Yet more evidence of the harm done by secondhand smoke
For some reason, a large segment of the population clings tenaciously to the idea that, sure, smoking cigarettes is probably bad for you (which they see as a generous admission, however grudgingly given), but that same smoke just drifting in the air—that’s got to be harmless, right? Only the pesky studies keep popping up on the harm from secondhand smoke (not to mention how it gunked up the exhaust fans on airplanes back when they were smoking chambers)—and that seemed to set their minds even more firmly against the notion that secondhand smoke could in any way be harmful.
Here’s the latest study, reported in Science News by Janet Raloff:
Children exposed to secondhand smoke at home are at least twice as likely to develop a neurobehavioral disorder as are kids in smokefree homes, a new study finds. And roughly 6 percent of U.S. children — some 4.8 million — encounter smoke at home. . .
I find it sad that smokers don’t mind the people around them when they’re smoking. I hope someday, most cities in the world would apply what Singapore did to smokers. Singapore created a place where smokers can hang out. Not smoking in this area will be a felony. I smoke but the last time I had a stick was around two months ago. I’m trying to live a clean living so my health wouldn’t decline at an early age.
Former Smoker
29 November 2011 at 3:47 pm
Well, any addiction seems to involve heavy doses of denial of various kinds, and once you start blocking out parts of reality, it’s easy to block out too much. Smokers generally deny the harm they’re doing to themselves, so they’re scarcely in a position to acknowledge (or recognize) the harm they do to others along the way. I don’t condone secondhand smoke, and indeed I want laws passed to prevent it, but I do understand why smokers have trouble accepting how harmful it is.
FWIW, I smoke about a pack a day in college, quit as soon as I left college, and have not had a cigarette since.
LeisureGuy
29 November 2011 at 5:01 pm