Smoke Free DC – 90 Days To Go!
That’s right everyone, only three short months left before the real health threat of second-hand smoke will be reduced in Washington, DC.
And I mean health threat. To quote U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona:
“The scientific evidence is now indisputable: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults.”
So all you lung-killers out there, moaning about you soon-to-be-lost endangerment of my life, I say Smoke Free DC shall not come a day too soon.
Yes, then all the non-smokers can get back to polluting their livers without the annoyance of smokers in their faces.
“Yes, then all the non-smokers can get back to polluting their livers without the SERIOUS HEALTH HAZARD of smokers in their faces.”
There. I fixed that for you.
My libertarian heart has VERY mixed feelings about the whole smoking ban thing but I must point out…
The human liver is far, far more resilient than the human lungs, which continue to suffer the effects of tobacco carcinogens for years after the smoke is inhaled. On the other hand, if you consume one drink per hour, you’ll wake up in the morning and your liver will be good as new.
Whether the state should be regulating what is essentially voluntary behavior is a valid question, but there’s no comparison between alcohol and secondhand smoke. (I suppose the designated driver shouldn’t worry about his/her lungs too?)
How do you explain cirrhosis? People with enlarged livers because of excessive alcohol consumption? Actually, the two vices are equal as far as damage to your body. If you ever have to get into alcohol education, this’ll be the first thing you learn about alcohol abuse – unfortunately for some people, any drop of alcohol consumed is considered abuse.
Don’t get me wrong – not here to judge – I like to imbibe too but just pointing out what health experts also say – alcohol destroys more than brain cells.
I agree too that though no one forces me to drink, smoking is definitely an intrusive habit that smokers impose on non-smokers and the innocent.
An occasional drink won’t do nearly the damage of an occasional cigarette :)
Moderate drinking doesn’t cause cirrhosis. Moderate smoking does cause cancer.
You said it yourself- cirrhosis is caused by excessive drinking. “Excessive” smoking just gives you cancer and emphysema faster than moderate smoking would.
lol at the bitter smokers
shouldn’t you be out in the back of some building?
newsflash: you are no longer in high school. you weren’t cool then are you aren’t cool now.
Ooooh Oohhhh it can’t come a moment too soon.
Since I have never heard of someone getting liver problems from the dude drinking at the neighboring table I don’t much see the parallel.
Don, you have a point. I don’t know why it seems necessary to even try to make a comparison between smoking and drinking when we all know both are bad for your health (except for all those studies that say that drinking a glass of red wine a day does good for the heart and that beer may be good for you). The only difference is that these two activities are being done in the same context – a bar where some people enjoy doing both.
To get back to the point that Don made, let’s not compare the “healthfulness” of one activity over the other. Let’s just celebrate the fact that we can kill our brain cells smoke-free in less than 90 days!