Thread: Should Alcohol and Cigarettes be illigal?

Originally Posted by JosephB

Maybe you wouldn't. Good for you. I'm betting most people wouldn't appreciate it -- and that the cops would on the offender, law or no.

I'm not saying that the police would be enforcing any ordinance to the exclusion of everything else -- am I? There wouldn't be any odor police or a cop on every corner out to enforce the public smoking ban. None of that would happen. So while slightly amusing -- you're not making any sort of point with your exaggerations.

well, i am 1/2 ass kidding with you. but i do think we have far too many restrictive laws in this country already, in the
name of "selfish reasoning". if we all made legal issues out of our personal pet peeves, we'd all be sitting at home
with our doors locked with no personal interaction at all. anyway....it's been a fun and interesting debate. no offense intended.

It's all good. And I'm certainly not offended by your comments -- just cigarette smoking in public places. Later.

Originally Posted by JosephB

It's all good. And I'm certainly not offended by your comments -- just cigarette smoking in public places. Later.

You're not really offended by it. It has more to do with your personality.

Originally Posted by dale

the fumes and exhaust from a gasoline engine are far more toxic and deadly (than the fumes from cigarettes). should we ban cars as well?

Interesting argument. I looked at some studies and gasoline engines actually grade lower in the carcinogenic risk level than cigarette smoke, but diesel engines grade higher. Fumes from roofing tar grade the highest risk.

Still, the argument could be made that you're much more likely to get a faceful of harmful smoke from a person exhaling his or her cigarette near you, than you are from a car driving by on the road, as the source of the smoke from a cigarette is often much closer in proximity to your face.

Originally Posted by KyleColorado

Still, the argument could be made that you're much more likely to get a faceful of harmful smoke from a person exhaling his or her cigarette near you, than you are from a car driving by on the road, as the source of the smoke from a cigarette is often much closer in proximity to your face.

But it only takes - what, an inch? 2 inches? - for the smoke to dissipate into the air, so one is actually getting how many parts per billion of carcinogen?

The world's a dangerous place. Deal with it or hide in one's sterilized house - which probably contains more virulent pathogens than the outdoors, thanks to those 'anti-bacterial' cleansers...

Touche : )

But, just to spur the topic on, I found these statements interesting:

At least 69 chemicals in secondhand smoke are known to cause cancer.
...
Does exposure to secondhand smoke cause cancer?
Yes... Inhaling secondhand smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmoking adults.
...
What is a safe level of secondhand smoke?
There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Taken from: Secondhand Smoke and Cancer - National Cancer Institute

Originally Posted by KyleColorado

Touche : )
But, just to spur the topic on, I found these statements interesting:

Taken from: Secondhand Smoke and Cancer - National Cancer Institute

Ah, but of course, the NCI wouldn't be in business long if they didn't keep up the scare tactics. (Only half joking on that one, btw).

I actually did a study of the second-hand smoke studies back when I was in college (second time around, so about 20 years ago). Many were of the "put twenty chain-smokers in the 1000 cubic foot room with inadequate ventilation" variety, so not hard to see how they decided second-hand smoke was dangerous.