Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-hamstr!tortorino
From: tortorino@hamstr.DEC (Slippin' away . . .)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: Re: Smoking in public
Message-ID: <2324@decwrl.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 26-May-85 21:47:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: decwrl.2324
Posted: Sun May 26 21:47:11 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 30-May-85 07:36:25 EDT
Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP
Organization: DEC Engineering Network
Lines: 73


	Having been on both side of this controversy, I thought I might try
to put a little perspective on a discussion that has degenerated into mere
name-calling.  I quit smoking two years ago after having been a dedicated
smoker for 15 years.  I didn't quit because I hated smoking, but because I
began to hate the way smoking made me feel - shortness of breath, coughing,
spitting, etc.  To give you an idea of how addicted I was, you would have had
to see what I went through in order to make sure that I was NEVER without a
butt.  Even now, I figure if the doctors ever tell me that I'm dying of 
something else, I'll take up smoking again!

	It rarely bothers me to be in the same room with smokers, unless the
room is very stuffy and there are many smokers.  In any case, if I don't like
it, I can leave.  The only time that I could say that smokers bug me is when
they smoke in places that are clearly marked as being non-smoking areas, such
as supermarkets.  Most smokers comply, I know that, but there are always a
few who can't make it through the check-out line without lighting up.  Such
people would probably be obnoxious about any of their disgusting habits, and
probably fart in public as well :-)  We've also all seen those who, on 
realizing that there are no ashtrays in sight, will drop their butts on the
floor and step on them.  I don't believe this is serious outdoors, but
doing it in line at McDonald's bothers me.

	Anyway, back to perspective.  Smokers feel that it is their right
to smoke almost anywhere they please, especially in public areas.  They also
argue that if they want to engage in behavior that will endanger their lives,
that they should be allowed to.  There is some merit to that argument.  But
there's an aspect to this issue that may not have been considered.  Drinking
alcoholic beverages is another self-destructive behavior that is more or
less offensive (depending on the drinker, of course!), and is also largely a
matter of choice.  However, the places in which such behavior is allowed are
fairly restricted.  This is sort of interesting, because there's no such 
thing as passive drinking.  Also interesting is the fact that alcohol, in
and of itself, is less physically damaging than tobacco.  Yet you can't 
drink at work or on a public street or vehicle.  Many beaches prohibit
alcohol completely, and whole towns are "dry" on Sundays.  Yet, no one is
really threatened by this curtailment.  Why are smokers so defensive about
being asked not to smoke in a public placewhen it's SO offensive to others?

	I also should add a bit of personal experience.  There's always a
lot of talk about cigarettes causing lung cancer or emphysema, probably
because these are dramatic, life-threatening diseases.  Less is said about
cancer of the larynx, which is the #2 cancer among smokers.  Five years ago,
my father was told that he would have to have his larynx removed.  This
came after fifty years of smoking the butts we used to jokingly call "coffin
nails," Camels without filters.  True, he has survived for five years after
surgery, but he will never speak again, can not smell anything, can not
sneeze or blow his nose in a normal manner, and breathes through a hole in
his neck.  He has to regularly insert a metal tube into the opening in his
neck, and large amounts of phlegm collect in it and have to be cleaned out.
He communicates by means of a battery-operated device which he presses
against the muscles in his neck.  This is rather convenient, except for the
fact that small children are deathly afraid of him, and that people in
restaurants regularly check him out, as it's impossible to modulate the
loudness of the contraption.  What amazes me is that it took three years 
after I saw my father go through this before I had the will-power to quit,
and even more amazing is that my sister is still smoking to this day!

	Sorry this is so long, but I've given this a lot of thought.  If
it sounds like I've been preaching, I don't mean to - I know how difficult
it is to even DECIDE to quit smoking.  To feel that one is being coerced
into making that decision is quite frightening.  But given a choice, I
would rather be told to stop smoking due to a change in policy than 
be told that if I don't, I'll surely die or become seriously disabled.
If anyone's interested, I was able to quit using a product called BANTRON (tm).

Thanks for listening to this flickering flame . . .

	Sandy