Quitting may save health and the job (won't be long until govt employees cannot smoke at home?)

[The Straight Story]

Quitting may save health and the job


Not content with pushing smokers at least 3 feet away from the doors of county buildings and requiring drivers of county vehicles to pull over and get out to take a smoke break, Sullivan County now is considering a much more sweeping prohibition.

If the Legislature goes along this week, smokers would find themselves exiled from all county property, including parks, in the interest of keeping the air clear not only in buildings but also around them.

Other counties — including Orange, which bans smoking in county buildings but allows it 30 feet away — should follow this example. If the goal of the rule is to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke, there is no justification for creating a smoky gauntlet on the way to work.

While smokers will not be happy with these tighter restrictions, they might consider that more could be on the way. As documented in a New York Times story Friday, many hospitals throughout the country are banning not just smoking but also smokers.

...

It should not be long before some governments decide that going smoke-free should refer to the work force, not just the buildings and grounds, in an effort to set a good example and save money.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110213/OPINION/102130320/-1/SITEMAP

"requiring drivers of county vehicles to pull over and get out to take a smoke break"

I will sit in my garage for 2 hours and chain smoke, with the doors and windows sealed, if these folks will sit in a similar garage with the doors and windows sealed and run their cars. Would be interesting to see which one causes more harm to whom.

[rfranklin]

1. Why not mainline nicotine?

Smoking is an inefficient way to deliver the addictive substance which smokers crave. It would be much more satisfying and less dangerous just to inject doses of nicotine.

[CrispyQ]

2. Can you vaporize tobacco like you can with pot? --nt

[ixion]

3. and the anti-smoking extremists continue their tirade

at some point, smokers are going to rebel.

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. E cigarettes...though they are starting to ban them also. n/t

[orion007]

5. Capital Hill smokers have a smoking balcony

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2010/3/25/hazards-for-smokers-on-capitol-hill

[jp11]

6. When can we start banning fire?

Or at least ticket all forms of combustion that occur near humans?

[strategery blunder]

7. I agree that it's pointless to ban smoking in public buildings only to allow it right outside.

Nonsmokers will still inevitably inhale clouds of smoke as they attempt to enter the "smoke-free" building. If the point of the laws is to protect nonsmokers from involuntarily smoking, allowing smokers to clog up building entrances makes the law pointless.

Even the 30-feet away ordinances (WA has a state law concerning that) are relatively pointless due to lack of enforcement.

Banning smoking in private homes, however, is way over the top. I know employers try to justify it by way of increased health costs, but that opens the door to prohibiting practically anything (unhealthy eating is an example that's already come to pass) during off-the-clock time. If it's your own property and your own time, I don't care what you do; I simply do not wish to be involuntarily subjected to it.

Can someone please pass me some :popcorn: ?

[HockeyMom]

8. Not satisfied with second hand smoking,

they are now giving us THIRD HAND smoking. Come in contact with the CLOTHES of somebody who has smoked, and you will get cancer. Are these people serious? You know what? Let's just BAN the manufacture and sale of tobacco. Let's see how far that one gets you. Can you say Prohibition?

[Recovered Repug]

11. Can't ban it. That would cost too much in lost tax revenue. nt.

[orion007]

9. D.C. lawmakers smoke in their offices,

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703708404575586581040981148.html

[underseasurveyor]

10. Smoking tobacco is legal but smoking may prevent you from getting a job?

Drinking alcohol is legal, so is eating junk food.

So is.....(?)

What will be next?

As a non-(ex)-smoker even I say this is bullshit. What I do in my own home is NO ONES DAMN BUSINESS! Not not neighbors, not my friends or family and certainly not my employer.

[HockeyMom]

12. Oh, you cannot imagine what they will try to do

I work for a school district. They are self insured. With their new, "Your health, your choice" plan, they are even monitoring pregnancies. Their questionnaire asked if you or your spouse (non employee) are planning to get pregnant. HOW OLD ARE YOU? Why? Because the AMA is "recommending" that women are at greater risk if they have their children "later in life". That is in 30's or above! So now, they are telling people when they should have children? What is next? How many? They are even talking about adding a RISK PENALTY for women who "choose" to have kids later in life.

This is all about MONEY and CONTROLLING your life to get that money.