Eighty-six per cent of fathers who smoke continue to do so at home even when their child has been in hospital, a study has found.

Just over half smoked in front of their child, the University of Hong Kong research discovered.

Most women knew their husband’s habits should alter, but family tensions stopped them pressing for change, the Journal of Advanced Nursing reported.

Forest, the smokers’ rights group, said bans would increase smoking at home.

Many of the mothers found it difficult to persuade their husbands to quit smoking
Dr Sophia Chan, University of Hong Kong.

Researchers surveyed the mothers of 1,483 children, with an average age of five, admitted to four major hospitals in Hong Kong.

None of the mothers, who were mainly housewives, smoked, but all of the children’s fathers, who worked in factories, crafts, services and shops, did.

Half of the children suffered from respiratory problems – putting them at high-risk from passive smoking – and 60% of the children had been admitted to hospital more than once.

The researchers offered half of the mothers health advice, booklets and no-smoking stickers and weekly telephone reminders.

The other mothers received no advice or reminders.

Source: BBC

Surgeon General Richard Carmona said yesterday that there’s evidence that second-hand smoke is more dangerous than previously thought, especially to children. “Second-hand smoke is not a mere annoyance. It is a serious health hazard that can lead to disease and premature death in children and nonsmoking adults,” Carmona said. That gave momentum to the local anti-smoking effort; Mayor Bill White asked City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado to lead the push for a total ban in the city, and Alvarado said she hopes to make a proposal early this fall.

Houston’s current smoking ordinance allows smoking in resaurant bar areas, outdoor dining areas and freestanding bars, but the new government report shows it might not work so well: Using ventilation systems to remove smoke from a shared smoking/non-smoking space isn’t effective, findings show.

“This is a big step for Houston and the surgeon general’s report should help endorse our push for a complete ban,” Alvarado told the Chronicle. “Houston’s been dragging in that regard. We need to act more than incrementally.”

Source: Houstonist

The George Washington University is set to implement a non-smoking policy near entrances to all University-owned buildings by next fall. The policy comes after legal threats from a University law professor and a student-led petition advocating the change.

According to Lisa Schutjer, GW’s associate general counsel, the policy will be enforced through signage near building doors and by moving ashtrays further away from entrances.

The University has not said if the signs will require smokers to remain a specific distance away from doorways. However, the Business and Operations Office’s Property Management group is scheduled to conduct a survey this summer of all GW buildings on where to best relocate smokers.

They are going to enforce the ban, extending it from 25-50 feet from the premises.

Carlye Austin, a PhD student at GW, started the petition to ban smoking within 25 feet or 50 feet of all University-owned buildings in early January. The petition currently has 513 signatures. Austin also organized a coalition of different student organizations on campus—the Public Health Student Association, Project HEALTH, and Keep GW Green—and Student Association senators, to promote her issue.

On Jan. 30, Austin received a memo from Fitzroy Smith, the director of risk management and insurance. In the memo, Smith wrote, “it is the general consensus of the University administration that it is just not feasible for GW with its urban campus to enforce such a policy.”

Source: Daily Colonial

A non-smoker found with more than 150,000 cigarettes, 1,000 cigars and about 80lb of tobacco in his home told the police it was all for his own use.

Dennis Dagless, 41, claimed to smoke more than 300 cigarettes a week and said his supplies were intended to keep him going for the next decade.

His story unravelled when his former girlfriend told police that he did not smoke, Norwich Crown Court heard on Friday.

Officers who were called to Dagless’s home in Cromer after a domestic incident also found £64,000 in cash. In court, Dagless admitted evading tax of more than £25,000 on the tobacco and was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £750 costs.

The cigarettes and tobacco were confiscated by Customs and Excise and the money seized as the suspected proceeds of crime.

Yes they have a right to smoke, yes they have a right to damage their body, but they don’t have any right to damage mine.

Smoking does make your clothes, hair and even car smell as discussed before.

I mean yes you smoke, yes you have a right to but be a little considerate, don’t blow your second hand smoke in my face or even in my direction, blow it away from the group, blow it up, have some consideration.

Some tips on how to be a considerate smoker:

1) When you exhale please blow the smoke up or behind you when you are sitting at a table or standing in a group, don’t just blow it straight out into everyones faces. This is horrible for non-smokers.

2) When you are at a club don’t take lit cigarettes onto the dance floor, you will burn people without noticing, and probably melt a hole in a few shirts too.

3) Don’t smoke in queues or where there are large groups of people, (Bus-stops etc.). Don’t force your smoke onto all these people, go stand elsewhere.

4) Respect no-smoking signs, it’s there for a reason (Especially relevant in Malaysia where everyone seems to ignore the signs).

5) Don’t smoke in non-smokers cars, houses or appartments. If you ask they might feel obliged to say yes, even though they would prefer you don’t. So don’t put them in that position, just go smoke outside.

6) Don’t smoke when other people are still eating around you in restaurants if you can avoid it, and please be considerate and don’t smoke when there are small children there.

Being able to smoke is a privelege, not a right so please don’t abuse it.

Many smokers I see are considerate with their habit and I appreciate this, perhaps the way a person smokes shows a lot about their personality.

As for me, I was always a considerate smoker, and now, I’m even more considerate as an ex-smoker.

Secondhand smoke causes an estimated 53,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone. Secondhand smoke has been classified as a Group A Carcinogen, in the same category as asbestos and radon. Yet, workers in hospitality industry do not have regulations that protect them from the harmful effects of breathing secondhand smoke.

Further, this is an industry dominated by low-wage often female workers who experience greater risks due to the exposure. These workers often do not have paid-time off for illness and are unlikely to have health insurance benefits from their employer. Yet, During an 8-hour shift in a smoke-filled restaurant or bar, workers can breathe the equivalent of actively smoking 1.5 to 2 packs of cigarettes.

Low-wage women should not be forced to choose between their health and their livelihood.

75% of waitstaff and 55% of all bartenders are female. The exposure to second hand smoke carrier higher risks to the health of women than it does to the health of men.

• Regular exposure to second-hand smoke at work increases the risk of heart disease among women at higher rates than it does men (Kawachi et al. 1997)
• Pregnant women exposed to the secondhand smoke pass some of the blood-borne chemicals to their fetus’ that can cause genetic damage and may be a prelude to childhood leukemia and other cancers. (American Association for Cancer Research)
• The California Environmental Protection Agency has clearly identified a causal association between second-hand smoke exposure and breast cancer in women.

Related:

Work Smoke Free
Action Network

When I was younger, I vowed to date a non-smoker, but reality soon dawned on me. There are too many men who smoke! One ex-boyfriend is a chain smoker and my current partner is a recovering smoker. Personally, I have experimented with smoking. My first puff led to a choke inducing cough. That already put me off, however I finished that stick and a few more (ah, the perils of peer pressure). My throat felt drier and my voice seemed coarser. It took me about a week to feel normal. Thank you very much, no more ciggies for me.

Before my partner decided to quit smoking, it was truly testing to date him. There were so many unpleasantries that came with his smoking habit. Among them were:

1. Stench from cigarette smoke. The smoke permeated our clothes, hair, car, curtains, carpets. No matter how I hard I tried to disguise the cigarette smell with perfume and anti-odour spray, the smell stubbornly stayed.

2. Foul tasting mouth. Yes, it’s an acquired taste, and I’d never successfully acquired the taste. Kissing a smoker does feel like kissing an ashtray, as cliche as it sounds. Now that he has quit smoking, kissing has become such a wonderful and fulfilling activity.

3. Social clutch. Smoking put a dent on our social lives. Most of our friends are and are becoming health concious. When we meet up, it’s usually at non-smoking areas. It’s quite annoying that my partner had to leave for outdoors in the midst of conversations to light up. And it’s worse during family gatherings, especially since none of my family members smoke.

4. Passive smoking. Naturally, I became a passive smoker. I hated the fact that my lungs were constantly breathing toxic fume. It didn’t help matter that since dating my partner, I was constantly plagued with skin rashes. To be honest, if he hadn’t quit smoking, I would have began to resent him for putting my health on the line.

There are many more that I’d like to talk about, but I’ll leave them till next time. I’m beyond glad that my partner has quit smoking. The smoking habit was like a burden crushing on our relationship, especially when it was still fresh and fragile. Our relationship has definitely better eversince he stopped smoking.