Should it be illegal to smoke in front of kids?

I have no problem with people smoking, so long as they do so in the privacy of their own homes or vehicles where no one else is being forced to inhale their stale, polluted air.  However, when little kids are involved, I draw the line.

This past spring and summer I attended many t-ball games where my 5-year-old daughter and her friends participated in a friendly we-don't-keep-score-and-just-play-for-fun game of t-ball.  Yet at every single one of those games some individual kept lighting up cigarette after cigarette after cigarette, forcing me and everyone else -- including the kids -- to inhale their smoke.

I have asthma too, and the smoke bothers me.  But I'm thinking of the kids first.  I have trouble fathoming the idea that an adult, addicted or not, can't go one hour without lighting up.

Liberty means to exercise  human rights in any manner a person chooses so long as it does not interfere  with the exercise of the right of others.  Going by this, all people have a right to smoke cigarettes, but that right should stop as soon as nonsmokers are in the room.

As an adult, I can easily avoid your stale, polluted air.  However, your children cannot.  For this reason, it should, by default, be illegal to smoke in front of children.

Seriously folks, I'm not a champion for more laws, as I believe every law takes away some liberty.  However, if that law would protect innocent children, then I'm all for it.  I think it is absolutely cruel to force children to inhale polluted air because you choose to smoke cigarettes.

There are already enough studies to show that second hand smoke is harmful, and especially to asthmatic children. When I was a kid I remember suffering heartily when adults smoked around me, and I make every effort to make sure that never happens to my kids.

Now, evidence suggests that even third hand smoke, the remnants of smoke that stick to carpet and furniture, can be inhaled with consequences.  Evidence suggests it may trigger asthma, and a new study shows that it may even cause cancer.

I don't like to judge people.  I don't want to make laws forcing people to take certain actions, or not to take certain actions.  But if people are going to continue to light up around people -- people who have a natural right to inhale pure air -- then it might be time to take action against it.

Further reading:

• 20 reasons to quit
• 10 tips to help you quit smoking

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Common sense is lacking in health care

The following is a letter to the editor of the RT Cave:

"I would like to do go to work, do my job the way I want to do it, go home, collect my check, and live happily ever after.  I don't want to deal with arrogant condescending doctors anymore.  I don't want to attend department meetings.  I don't want to tell my boss things that are lies just so I can keep the peace.  I'm tired of doing those stupid annual mandatory inservice that force us to read stuff we otherwise could care less about.  I'm tired of taking BLS classes every other year (what I like to call B.S.).  I don't want to have to continue to do breathing treatments that are a waste of time.  I don't want to be forced (anymore) to do CPR on someone who is dead, so they can get a heart beat and sit in a coma for another two weeks.  I want common sense, is what I want.  I think that's what we all want. Truthfully, I love this profesison in theory, but I'm tired of the Bullcrap in medicine."

Thanks for hearing me. Tom, RRT.

Response:

"I would like to start with where you ended, that this is a great profession, however, it does have some flaws.  However, in my opinion, the problems we see as respiratory therpists are simply reverberations of the flaws of the medical profession, which is simply reverberations of the flaws of men.  Consider this: During the course of 99.9% of our history, medicine was entirely based on theory; there was no science in it.  Science, therefore, only started to enter the medical profession sometime around the mid 19th century.  Since then, more science has been added to the profession, yet medicine is the slowest profession that should be based 100% on science to adapt new ideas.  It is for this reason that much of medicine is still based on fiction as compared to fact.  Yes, I see you that it can be very frustrating.  Now, as far as attending department meetings, BLS, and mandatory inservices, those are the result of money happy lawyers.  The only way to get rid of this junk would be for Congress to pass a law limiting the power of lawyers on the medical profession.  Considering lawyers are the ones most likely to run the country, I highly doubt this will happen any time soon.  I think the best we can do is continue to do the best we can using the best common sense judgement we can, while continuing to educate in the best way we can without offending the poeple responsible for us getting our paychecks."

Thanks, Rick Frea, RRT

If you would like to submit a letter to the editor of RT Cave, please click on the "contact me" icon to the right.  The editor deserves the right to edit for clarification.