Battle begins over 2nd hand smoke and e-cigs

Even while some people still smoke, I think it's safe to say that the battle against cigarette smoking has essentially been won.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1965 42% of the population smoked, and today it's down to 10%.  I think that's significant progress.

Most people, even smokers, now accept smoking is deadly.  The Surgeon General's office reports that over 20 million people have died from smoking related illnesses since 1965.  Science has proven this is probably due to the over 7,000 chemicals inside cigarettes, 70 of which have been linked to cancer.  The Institute of Medicine reports that 2nd hand smoke increases the risk of heart disease by 25-30%.

In fact, the battle has been so successful that even the dangers of second hand smoke, which at one time were considered harmless, are now commonly taught in schools.  Most people are now aware that exposure to second hand smoke may be just as harmful as first hand smoke.

Obviously there is still progress to be made.  Efforts are ongoing to finish the job of getting America over its addiction to cigarettes.  Yet the fight has advanced, somewhat to other areas.  Not satisfied with just getting people to quit smoking, some lawmakers have moved on to 3rd hand smoke and e-cigarettes.

Surely there are chemicals emitted from the stagnant smoke that lingers on furniture and carpet on rooms and vehicles where someone recently smoked.  Surely there are chemicals in e-cigarettes that are harmful, as the CDC has reported an increase in e-cig related calls to poison control offices.

While there are always advantages to public relations campaigns to encourage people to make wise choices, the battle against those individuals who continue to smoke even though they know it will kill them, and the battle to get people not to smoke e-cigs, and the battle to prevent someone from smelling cigarette smoke on someone's clothing, should be left to educational efforts.

Eli Lehrer recently wrote an article regarding this at National Review called "Diminishing Returns: The Campaign against (if you can believe it) third hand smoke."  He states that some states have even outlawed smoking e-cigarettes in public, studies don't conclude there are no risks to the smoker, although they do conclude risks to bystanders are negligible.

The author says:

This isn’t to suggest that e-cigarettes are safe. They contain nicotine, a very addictive stimulant that, like all stimulants, has the potential to cause heart problems. The fact that they’re quite addictive and may have long-term risks nobody has discovered (they’ve been on the market for less than a decade) is good reason to keep them away from children and out of schools, daycare centers, and medical facilities. Although not perfect, newly issued FDA regulations, which would ban sales to minors nationally, take a much more sensible approach to e-cig regulation than most localities have to date. But, whatever their dangers, e-cigarettes aren’t the same as cigarettes. People who use them instead of tobacco cigarettes can expect at least some of the same health benefits as those who quit smoking. And nothing suggests that their vapor is anything like secondhand smoke. Indeed, almost all research indicates the opposite.

He concludes:

The preponderance of the evidence indicates that both thirdhand smoke and e-cigarette vapor are the chemical equivalent of dirty looks. They may well be unpleasant or offensive to some people. But the public health case against them appears weak to nonexistent. Public policy would do well simply to leave them alone.

I would tend to agree.

The main crux of the battle against first and second hand smoke was that the person smoking was trampling on my natural right to breathe fresh air.  To extend this battle to third hand smoke and e-cigarettes would require taking the battle into a person's home, further trampling on personal liberties.

As Lehrer notes, "If thirdhand smoke or e-cig vapor caused the same ills, another campaign might be warranted. But they probably don’t."

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Facts about 2nd hand smoke

Here are some facts about 2nd hand smoke. This list may be different from other lists because I'm basing my list on facts obtained from studies and not my own personal opinion and vested interest.

Note, however, that I want people to quit smoking, and I want people who do not smoke to be protected from 2nd hand smoke. However I do not believe there should be any attempt by any government to force people to quit smoking other than through education.

It is my belief that most people are smart, and provided with facts they will make the best decision for themselves. I do not believe facts come from organizations and companies that in some way profit from smoking. I also do not believe the facts come from organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) either.

In a way this is frustrating, because ideally we should be able to get all our facts from such organizations as the WHO, our government, or at least from the Media. Yes it's true, even the media can't fully be trusted.

So this is why we must keep our minds and ears open and get our news from a variety of sources. While I do not pretend to know all the truths, I do like to lay out all the facts so we can all make an educated decision. This, after all, is the goal of the RT Cave.

We do, however, agree that 2nd hand smoke is bad, even though all the information we receive might be twisted in one way or another. That in mind, here are some facts about 2nd hand smoke.

1. 2nd hand smoke may not cause lung cancer, as you can see by this WHO study. Despite this, the WHO notes that 2nd hand smoke kills as many as 600,000 people each year, as you can read here. We're neutral here, so you decide.
2. There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke, and over 250 of them are known to cause damage to the human body such as aging the body, thinning the skin and arteries, destroying cilia in the lungs, etc. This effect is just as damaging to those who breath second hand smoke as those who inhale the smoke directly.
3. It causes 600,000 premature deaths each year
4. It causes hardening of arteries and heart disease (about 46,000 deaths annually)
5. It increases your risk for stroke and brain aneurysms (thinning arteries)
6. It increases your risk for getting chronic obstructive lung disease, especially if you have asthma
7. It increases your risk for getting pneumonia
8. It shortens your lifespan (yes, even if you inhale someone else's smoke)
9. Separate areas in a building to not decrease your risk for second hand smoke related exposure. This is why smoking sections have no effect.
10. Ventilation systems do not decrease your risk of inhaling 2nd hand smoke. Smoke can get from a smoking area to a non smoking area even if there's a door between rooms.
11. 40% of children are exposed to smoke at home.
12. 31% of smoking related deaths occur in children
13. 2nd hand smoke greatly increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
14. 2nd hand smoke increases risk your child will develop asthma
15. Kids exposed to 2nd hand smoke are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to smoke themselves
16. Results in increased sick days and lost wages
17. Increases economic costs to society by forcing all of us to pay for the care of smoking related diseases and smoking cessation programs
18. Decreases lifespans (each cigarette takes 7 minutes off your life)
19. The World Health Organization notes that, "More than 94% of people are unprotected by smoke-free laws. However, in 2008 the number of people protected from second-hand smoke by such laws increased by 74% to 362 million from 208 million in 2007. Of the 100 most populous cities, 22 are smoke-free. (Note here, however, that a government has the job of protecting us from each other, but not from ourselves)
20. Other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function
21. 50,000 to 300,000 lung infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually
22. Increases in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million children who have asthma
23. More than 750,000 middle ear infections in children
24. Pregnant women exposed to secondhand smoke are also at increased risk of having low birth- weight babies.
25. It may be linked to breast cancer
26. Causes premature death and disease in children and in adults who do not smoke.
27. Smoking by parents causes breathing (respiratory) symptoms and slows lung growth in their children.
28. Secondhand smoke immediately affects the heart and blood circulation in a harmful way. Over a longer time it also causes heart disease and lung cancer.
29. The scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
30. Many millions of Americans, both children and adults, are still exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes and workplaces (a cause of occupational asthma) despite a great deal of progress in tobacco control.
31. The only way to fully protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke indoors is to prevent all smoking in that indoor space or building. Separating smokers from non-smokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot keep non-smokers from being exposed to secondhand smoke.
32. Driving in a car with the cigarette dangling out the window does not mean other people in the car will not be exposed to 2nd hand smoke

The following are facts about 2nd hand smoke some may not want you to know:

1. 2nd hand smoke may not cause lung cancer, as you can see by this WHO study. Despite this, the WHO notes that 2nd hand smoke kills as many as 600,000 people each year, as you can read here. We're neutral here, so you decide
2. The WHO also learned that parents smoked had had a 22% better chance of NOT contracting lung cancer than did adult children who came from homes where both parents did not smoke. WHO tried to hide this fact
3. The WHO has a vested interest in getting people to quit smoking because they believe governments should have universal health care, and smoking would therefore increase economic costs to various governments.
4. Despite what the WHO mentioned above, some studies show that technology such as air filtration systems in bars to filter as much as 100% of 2nd hand smoke from the atmosphere of the building. So ventilation systems can be effective.
5. The number of deaths caused by 2nd hand smoke is often exaggerated. The study showing 2nd hand smoke does not cause lung cancer, and the fact 2nd hand smoke is still attributed to 2nd hand smoke, is a perfect example. The WHO and the Environmental Protection Agency have invested interests in exaggerating these numbers.
6. Most people do not approve of smoking bans in public places. For example, in New York 85% said such laws went too far (however, personally, I believe such laws are necessary and Constitutional. The Constitution gives lawmakers the right to protect us from each other. However, I think such laws should give businesses the right to be smoke free or not smoke free and the people can choose whether or not to go to the businesses that allow smokers inside. Let the market decide and not some lawmaker in Washington).
7. There are no studies that show people miss more work due to 2nd hand smoke. There are many reasons people miss work, and none could be ruled out. It could be second hand smoke, but there's no real evidence to show this.
8. There is no real proof smoking increases medical costs. There is no proof these people would have had medical problems regardless whether they smoked or not. There is proof that people who smoke and have increased health problems have bad genes, so perhaps these people would have had bad health regardless that they smoked (or inhaled 2nd hand smoke).
9. Even scientific studies are interpreted by people who have biases. Questions can be asked to generate a certain response. Studies can be interpreted with bias. In this way, sometimes statistics can be skewered.
10. It is a fact that some studies show 2nd hand smoke causes certain diseases, and similar studies that show the opposite. As we can see by the WHO, the ones that are inconvenient to the biases of the organization are ignored and those that prove the bias are reported.
11. The smoking industry lied about the dangers of 2nd hand smoke until recent years. This is why some smokers have succeeded in suing these companies.
12. The U.S. government knew prior to WWI that smoking was dangerous to people's health, yet still gave out free cigarettes to soldiers in WWI and WWII. The U.S. government succeeded in getting America addicted to cigarettes knowing it was bad in order to help the smoking industry in order to boost the economy. This is a fact. Look it up for yourself.
13. In 1929 a study was published in Germany linking cigarette smoke with lung cancer (see here).
14. Automated cigarette machines were invented in the late 19th century which made it easy to make cigarettes. The industry soon took off, and it boomed with the help of the U.S. government

The above facts were obtained from common wisdom, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, Citizens Freedom Alliance, Inc,

Help FDA create new cigarette warning labels

Within the next year a package of cigarettes may look like a pack of Cyanide. The FDA has made a new regulation that requires the up to 50% of the package to feature warnings of the dangers of smoking.

The warnings will have to feature picture messages that would cover the top half of the front and back of the package -- 50% of the package.

Likewise, any advertisements will have to feature warnings about the dangers of smoking cigarettes covering 20% of the ad.

Once again, I'm not a fan of the government forcing people to smoke, yet considering there are still people who claim not to understand that smoking can kill and is highly addictive, I think it's about time for such a warning system.

For people that are coming to the hospital today because they can't breathe or because they have lung cancer or some other smoking related disease, they didn't know any better.

Prior to the 1980s the dangers of smoking were probably known to the manufacturers of cigarettes, and even to government officials, yet this information was not distributed to the folks. I believe the reason for this was that cigarette sales were good for the economy.

Yet there is not reason anyone on God's great earth should ever pick up a cigarette today not knowing that it's poison. And if the government has to put a big bold picture warning on cigarettes, then it's about time.

Now the FDA has listed some warning pictures to post on cigarettes, and they want you to choose which one you like best. To do this, click here.

I personally don't like any of the choices. I prefer something bolder like the following:

• SMOKE AND DIE
• SMOKING KILLS (this one is a choice)
• IT'S LEGAL TO BE STUPID! SMOKE AND YOU ARE STUPID!!!!
• SMOKE HAS 40,000 HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS, INCLUDING CYANIDE, ARSENIC, AND NICOTINE!!!!!!!!!
• If I had a nickel for every time a COPD or cancer patient said to me, "If I'd have known I'd die like this I never would have started smoking!" I'd be rich!!!
• Facebook

I actually like the one that has a picture of a sick COPD patients.

Or, better yet, how about just placing a picture of a mom and dad on the package and write something like: "Mom and dad want you to smoke!!!!" Like this comic from the Grand Rapids Press.

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Facts about second hand smoke

Every day at MyAsthmaCentral.com we get lots of asthma related questions. Below are some questions I thought my readers at the RT Cave would enjoy.

Question: What are the hazards of second hand smoke? work at a nursing facility where the majority of the staff still smoke. The smoking shed is right next to my work shop and I can smell the smoke. Also, while I am working in the yard, smokers come up to me and continue to smoke. How dangerous is all of this? Can you help me with literature or information that I can give to my boss? He thinks I am over re-acting

My humble answer: Here's some ammo for you. All you have to do is follow the links:

1. Second hand smoke : facts about second hand smoke
2. Third hand smoke : Interesting article
3. Smokers quit kit: There's some info in here I think you'll find very useful, such as the listing of all the ingredients in a cigarette. Must read.
3. Second hand smoke and lung cancer

The is a war. We are in a war against ignorance. However, we can't just say, "Hey! You're ignorant." More or less, we have to lead by example, and we have to continue to learn the facts, and to share the facts.

You are wise to be concerned. Keep learning. And good luck on your quest to educate your friends and coworkers.