I smoke but I don't hit!!

As a non-smoker who hates the smell of smoke (what non-smoker likes it, lol), I have to say that I agree with you. You sound fairly considerate - you go outside to smoke, don't light up in others' houses, and understand that no, your smoke does NOT smell like roses. For people to complain when you light up outside, though, it ridiculous. It's fairly easy for them to move away - it is, after all, OUTSIDE.

As much as people may not like it, smoking IS a legal pasttime, and I think that nonsmokers have to realize we've won the battle regarding smoking indoors; we need to concede the outside battlefield to you guys.

What would you say to a group of people who stand right by the steps that others need to use to get to a building? I had that happen to me and I ended up in the emergency room. I could't walk someplace else -- unless I wanted to jump to the lower level. Oh, well, I still would have ended up in the ED -- but with broken bones or perhaps a fatal head injury.

(And they were indigent when I said something to them. Of course, they were long gone by the time the ambulance arrived.)

I may seem "ridiculous" but it is merely my need to continue to breathe. Is that so wrong?

As a smoker, I'd have to say those crowded around the doorway are pretty inconsiderate. Not to mention usually the inside of the building around that area usually stinks. Kinda defies the purpose of having them smoke outside.

Our ban prohibits smoking within a certain amount of feet of any business entrance.

I'm a non smoker. I've never smoked and never will. What other people do with their lives as long as they are not harming others is none of my business. That being said I can't stand the smell. I believe anyone who is smoking outside a public building entrance is rude and inconsiderate. If there is nothing wrong with smoking then there is nothing wrong with finishing your smoke in your car and not subjecting other people to it unnecessarily.

Aren't there some efforts to ban smoking in cars going on right now? At some point, people really do have to grow up and realize that sharing the planet with other people means you're going to have to tolerate things you'd prefer not to at times. I can't stand rap music but have to deal with it when my neighbor has family cookouts and drags the stereo outside for the day.

During the day we let them party on. If they have it really loud still past dinnertime we'll ask them if they'd turn it down some. We do try to keep the kids in or take them to the park to keep them from listening to hard core rap all day. It's really from that old "do unto others" thing. We've had our own cookouts with friends over and I'm sure our neighbor probably didn't like our country music any more than we like their rap. But until we win the lottery and buy our own island, that's just life.

justme i would rather listen to country then rap. rap sounds pretty much the same to me.

The only efforts towards banning smoking in private cars that I have heard of has to do with children in the car. Children need protection from second hand smoke, especially in such a small confined space. (Oh, and in some states, there are laws that prohibit people from throwing lit cigarettes out the window. Fire safety.)

I'm pretty polite about my smoking. I sit away from others, don't smoke anywhere near kids, and only in areas I'm allowed to. If I'm standing at a crosswalk waiting for the light to change, I walk away from anyone else also waiting.

So, when someone does the exaggerated cry-baby thing where they pretend to cough and wave their hands furiously and give me angry looks, I walk by and blow smoke in their face. Screw 'em.

I'm pretty polite about my smoking. I sit away from others, don't smoke anywhere near kids, and only in areas I'm allowed to. If I'm standing at a crosswalk waiting for the light to change, I walk away from anyone else also waiting.

Me too. I stand outside in the smoking section freezing my ass off huddled around a trash can that the bar owner was polite enough to light on fire for me, five feet away from the trash dumpsters. Fine. I'll help protect your pink lungs but do not look at me like I am the only one with a bad habit.

Screw 'em......

...is my new motto to everything.

Pretty much the way things are now is that you can only be nasty to fat people and smokers.. oh sh!t!!!!! I'm in trouble! I'm both fat and a smoker.. I might as well just stick my head in the ground.. or I suppose I could just continue to do what I do now.. tell people to mind their own business!

exaggerated cry-baby thing where they pretend to cough

Who says they are pretending? I have asthma. When I am within ten feet of smoke, I wheeze -- which means I also cough.

My son had an asthma so severe one time that he actually stopped breathing and nearly died. I have ended up in the ED a couple of times myself because of second hand smoke.

Until you can control where your second hand smoke goes, expect others to object to being forced to participate in your drug addiction. For many of these people, exposure to second hand smoke is like being assaulted by a deadly weapon.

Karri - how about when I go to the club that built an outside patio specifically for smokers? How about when non smokers come out there and fake cough? There are times when it is a load of BS. I've been in this very situation; outside on the patio and someone comes out there acting an ass because of the smoke, when this is the designated smoking area.

I was at a friend's house a couple of years ago. People were smoking in the house. Another friend comes over with her kid and is insisting that people smoke outside because of her baby. She got the collective finger.

Some people (not all) are simply unreasonable when it comes to smoking.

I don't go to places that allow smoking. Fortunately, there are very few such places in my state. In fact, I will avoid states that do not have strong laws to protect my life.

About ten years ago, while visiting relatives in another state, we went to a restaurant. I requested the smoke-free section and explained why. I was told that the smoking section was in a separate room and had its own ventilation. They sat us at a table near the smoking section -- and then left the door open. I started to wheeze, so I shut the door to the section and used my inhaler. Then I heard a waitress complain about the closed door. I explained I closed the door. I had been promised a smoke free environment and the second hand smoke made me sick. Would you have called me unreasonable for standing up for my NEED to breathe?

There is no need to smoke. There is a biological need to breathe. If you don't believe me, see if you can go fifteen minutes with a smoke. Then see if you can go fifteen minutes without a breathe.

Nicotine is an addictive, mind altering drug. There is no reason to coddle people who abuse any addictive, mind altering drug.

By the way, I hope your "outside patio" is built in such a way that the smoke does not leave the patio. Then you might have a reason to complain. But if any of the smoke goes into the restaurant or onto the public street, people have every right to complain about being assaulted by your smoke.

Thank God not everything is up to non-smokers! lmao

I don't go to places that allow smoking. Fortunately, there are very few such places in my state. In fact, I will avoid states that do not have strong laws to protect my life.

Try Ohio (where I live). Then maybe you can make up the lost revenue from the non-smoking bans LOL!!

By the way, I hope your "outside patio" is built in such a way that the smoke does not leave the patio. Then you might have a reason to complain. But if any of the smoke goes into the restaurant or onto the public street, people have every right to complain about being assaulted by your smoke.

What Henry said :)

Not to mention if you're ten feet away from a smoker, from what the "official" study indicated there's very little chance you're getting the secondhand smoke anyhow. The funny part is it's the same one people have twisted to make their argument against people being allowed to smoke outdoors in public.

Maybe for other people, Justme, but not for me. I do have bad asthma and have tried that and it doesn't work for me. I wish it would work, then I wouldn't get so many darn pulmonary related problems. from smoke from cigarettes, cigars, incense, BBQ fumes, heavy cooking fumes etc.......

Lilith, I read your other post detailing what you go through. I'm impressed that even with the problems you wrestle with you still respect your neighbor's rights. Have they ever offered to try to do something different that would help you? I was thinking smoking in the garage with a smoke eater or something along those lines. At that distance, you shouldn't be getting any significant levels of carcinogens, but it sounds like the odor itself is enough to cause problems for you.

I was reading your post about your experiences at the bus stop and it stinks that people who do have problems get treated like that. Smokers catch so much crap from others that they end up assuming anyone with an attitude is just being obnoxious. One day on the street, heading for my car, there was a woman giving me nasty hateful looks. I wrote her off as "one of those" and was going on my way, enjoying my cigarette. Next thing I know she had an inhaler out. I was horrified and thinking "For cryin out loud, intead of just giving nasty looks, just say something like, hey can you help me out here...I have severe asthma or allergies." I guess some people would have been mean to her but crap, take a chance...not all of us are a-holes.

I respect smokers because my dad was a polite one ( mom too but a little less so than dad). He never smoked in the house with my step mother and always put it out before he came in. He never threw his cigars randomly and never smoked in the car not even his car.

I'm firm believer in people's freedoms to do with their bodies as they please even if it might not be in their best , I say. If they want help. I do believe most know who and where to seek help from and not others giving the lectures.

Smoke never bothered me before I hit my late 30s; my nose and lungs just started wimping out after years of on and off mulitple pneumonias and they just couldn't take it anymore. If I get an attack now from my asthma, it's bad and now if get sick, it is always pneumonia and now I must use steriods. I can't get better without them anymore... =(

It's getting worse as I get older and I get scared. I'm not looking forward to getting if I get lucky to get what society calls old. I fear getting old, I really do....

I really do miss all that incense, it was so peaceful smelling......

Just curious...does burning sage bother you also? Have you ever tried that? It cleans the air. My friend's family burns it in their home a lot. It's a Native American tradition, a "cleanser". Their house was never "smokey" - it just made the air in the house really fresh and sweet.

I'm so sorry for your struggles. Hopefully with a little luck something will come out on the market that will really help you. In the meantime I send my best wishes to you :)

I tried burning sage and while I love it, I have to wear a mask. My apartment is "sagey" but not smokey. I dunno if that makes sense but that's what I mean. I must have one of the wimpiest pulmonary systems around.

I'm just hoping one day I can get off all these medications and smell perfume, incense, fire logs and more someday. without having a coughing fit that last a least 20 minutes per fit. I absolutely detest steroids! Yuck!

Thanks you for understanding and caring... :-)

That makes sense. I guess because I know a woman out in AZ who lives on a ranch out in the desert. She is allergic to pretty much all man-made scents. Before going out there one can not use any scented soaps, shampoos, and no deodorants, or perfumes. Your problems remind me of that a little.

I hope things get better and easier for you. :)

Who says they are pretending? I have asthma. When I am within ten feet of smoke, I wheeze -- which means I also cough.

The difference between the two isn't hard to spot. Some people make a production of it.

I've had people accuse me of making a production of it -- as my lips are turning blue. But I guess I was faking that, too.

Look if you want to smoke, go ahead, but just don't do it where other people have to breathe.

And, yes, nicotine is mind altering. Why do you think people get to irritable when detoxing? (I can get a more detailed medical explanation for it, dealing with neurotransmitters chemistry and receptors if you want.)

I've had people accuse me of making a production of it -- as my lips are turning blue. But I guess I was faking that, too.

Well, as a non-smoker, I have no reference point for you. I have known people that physically can't be around it. We really can tell the difference.

Look if you want to smoke, go ahead, but just don't do it where other people have to breathe.

Fair enough. But if I'm going out of my way to avoid non-smokers when I smoke, and they choose to come up to me so that they can get offended, then screw them.

lol

my husband is an ex-smoker and he is one of the good ones. Cigarette smoke travels a long ways. my neighbors smoke outside of their house and if I leave my garage door open the smell comes in, I just go and spray some deodorizer. i do not go over and yell at them for smoking on there own property. I don't have to like it, but I do need to be considerate of there rights.

for me the cough is real I just can't breathe around it.

Don't be so sure that the smoke is not headed in their direction. How do you know? My lungs tell me that the smoke extends much further than you can ever imagine. (So does the science, BTW.)

Are you saying that I don't have a right to protect my right to life?

Second hand smoke kills. A study from 15 years ago showed that 50,000 non-smokers per year died from heart disease directly attributable to second hand smoke. That number does not include people who die from the respiratory effects, like Christopher Reeves' widow -- or people who die from asthma attacks due to second hand smoke. Second hand smoke has been implicated in SIDS deaths, too.

There is a lot of science to prove that smokers endanger the lives of those around them. I WILL stand up for my right to live and breathe. If you don't like it, then don't use an addictive, mind-altering drug around innocent people.

Karri to be honest I don't know the statistics on this, but I imagine those 50,000 non-smokers probably live with smokers or are around them all the time. You already admitted to not being around smoke. What are you complaining about? That I smoke several states away? lol If that's killing you, then we're all dead.

What does science say about the folks like my great-granny who started smoking when she was around 12 and was still at it when she died at 89yrs of a bleeding ulcer?

A 2006 U.S. Surgeon General's report claims second-hand smoke kills tens of thousands of individuals each year. Second-hand smoke can be dangerous in indoor exposure. And according to recent research at Stanford University, it has also been found that smoking can affect the quality of air in an outdoor setting, such as at a park bench. The study found that by sitting a few feet down-wind from a smoker, second-hand smoke could expose someone to contaminated fumes that are much more concentrated than normal air pollution levels.

You might catch the smell but actually science says that if you're more than a few feet away, unless you're downwind you're really not likely to catch any of the carcinogens.

First of all, that study does state how dangerous outdoor second hand smoke is. Furthermore, even up wind you can catch enough to set off asthma attacks and even have the potential to cause other severe acute cardiopulmonary reactions. I even react up to ten minutes after the smoker stops, even outdoors.

Karri I'm just curious. Is 2nd hand smoke the only thing that bothers your asthma?

Actually, no, there are a lot of things that bother it from animals to food to meds. However, I have managed to cut almost everything else out of my life, or at least keep them to levels that I can tolerate before the allergy machine turns on. It seems like smoking is the one thing that I have trouble avoiding, no matter how hard I try. (Which makes sense since it is an irritant and not an allergen, so there is no minimum that has to be reached.)

Some smokers just don't get it. They think they have every right to smoke whenever and whereever they please. And if you don't like it, well, you are just rude and/or trying to make them feel bad (just like any other addict -- it's your fault.) I'm sure there are people out there who truly are considerate and don't want to hurt innocent bystanders, but it's the entitled addicts out there that make it so hard for everyone.

And, Lilith, I so understand where you are coming from. There is nothing worse than not being able to breathe. (Hey, have you read the research on asthmatic nurses and pediatric asthmatic patients? It's more than ten years old, but very interesting.)

I agree with this. That's like going to a rock concert and complaining that it's loud.

My question is about where is the smoking section? When the allowed smoking around here I would request the "smoke-free" section and they would sit me right next to a smoker. Do I have a right to complain then? What if the "smoking section" is an outdoor right next to a public sidewalk? If I am walking on the sidewalk, don't I have a right to complain? (I've tried holding my breathe, but I frequently can't hold it long enough.)

I solved the problem with the restaurant, though. I'd just complain that I requested a smoke free table. They can then move me or I would walk out -- and never go back there again. Now we have all smoke free restaurants so I can eat anywhere. But, if I am ever unlucky enough to visit a state without safe restaurants, I will just refuse to eat in one where I can't breathe.

In most states I've been to (pre-ban craze) there have always been some restaurants that allow smoking and some don't. If I wanted no smoke for whatever reason, then I'd go to a smoke-free restaurant. If it didn't matter I'd pick whatever. It wasn't terribly hard. Still isn't. My state hasn't passed a ban yet. If I have my daughter there are quite a few restaurants I can go to. If I'm solo, there are some other places I normally avoid that I'll go enjoy.

This is gonna sound a little callous probably so here goes.... I realize it really sucks for people with major medical issues, and I try to be considerate. At some point though, they've got to realize the whole world doesn't have to change for them. Where is the mutual consideration? I agree the "smoking section" in most places was a joke...which is probably why for a long time now there have been family restaurants that went smoke free.

Thanks :) Now go get your own planet already...this one's mine!!!

Where is the mutual consideration?

I'm not sure mutual consideration comes into it, if something can be proven to be dangerous to your health. A lot of the smoking laws weren't enacted just to protect people who go to a restaurant or bar where people are smoking, it's also to benefit people who work in those establishments.

Effects of second hand smoke

found this I think it is a bit extreme. They are even weird on pets.

I bet they'd ban alcohol if they could. lol

I know someone oneline who live in a retirement community that doesn't allow pets. These are individual homes, not apartments. I find that really odd.

Actually, this trend towards not allowing smoking anywhere on a property is becoming more and more common. However, there are some legal concerns about banning smoking in private vehicles.