm more than happy to smoke outside and frankly it's better for my health, if i'm going to be sucking on carcinogens i would rather have some fresh oxygen and the moonlight to soothe my soul.

So don't you think? If non-smokers are going to go on the witch hunt today then how about knocking on a few doors of the major petroleum companies or nuclear global consortiums, chemical global consortiums because there's plenty of unhealthy crap being absorbed by your lungs without the addition of a bit of nicotene.

So next time someone lights up next to you, put the lemon down and complain to the house...........or go outside get some fresh air and chase down a few of Bangkok's buses and tell the driver you don't like his pollution.

79

[Guest]

love the thread.........

It lets every non-smoker say what they've wanted to say to a smoker, when he's lit up next to them, but has avoided the confrontation. Banning smoking in public places is the only solution. I've had people in smoking bars asking me to not smoke and I've thought to myself "the whole place is smokey, are you going to make your evening by outlawing every cigarette in the place?" It's not the smokers fault it's the proprietor's.

If it's a question of preference then.......I don't like you're aftershave, it makes me feel sick, it's spoiling my cigarette.

I don't like your loud obnoxious baffoon behaviour whilst i'm enjoying my cigarette.

The only solution is to ban smoking in public places as i said above, i'm more than happy to smoke outside and frankly it's better for my health, if i'm going to be sucking on carcinogens i would rather have some fresh oxygen and the moonlight to soothe my soul.

So don't you think? If non-smokers are going to go on the witch hunt today then how about knocking on a few doors of the major petroleum companies or nuclear global consortiums, chemical global consortiums because there's plenty of unhealthy crap being absorbed by your lungs without the addition of a bit of nicotene.

So next time someone lights up next to you, put the lemon down and complain to the house...........or go outside get some fresh air and chase down a few of Bangkok's buses and tell the driver you don't like his pollution.

79

GEORGE!!! You make me wanna be English!! OUTSTANDING (cough..cough)!! Here's an interesting o-chem twist for you...

We inhale (as smokers) nicotine but exhale cotintine (nobody else gets our hit, man! )... There is some research being done on the effects of cotinine on memory and cognition. Some studies have suggested that cotinine (as well as nicotine) improves memory and prevents neuron death. So.. When we die of respitory issues at least we'll be really smart bastards!!...

[babyoiy]

Smoke Bothers Me!!

[CMG_UK]

Ciggies are great....

(I quit 6 months ago though)

[eagle]

I bad :shock:

[pdiddy]

1. Smoking is bad for you.

2. Second hand smoke is bad for you.

3. Smokers and Non smokers know this.

4. Most people do not treat their bodies very well anyway.

5. It is not the job of the government to tell businesses where their customers are allowed to smoke.

I smoke, but I understand that it grosses people out. I don't enjoy smelling like smoke after a night out, and it does bother me when i'm eating.

I feel that each individual business can decide the smoking policy. I come from a state in the USA where there is no smoking ban at all. Plenty of businesses have decided to not allow smoking. This is what their customers prefer. Many people patronize these places because of this. Like wise, people will refuses to patronize places due to their smoky smell.....

So... quit acting like a big cry baby. If you don't like the smell of cancer, then leave. Don't spend your money their. Say something to the manager- maybe he will change the policy.

Many non smokers don't care, and many also believe that people should be able to make personal decisions.

Please quit demonizing smokers. We're making a decision. It's none of your business. If you hate it so much, vote with your feet and vote with your dollar.

That being said, it is incredibly rude to smoke in a non smoker's home- even if they offer. It is also rude to light up at a dinner table before getting an ok. This is common sense.

[inamorato25]

....i know it helps me to relax...

As it turns out, smokers are generally less "relaxed" than non smokers. Increased physiological stress aside, the relaxation you feel has to do with the sudden release of the built up psychological stress smokers feel in the between-smoke periods.

It is not the job of the government to tell businesses where their customers are allowed to smoke...Please quit demonizing smokers. We're making a decision. It's none of your business. If you hate it so much, vote with your feet and vote with your dollar.

In fact, it is our business. And it's also the business of government to protect it's citizens. Should a business be allowed to sell underage kids cigs and alcohol, just because it's a private business? Most people would say no.

Likewise with smoking. While it's easy for a nicotine addict (which is what a "smoker" really is) to say "the choice is yours -- if you don't like smoke, then don't go out" -- there's no choice if every place around you is smoker-friendly. In Japan, for example, only a handful of restaurants have non smoking areas. So I'm never supposed to go out?

This argument is a no-brainer: Smokers endanger the people around them, in the same way that drinkng drivers and suicide bombers do If you punch me in a bar, that's assault and you go to jail. Blow smoke in my face and it's OK? Of course not. Same rules apply. It IS the government's job to make and enforce rules to protect the rights and welfare of its citizens.