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Smoking in public areas

  • Thread starter Thread starter prassu
  • Start date Start date
I just did a nice long post on this, my log-in timed out and I lost it all!:mad:

To sum it up, this is a rights issue and both sides need equal protection. You can't use rights to trample rights, compromise needs to be made.

And I would be surprised if we don't see a big lawsuit over any employer charging smokers a fee. If that is allowed where will it end?
 
i agree...

but the $40/month was (i think) health insurance. their monthly premium would be higher because they will cost more in the end...
 
@ smoking in China:

I swear the cigarettes in China/HK are unfiltered. I can smell cigarette a good deal away. And when I pass the smokers, my lungs just explode and I go into a mad coughing fit. Yup...I felt like I was going to die every time. I hate smokers.

@ obesity:

I think the government should pro-actively get involve to ensure that we are healthy. Incentives usually help. In Canada, parents get a $500 tax credit every year for enrolling their kids in sport activities to stay active. It's not a lot but it's something. It's been documented that obesity related issues is the number one health costs in heath care and its rising at a rapid rate :( I would love to see that the government makes the incentive $500 per person. I believe more people would be active if this was the case. I don't think it's sustainable in the US with their massive debt but it's something I want to see in Canada due to our free health care.
 
Gmash said:
I think it's ridiculous to say that all overweight people are just fat because they are lazy. A lot of that depends on genetics. For example, I can eat whatever I want and never gain weight, but other people I know are always dieting and try to exercise, and they still struggle with their weight. To just assume they are lazy is a really ugly stereotype. That being said, I have little sympathy for the people who are sloths who never move and just shove cheeseburgers down their throat all day, but I don't really see how a company could reliably tell the difference.
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It's the old "Chicken Vs Egg" argument. Are they less efficient because they have all that extra weight to carry around and if they're obese, have a harder time sleeping or did they just decide to become inactive to a point where now it's a burden on them day to day? I'd say the 2 go hand in hand. It's easy to label them as lazy because lets face it, everything they do requires more effort, walking up the stairs, walking from the parking lot, etc. However, I can't feel pity for them because we all have choices in life and like I said earlier, you don't just become fat overnight. It's a long process, probably as long a process as it is to shed all that weight by undoing all the bad habits that got you where you are. Genetics do come into play, but I've never seen anyone that eats responsibly and exercises regularly have a difficult time with weight.

The thing I like about being fit (which I won't lie, I'm not as fit as I need to be or would like to be) is that it doesn't consider how you look, it doesn't take bribes, it doesn't let you slide because of some tragedy in your life, it doesn't compromise. The only currency it deals in is commitment.
 
I just heard on the news that an 8yr old was removed from his home and placed in foster care for weighing more than 200 lbs. His parents didn't care what he ate or how often. That disgust me. I see obese kids where I live and it makes me wonder if it kid has a genuine medical issue or if the parents just don't care.

As for smoking in public, it's been banned in all indoor areas as of 2006 and its quite nice. I was a smoker then too but i've recently quit. The smell of it irritates me now even. It's almost like I woke up and got sick by it. I went out with a group of friends, didn't smoke and was sick the next day as though I had been smoking.
 
I think governments need to stay out of what we eat, drink or consume. But then again, the government needs to stay out of a LOT of things. '

Only the weak minded are politically correct.
 
dan330 said:
i agree...

but the $40/month was (i think) health insurance. their monthly premium would be higher because they will cost more in the end...
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That makes more sense than saying "my company charges $40.00 to smokers", makes it sound like a penalty fee. Higher premiums are justifiable.
 
Roze said:
@ obesity:

I think the government should pro-actively get involve to ensure that we are healthy. Incentives usually help. In Canada, parents get a $500 tax credit every year for enrolling their kids in sport activities to stay active. It's not a lot but it's something. It's been documented that obesity related issues is the number one health costs in heath care and its rising at a rapid rate :( I would love to see that the government makes the incentive $500 per person. I believe more people would be active if this was the case. I don't think it's sustainable in the US with their massive debt but it's something I want to see in Canada due to our free health care.
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i like the tax deduction for healthy life style...
 
LESS government people. What's next? Telling us we can't go out after dark? Telling us that we can't wear white shirts? Telling us that we can't eat meat?

If the rest of you want to give up your freedoms, go right ahead. Not me.
 
Roze said:
@ smoking in China:

I swear the cigarettes in China/HK are unfiltered. I can smell cigarette a good deal away. And when I pass the smokers, my lungs just explode and I go into a mad coughing fit. Yup...I felt like I was going to die every time. I hate smokers.
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That could well be the case, After it's the government who effectively makes all the cigarettes, state owned tobacco industry, and China does have a rather large population. I suspect the only reason why they banned smoking at airports, is to keep tourists and foreign business people happy. I can remember the Philip Morris sponsored smoker's lounges they used to have at JFK in NYC, with complementary coffee as well.

HK is completely different when it comes to smoking, SAR, one country two systems, etc. Much more like the UK or USA, when it comes to smoking habits, laws, taxation of tobacco products. Same with Macau as well.
 
It really does piss me off when I find myself walking behind a smoker and then when I go beside them to pass them, I find myself in puff of smoke that they just exhaled in my direction. Smoking is one of the most disgusting habits anyone can do other than perhaps... not bathing.
 
dan330 said:
i like the tax deduction for healthy life style...
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Baldilocks said:
LESS government people. What's next? Telling us we can't go out after dark? Telling us that we can't wear white shirts? Telling us that we can't eat meat?

If the rest of you want to give up your freedoms, go right ahead. Not me.
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Baldilock, it's a tax incentive that I mentioned the government should implement. If you don't want to exercise, you're not forced to. If you exercise and pay $1000+ for your annual gym membership and you don't want to take a $500 tax credit on your income tax, again, you don't have to. It seems that you associate any government interaction as bad, even when it's just a tax credit incentive. Going to the gym is a luxury for most people in our society.

Tax credit for a healthy lifestyle means that the government will lose $500 a year on tax for you for how many years you're alive ($40,000 max assuming you live to 80 years). You're healthier and thus when you're older, you won't cost the government $100,000 in health care cost related to obesity. This is a strategic government that thinks about the future of its citizen. A healthy populous, means that you have a healthy and productive workforce that will work longer and thus increase in tax revenue.

Studies have shown that people that are obese are more likely than an active person to get type 2 diabetes. Look at Diabetes and the cost that has on our health care. I am going to use the Canadian government as they pay 100% of the cost.
The research found that the cost of diabetes in Canada
will rise from $6.3 billion annually in 2000 to $16.9 billion
annually by 2020
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http://www.diabetes.ca/documents/for-professionals/CJD--March_2010--Beatty.pdf
 
angldvl81 said:
I just heard on the news that an 8yr old was removed from his home and placed in foster care for weighing more than 200 lbs. His parents didn't care what he ate or how often. That disgust me. I see obese kids where I live and it makes me wonder if it kid has a genuine medical issue or if the parents just don't care.

As for smoking in public, it's been banned in all indoor areas as of 2006 and its quite nice. I was a smoker then too but i've recently quit. The smell of it irritates me now even. It's almost like I woke up and got sick by it. I went out with a group of friends, didn't smoke and was sick the next day as though I had been smoking.
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I think some parents just dont care about what they are feeding their children. I have seen parents offering packets of crisps to their small children. Also there was a pregnant lady in our office drinking cans of red bull. I think she didnt know too much caffeine is harmful for her baby..
 
prassu said:
I think some parents just dont care about what they are feeding their children. I have seen parents offering packets of crisps to their small children. Also there was a pregnant lady in our office drinking cans of red bull. I think she didnt know too much caffeine is harmful for her baby..
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Crisps? As in potato chips? I give those to my daughter but I also make sure she eats well. Even if she is a picky eater
 
Roze said:
Studies have shown that people that are obese are more likely than an active person to get type 2 diabetes. Look at Diabetes and the cost that has on our health care. I am going to use the Canadian government as they pay 100% of the cost.

http://www.diabetes.ca/documents/for-professionals/CJD--March_2010--Beatty.pdf
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That's chump change compared to how much the US is spending for diabetes. Currently, it's about $180 billion. The main culprits reside in the Southern states.
 
angldvl81 said:
Crisps? As in potato chips? I give those to my daughter but I also make sure she eats well. Even if she is a picky eater
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Yeah.... i think kids should be given balanced diet and not much of fried items..
 
dogbertus said:
Yay. Make everything illegal.

More government power! Because denying people rights always ends well.
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If you are a smoker and want to die because of smoking, fine, go ahead. What I don't like is how smokers selfishly smoke anywhere if those places don't have smoking prohibition. I don't give a green monkey flying ass if they kill themselves from lung cancer or any other disease resulting from smoking. I don't want to die from lung cancer or any other disease resulting from being around smokers. I chose to live a healthy smoke free life, and should not be punish for from other people's selfishness and stupidity. Ironically, second hand smoke is much more toxic to a non smoker than the smoker inhaling that smoke.

Vihzel said:
That's chump change compared to how much the US is spending for diabetes. Currently, it's about $180 billion. The main culprits reside in the Southern states.
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Remember that the USA has a population size 10 times that of Canada ;)
 
prassu said:
Yeah.... i think kids should be given balanced diet and not much of fried items..
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Moderation is key. I'm a fan of fried foods and was as a kid, but I was also active. Kids these days would rather play video games than go play outside. I remember when nintendo first came out. My mom restricted my sister and I to an hour a day and tv time was the same.
 
Baldilocks said:
LESS government people. What's next? Telling us we can't go out after dark? Telling us that we can't wear white shirts? Telling us that we can't eat meat?

If the rest of you want to give up your freedoms, go right ahead. Not me.
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dogbertus said:
Yay. Make everything illegal.

More government power! Because denying people rights always ends well.
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I'm all for less government in this case if we can make smokers swallow their smoke and eat the cigarette butts. Once your right infringes on my right then it's no longer a right of yours to make my air unhealthy, my streets littered with trash, and occasionally catch a building/field on fire with your carelessness.


Where do I sign this petition to enact a ban?
 
If the want to ban smoking because it is dangerous to their health, that's a silly rule. No body in this world does not know that smoking is dangerous.

Id they want to ban it because it affects people's health, then why not ban cars? Their exhaust is 20x worse.
 
Sprawsum said:
Id they want to ban it because it affects people's health, then why not ban cars? Their exhaust is 20x worse.
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The difference is that tobacco exists only as a way to waste your money whilst simultaneously poisoning you and your friends/family, whereas cars do have a useful function. I know smoking is calming, but nicotine is available medicinally without all the extra toxins if that's something you want to make use of.

Cars are bad for our health (in more ways than one), increasingly expensive and even worse for the environment, yet they are infinitely more justifiable than tobacco.
 
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