Secondhand smoke issues

placidranger said:just one year after quitting smoking, someone who had been at it for decades will find themselves returning to a relatively normal state of health. it really goes to show how incredible the body's ability to detoxify itself truly is.
and the reality is that most smokers manage to pull this off for many years without falling seriously ill, especially if they aren't heavy smokers—even though their intake is still vastly higher than what a secondhand smoker breathes in.

And does that somehow justify it? So, we’re just making minor mistakes and our bodies will forgive us? Everything will be fine, everything is totally fine. I'll be okay, and if I do end up getting sick, well, there are amazing doctors out there who can fix me up in no time. And don't even get me started on all those new miracle drugs available today...
That is the classic excuse used by most people who lack self-discipline and refuse to take responsibility for their own actions.

Jerry Phillips2 said:So that makes it okay? We make a few mistakes, and our bodies will just forgive us. Everything’s fine—it's all good. I’ll be alright, and if I do catch something, there’s always some brilliant doctor at the Mayo Clinic who can fix me up in no time. Not to mention all those miracle drugs they’re rolling out lately...
That’s the classic excuse used by most reckless, irresponsible people.

What are you even talking about?

I was illustrating how minor the harm of secondhand smoke is. Let me be clear: obviously, it's bad. But it's significantly less damaging than someone smoking several packs a day—and even those heavy smokers often lead perfectly normal lives for decades.

redgardener5 said:as long as smoking is legal... I mean, I don't think anyone thinks to light up where it's strictly banned. But if someone's in a designated area, TOO BAD, just step outside.

Unfortunately, we live in such an unrefined country. What am I supposed to do, move away??? And it's definitely not true that people only smoke in permitted spots. If you look at labor laws, smoking in workspaces isn't even allowed. You really think everyone follows that? And honestly, having one little table tucked in a corner or a basement with a "no smoking" sign in a bar doesn't help me much.
I'm not saying all smokers are selfish, but non-smokers are pretty rare. Out of all my smoker friends, NO ONE has ever agreed to grab coffee in a non-smoking section. Imagine how inconsiderate the strangers will be!
One day, we'll probably get a law like the ones already active in Canada, Italy, Ireland, and Norway... but given how disorganized things are here in America, I doubt it'll actually work.

coppergardener said:If most people agree, let's pick somewhere that isn't too smoky. I don't hang out in coffee shops that much anyway. Luckily, none of my close friends smoke.

And as for guys? Kissing a smoker is honestly the worst thing ever to happen to my mouth. I'd rather... well, you know. Also, if someone sits next to me and their jacket smells like cigarettes, my stomach just turns instantly. It's like an immediate bout of heartburn. Just the fact that someone smokes can make me turn away from truly wonderful people.

I've never smoked once.

🙏 🙏
Totally agree!

coppergardener said:I have never once picked up a cigarette.

Well, I'm in the same boat, and honestly, you couldn't pay me to start now if you tried. 👍

Find some other way to vent your frustrations—it won't kill you in an hour by sitting in a smoky room. Honestly? It’s the city life itself that’s doing more damage to you than any cigarette ever could. If you're looking for something to fight against, go protest the gridlock, the smog from the factories, or the endless sprawl... I used to be a smoker myself, so believe me when I say I'm not just here to complain...☕

Nancy Price72 said:If you’ve got all this pent-up frustration, there are much better ways to let it out than sitting in a smoke-filled room for an hour; honestly, I think the sheer grind of city life is what’s actually wearing you down. You’d be better off protesting against traffic congestion or industrial pollution or something... look, I used to be a smoker myself, so I certainly won't lecture anyone on that...☕

I think you mean a former smoker who still enjoys her morning coffee at Starbucks. 😛

Yes, coffee without the cigarettes☕

Nancy Price72 said:yeah, coffee without the cigarettes☕

Honestly, I’d take that over having them with a cigarette any day of the week. It feels like you're just chasing that spark of energy, which is really what the coffee provides in the first place. If I were you, I might try leaning more into proteins—you know, more steak and fish—and maybe cutting back on the sugary stuff. It makes a world of difference in how you feel.😉

recently:

Grabbed a bite outside, sitting right by that divider meant to separate the smokers from the non-smokers.
Some lady who smokes starts chatting me up—she was the waitress.

Smokers hanging out by the exit, non-smokers stuck by the restrooms. Just brilliant.

She actually goes on about how we should ban overweight people from eating out, claiming they’re too much of a drain on the healthcare system because of all the obesity-related issues.
I didn't have the guts to ask her how she'd feel if I bulked up a bit. (That thought hit me way later.)

Vran, I have to quote a particularly interesting line you wrote here:

It's a damn habit... I know it's stupid and I know I could just stop, but my willpower is just too weak..

I am certain you can just stop whenever you choose. 👍 👍 👍

Jerry Phillips2, teenagers fall for losers who try way too hard to impress them; it's a cycle. Don't get caught in that loop because it's a waste of time—advice? Go hunt for slightly older women who are past the stage of thinking "oh wow, he's so cool when he rides through town shirtless without a helmet"... :awwwwww:... Don't compromise yourself. 😉 To borrow from one of your previous posts: what good is someone who doesn't respect their own body? I want someone with the mental capacity to actually use their head. We’ll grow together. 👍

Also, I constantly hear people whining, "life was better back then, people were healthier." 🙄 Sure, they lived in ignorance; people used to smoke in dentist waiting rooms and stuff like that. Now, people in their mid-40s are dying from all sorts of cancers. It’s actually good that we finally have some level of awareness and laws that basically say, if you smoke, get out. I don't even want to imagine how things were 30 years ago when everything was unregulated. My point is that THE TRUE CONSEQUENCES OF THAT SO-CALLED "BETTER LIFE" ARE ONLY NOW COMING TO LIGHT. We aren't rats; we don't have masssssive generations every single year—the actual long-term consequences that shape our credibility only become visible after a long time. A perfect example of this is contraceptives, specifically their hormonal makeup, which is currently in a supersupersupersuperlight state.

A trivial example unrelated to smoke, but regarding that "better life" era—a nurse I knew in a maternity ward told me that in the 60s and 70s, as soon as mothers gave birth, they were pushed toward formula. Industrial, synthetic products. Today, mothers are much better educated and taught how to breastfeed because nothing beats fresh colostrum, given its original composition and the somatic cells that build an infant's immunity right after birth.
The only thing better about that era was the unrealistically low unemployment rate. IMO, nothing else.

Furthermore, regarding autonomous detoxification—yes, we have a natural mechanism for cleansing ourselves, but I believe that in super-toxic environments, a little help goes a long way. Why shouldn't I help myself? It doesn't have to be warped , but...

2 placidranger — I'm glad when I learn something; what's wrong with trying to stay informed? I would be truly foolish to choose a lifestyle where I walk around with my eyes closed, just moving "by inertia." I don't know how to live like that. In an age where information on any interest is readily available, it's a waste of bandwidth to spend it on pirating schemes or filth. I spend mine studying human physiology and general arthropod biology, and as a film buff, IMDb is my daily destination. Everything else is just peripheral noise. 😉
BTW, there isn't even that much data on the harmful effects listed here. If I had listed everything I needed to, I would have come across as militant. 😉

@ placidranger

The body just heals itself, man.

Vessels soften up, cancer risk drops once you kick the habit, all that stuff.

Nancy Price72 said:Find another way to vent your frustrations; nobody's going to kill you by sitting in a smoky room for an hour. Honestly, I think it's the urban lifestyle that's actually doing the damage. If you're so concerned, go protest against traffic congestion or factory emissions instead... look, I used to be a smoker myself, so I'm hardly one to complain about the habit.☕

Oh, I just love this kind of logic. It’s like saying, "Hey, if a car is heading straight for you and you can't dodge it, why bother complaining?" Would you rather:

a) get hit at 12 miles/h
b) get hit at 31 miles/h

Sure, you might survive either scenario, but that doesn't mean there isn't a massive difference between the two. We can't exactly escape the smog in the city—that's just the reality of living in a major American metro, and we all deal with it. But that doesn't mean I have to go out of my way to poison myself even further.

jadetiger962 said:Just because it's happening doesn't mean I have to go out and spend extra money on it.

Who's forcing you? 🤷

Jesse Ortiz4 said:@ placidranger

The body just heals itself??

Veins soften up, cancer disappears once you quit smoking, and so on.

Right, let’s all pretend I actually claimed cancer just vanishes the moment you put down the cigarettes. 👍

Anonymous said:What exactly is forcing your hand here? 🤷

Right, so I guess if some idiot decides to light up on a subway car, my solution is just to hop off? Or if someone even more oblivious starts smoking in the non-smoking section of a Starbucks and refuses to stop, am I supposed to just walk out?

And you always hear that classic line, "Why does one cigarette bother you so much?" Honestly, it’s pure stupidity. If they want to smoke, they can do it at home where they aren't making everyone else miserable.

jadetiger962 said:So, let me get this straight: if some moron decides to light up on a subway car, I’m supposed to just shuffle out? Or if someone even bigger of an idiot starts smoking in the non-smoking section of a pub and refuses to quit, am I expected to just walk away from my drink too?

"It’s just one cigarette, what’s the big deal?" Honestly, some people are just clueless. If you're smoking at home, it's your business and nobody else's.

Those people are just unrefined... they really deserve some serious consequences. Though, I don't think when they asked "who told you to do that?" they were actually thinking about situations like this.

Nancy Price72 said:Find other ways to vent your frustrations—it won't kill you in an hour by sitting in a smoky room. Honestly, the urban grind is what’s actually killing you. If you've got a problem, go protest against cars or industrial plants instead. I'm a former smoker myself—so I'm hardly in a position to complain.☕

If a smoker doesn't get a cigarette every hour, they’ll probably drop dead—idiots.

jadetiger962 said:So, if some moron decides to light up on the subway, I’m expected to just step off? Or if an even bigger idiot refuses to stop smoking in the non-smoking section of a Starbucks—I should just walk away?

Those types of people need to be taught a lesson—hard—if they even think about opening their mouths.

placidranger said:Just one year after quitting, someone who smoked for decades will bounce back to a relatively healthy state. It just shows how much the body can clean itself up.
The reality is that most smokers manage to pull that off for years without getting seriously sick—especially if they aren't chain smokers, even though their intake is still way higher than what a secondhand smoker breathes in.

What does "relatively healthy" even mean here?
How much do you actually know about the risks involved with smoking?

Labor laws strictly prohibit smoking at work, so why the hell are people still lighting up in woodshops or disc golf parks?
Isn't that supposed to be someone's actual workplace?

Melissa Castillo said:Here’s a trivial example—unrelated to the smoke, but relevant to that whole "better life" delusion—that I heard from a retired nurse back in the day. During the 60s and 70s, they used to shove formula in mothers' faces the second a baby was born. It was all industrial, synthetic nonsense. Nowadays, mothers are actually educated; they're taught how to breastfeed because nothing beats fresh, natural colostrum. Between the original composition and those somatic cells that build a child's immunity right after birth, you just can't replicate it with a factory process.
The only redeeming quality from that era was the unrealistically low unemployment rate. IMO, nothing else.

Signed. It’s not like we’re suffering.👍

Look, we all have that built-in biological cleanup crew—our body’s own way of handling things. But let’s be real: when you’re dealing with modern, super-toxic environments, relying solely on nature feels like a losing game. Why wouldn't I give myself a little extra support? It doesn't have to be some extreme overhaul. The whole thing feels warped. Just fundamentally off. It’s like looking at a landscape through a cracked lens—you see the shapes, but everything is distorted beyond recognition. I've seen this kind of systemic skew before—back when I was working those long shifts in Chicago—where the rules seem to bend for some while staying rigid for everyone else. It’s exhausting to witness.But...

You’re essentially just jumpstarting the body's own cleaning protocols. Drink plenty of fluids, sweat it out—it works.

I appreciate picking up something new—it’s one of the few things worth the effort. What’s wrong with trying to stay informed? I’d be a fool to choose a lifestyle where I just walk around with my eyes closed, drifting along on pure inertia. That’s not how I operate. In an era where you can dig up information on virtually any niche subject imaginable, it feels like a massive waste of bandwidth to spend time on sketchy pirated software sites or mindless filth. Personally, I’d rather burn that mental energy studying human physiology or the biology of arthropods. And since I’m a bit of a cinephile, IMDb is basically my daily ritual. Everything else—the junk, the noise—is just background static. 😉
By the way, there isn't much data here regarding the actual damage caused. If I had listed everything I felt was necessary, I probably would have come across as a total zealot—and frankly, I don't have the energy for that. 😉

It’s a bad look—this idea that your way of reporting just breeds panic. It gives off this vibe... like you're intentionally stirring the pot. One puff and I’m basically signing my own death warrant. Cancer is just waiting around the corner.That’s about as much of a delusion as a smoker believing they're somehow immune to the damage. They choose to ignore every shred of scientific evidence right in front of them—meanwhile, you're busy ignoring the reality that someone lighting up a single cigarette isn't going to spontaneously combust on the spot. It's all just selective ignorance on both sides. 😁