There has been a lot of discussion on here regarding nicotine etc. I just wanted to say that I am a big believer of 'each to their own'. However, people who smoke cigarettes, and e-cigarettes, rarely keep their smoke to themselves. As a life long NON-smoker with COPD, it does annoy me when people inflict their smoke or vapour onto me. I choose not to smoke. Why do they think they have the right to make me breathe in smoke? It's one of the few addictions that does not just affect the person using it. Just think it's awful. The Government cant put the price of cigarettes high enough IMO.
Passive smoking: There has been a lot... - Lung Conditions C...
Passive smoking
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Hetty11
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Yeah - I've said before here that their right to smoke ends where my nose begins.
Hi I am surprised to hear this as I thought smoking was banned from all public places now? How is it affecting you? If outside then it is heavily diluted in the air and I think you would probably get more damage from other pollution ie traffic fumes etc. You could always wear a mask when out if you are worried about it.
Hetty11 in reply to
Im not obsessed about this, just commenting about the fact that with smoking, it doesn't just affect the person using cigarettes. When sat outside a café, peoples smoke blowing into your face isn't the nicest thing. But certainly not going to wear a mask! Don't think my dogs would know who I was LOL.
I agree with you Hetty. Annoys me when I'm enjoying a coffee outside my favourite cafe & someone near by lights up. Why should you or I wear a mask?! Traffic pollution is irrelevant. We can't ban traffic, but we can ban smoking in outdoor places.
in reply to
There are lots of measures which could be taken about traffic to help with pollution. But I guess it's easier to bash a smoker...Lots of people would do this even if 90% of the pollution you face outdoors is because of traffic and not from smokers.
The Govt. would never ban smoking because of the huge revenue it makes from smokers so blame them for their greed.
Hetty11 in reply to
Nobody forces people to smoke
in reply to Hetty11
Haven't many of us here been smokers in the past? Have you forgotten how addictive it is? I saw an Horizon programme once stating it is more addictive than heroin.
I am not saying I agree with that but it it certainly is very hard to give up. If smokers can't get their fix then they suffer withdrawal symptoms don't they? That's why people carry on smoking!
Hi Hetty11. I understand what you mean. I`ve had the same problem in the past at bus stops. However I don`t think people deliberately inflict their smoke on others. I`m sure those of us who were smokers didn`t realise how we were affecting others. Sheila x
in reply to mskpjb
Yes and most smokers at bus stops that I have seen and in the street stand away from others to avoid blowing smoke at them, but I bet you don't notice those. You always get some idiots who either do it deliberately. or just through plain thoughtfulness.
Smokers are just normal people who have a nasty habit you know, they are not a separate breed of human and as in all people you get idiots. If an idiot takes up smoking then they become an idiot smoker. If a person with normal morals takes it up they become a smoker. Just like everyone else only they smoke.
It's like saying all dog walkers are friendly (or unfriendly). It's making a mass generalisation of a group of people who have a habit you don't like, so in that case they are all idiots!
It's taking a small section of the whole issue and making it everything instead of just part of it. It's what certain tabloids do very well and people believe their rubbish. Highlight what you are against and ignore everything else.
To me those are the more dangerous people in a society - those who don't think or who are intolerant of others. Not smokers in general.
mskpjb in reply to
Hey lilaclil I certainly wasn`t denigrating smokers. I haven`t the right to as I was a smoker myself. Yes I did notice those who moved well away from my oxygen . I also noticed those who didn`t and looked almost offended at me when I moved well away. Stay well, Sheila
in reply to mskpjb
Thank you mskpjb. Another voice of common sense! 
Hetty11 in reply to
Hiya, I understand your comment although don't entirely agree. You don't die from dog walking but you do from smoking. I appreciate there are good and bad people in all categories, but smoke is smoke whoever is blowing it! What I don't understand is how people can defend smoking. There is nothing good about it. People will never agree completely, I guess we all just have our opinions and need to respect others. Not sure how intolerance is more dangerous than smoking?
We all get uptight about things - in my case it's people who lump smoking and vaping in the same box. I, and many others on this site smoked for years, which is probably why we're on here; having switched to vaping more than 7 years ago I can assure you that the vapour can do you no harm at all - in fact it will kill bacteria in the air around you, (which is probably more full of carcinogens and contaminants from traffic exhausts than the output from a hundred tobacco smokers!)
Hi Dragonmum, to be honest, I would rather breathe fresh air. I haven't signed up for vaping either! But well done to you for giving up smoking.
I had a very severe asthma attack after someone blew vape gas in my vicinity while I was sitting in a pub very recently. I moved after barely 5 minutes of it, but still needed 2 or 3 days of recovery.
So, with the greatest of respect, you are 100% wrong.
in reply to Minushabens
Many pubs ban vaping and e-cigs now which is good. They should all ban it as it can affect folk with sensitive lungs.
And with equal respect, I have no idea what "Vape Gas" is.
A gas is a state of matter where molecules are not in a fixed state. For example, steam is the gas phase of water. When someone exhales an e-cig, a type of steam (ergo a gas) emerges from the person's mouth and, as gases do, dissipates around the surrounding are. Hope that helps.
It isn't steam or a gas, it's a vapour. If you look at a boiling kettle there is a clear area near the spout. That is steam and it is at 100C. It then condences to water vapour, that's the bit you can see, which is clearly much less than 100c. It is much the same as fog or clouds. E liquids are largely a mix of propylene glycol and glycerin so that is what the vapour is. I can see they can upset some peoples breathing. Some produce a massive cloud, I think they they should be restricted. Normal vapes don't affect me, things like perfume and kitchen cleaners do. And they are all much better than tobacco, even being near someone who has been smoking takes my breath away.
Thank you for the input. If my use of 'gas' was incorrect then I stand corrected. At least we have cleared up that it contains various chemicals, which no doubt explains why I frequently get a very bad reaction and is unlikely to be as benign as many suggest. In addition, the smell (produced I assume by other chemicals) has a similar effect on me to perfume, which is well documented as an asthma trigger.
There's no doubt whatsoever in my mind that they should be treated exactly the same as real cigs & banned in any enclosed public space. And ideally, both should be banned in all public spaces.
Cleared up? Everything in the entire universe is made of chemicals including you. You should probably ban combustion engines, bbq's and pollen.
Oh really? Thanks...I sometimes wonder how I ever get through life.
Why the obsession with challenging the accuracy of my scientific language? It's almost like you want to create a smokescreen (literally) to cover up the fact that vaping is badly affecting fellow sufferers of lung problems.
Let's be clear. I know pollen is a problem, but it's there. I take medication to limit the effect, but it frequently makes me unwell. But no law could ever ban it in public places, so the point is an entirely vacuous one.
I know pollution is a problem. I keep my car window up when I'm driving, moved to a house away from main roads, & tend to stay away from areas where there is pollution as much as I can. I can choose to do that & I do.
However, vape gas/vapor/chemicals...in fact shall we just call it vape crap, was blown all around me by someone who had a choice to walk 10 yards & blow it outside. The consequence was it ruined my birthday night out (for such it was) & meant I was ill for my wedding anniversary. All thanks to someone who was selfish, lazy & too arrogant to care when I was clearly in distress. And did not even try to apologise when I had to leave & go home, clearly struggling to breathe.
We have a choice to ban it in pubs...it's simple, helps people with lung problems, & needs to happen.
We are all different to what affects us. Perfume dosnt affect me I used to be a cleaner and the stuff I used did not affect me. I also used the e cig to help me stop smoking. And my GP was happy for me to use it. Most pubs and do ban e cigs. I say live and let live. Have a nice day xx
Hiya Nottobad, that takes me right back to my original comment, live and let live. Some smokers, not all, inflict their smoke on other people and that's what has always annoyed me. If people want to smoke, that's their choice, but I don't and some take that choice away by making me a passive smoker. I don't go around cafes spraying my perfume in other peoples faces so whats the difference?
in reply to Minushabens
I am sorry one thoughtless person did this to you, but you can't demonise a whole group of people because of the idiots. See my reply above.
Minushabens in reply to
Absolutely not, I agree. My point is simply that they need to be banned from public places. I have no issue at all with people who use them & I hope they get some health benefit from them.
in reply to Minushabens
I agree.
Surely, worrying about what we call something - chemicals, vapour, gas, whatever - misses the point, which is that people should try & keep their personal smells to themselves & not inflict them on others. It's just good manners. I know a person who's gone from heavy smoking to constant vaping. He has no intention of giving up, and the thing is never out of his mouth, like a child with a dummy, blowing around all over the place. He also is dismissive of anyone who objects.
Inamoment in reply to
A lot of people think chemicals = bad which makes no logical sense. Different things affect different people. The worst I've had was when cleaning records with s mixture of distilled water and alcohol. I got very out of breath, opened the doors and windows and sat outside until it had gone.
I don't care that much about nuanced differences between states of matter. I DO care very much though when a night out is ruined by selfish people blowing the stinking products in my face.
They need banning from public places. That's all.
I agree, it doesn't matter what things are called, its the harm they are causing and the nuisance that bothers people. It is easy to distract from the issue by correcting people, but what does anybody know about the long term damage from e-cigs?
Hetty11 in reply to
Hanne62, I don't much about e-cigs, but I cant help thinking, many years ago, people were told cigarettes weren't harmful, or at least not told of the dangers. Who knows whether in years to come people will find e-cigs were also harmful? They do contain some nicotine don't they? Otherwise they wouldn't help people give up cigarettes. I am certainly no expert, and don't want to be but it seems the vapour is somehow acceptable to blow into peoples faces.
in reply to
This person deserves congralations for stopping smoking cigarettes as well don't forget. Does he blow his vaping all over you? If so ask him to stop, if not then it is his choice isn't it? Far better to vape then to smoke!
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