"Both of my parents were smokers and both of them eventually died from it, but, since my mother was, throughout my childhood until I was 16 years old, an old-fashioned 1950’s style "stay at home" mom, my strongest memories, the ones forged in early childhood, are of her and her smoking more than of my father’s.
Bound up in my earliest memories of my mother - right along with the sound of her voice reading or singing to me - is the smell of cigarette smoke.
It is said that the sense of smell is more evocative than any other sense, more compelling, more associative, more able to create a memory image.
I know this is true because the memory of my mother is instantly, vividly and inexorably evoked for me by the smell - tobacco smoke mixed with a slight hint of fragrance from the Avon cosmetics she used - which permeated her skin, her hair, her clothes, her bedroom, her books, her house and her very life from as far back as I can remember.
Possibly even before, because the other sense which is considered to be strongly associative is the sense of taste and, since I was breast fed for the first few months of my life, (though, because my mother stopped producing milk when I was 8 months old, probably because of her smoking, I was given a bottle which I promptly rejected and began sucking my thumb - a habit which continued throughout my life until I started smoking!) I probably absorbed the taste of nicotine from her very body as an infant and so, when I tried smoking for the first time, the taste and the sensation instantly found a very old neural pathway and dug in"…
If smoking wasn’t bad enough for you already, it looks like there may be another good reason to quit smoking, as it seems that Apple have refused to repair a broken Mac because it shows signs of smoke.
According to one Mac user who took his Mac in for repair, Apple refused to repair it because it showed signs of cigarette smoke inside, which Apple said was a biohazard, and therefore Apple employees couldn’t repair it as it could be hazardous to their health.
Apple’s Applecare warranty doesn’t specify that it wont repair machines which show the presence of nicotine of or smoke, but if someone challenges it Apple could possibly fall back on a clause in the Applecare warranty which covers ‘extreme environment’.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out, and if Apple ends up fixing any of these machines in the future.
Smoking bans are spreading from planes, trains and buses to another from of transit: rental cars
Beginning Oct. 1, Avis and Budget became the first major rental-car companies to ban smoking in their entire North American fleets and to impose a cleaning fee of up to $250 on customers who smoke in the cars.
"The No. 1 request we get is for a smoke-free car," says John Barrows, spokesman of the Avis Budget Group, the parent company. He says a common customer complaint is a car that smells of smoke, adding, "We’re addressing both concerns."
Secondhand smoke is significantly more concentrated in cars than it is in bars, restaurants and other public places, according to a study released last month by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
A growing body of research shows there are no safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke - for humans or for animals. And one new study shows that nearly 30 percent of pet owners live with at least one smoker - a number far too high given the consequences of exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS).
An estimated 50,000 Americans lose their lives to secondhand smoke annually and 4 million youth (16 percent) are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes. A number of studies have indicated that animals, too, face health risks when exposed to the toxins in secondhand smoke, from respiratory problems, allergies and even nasal and lung cancer in dogs and lymphoma in cats.
In addition, the ASPCA, one of the largest animal rights groups in the U.S., lists tobacco smoke as a toxin that is dangerous to pets. Said Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant, medical director of the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center:
"Nicotine from secondhand smoke can have effects to the nervous systems of cats and dogs. Environmental tobacco smoke has been shown to contain numerous cancer-causing compounds, making it hazardous for animals as well as humans.”
In order to better protect dogs, cats or other pets, the foundation and ASPCA recommend that smokers - who often consider their domestic pets a part of the family - "take it outside" when they are smoking.
A controversial smoking ban became law Friday in Belmont, in the San Francisco Bay Area. In consideration of second hand smoke, it extends strict anti smoking laws even to apartments and condos.
This anti smoking law is the first of its kind in California, going far beyond the statewide prohibition against cigarette smoking in businesses, restaurants and bars. In Belmont, it is now illegal to smoke inside any multistory, multiunit dwelling.
The City Council says enforcement should be "complaint driven". The fine for each citation is $100. No ifs, ands or butts.
Other cities in the San Francisco Bay Area that have a similar cigarette smoking ordinance are Novato and Dublin.
The Los Angeles arts and parks committee took a first step Wednesday toward a new smoking ban on restaurant patios or within 10 feet of any outdoor establishment that serves food or beverages.
Bars with outdoor areas and other over-18 venues would be exempt.
If approved, the measure could be in place this summer.
"The patrons are really demanding it," said Councilman Tom LaBonge, chairman of the Arts, Parks, Health and Aging Committee. "One day we’ll be an absolutely smoke-free world as we move forward, but people still enjoy it, so we’re still allowing it."
Though Calabasas and some other cities have far more stringent anti-smoking laws, the refuges for smokers in Los Angeles have dwindled in recent years. In addition to the state ban on smoking in restaurants, bars and other workplaces, smoking is prohibited on city beaches, in farmers markets and within 25 feet of playgrounds, bleachers, sport courts, fields and picnic areas.
In passing the ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas, Los Angeles would be following the lead of other cities, including Santa Monica and Beverly Hills.
This video shows you another compelling reason to quit smoking - via a very simple test to make the tar content of every single puff or draw from a cigarette visible. It’s not done by a pro but, nonetheless, very impressive…
Doctors from MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston coined the term “third-hand smoke” to describe chemicals in a new study that focused on the risks they pose to infants and children. The study was published in this month’s issue of the journal Pediatrics.
Third-hand smoke is what one smells when a smoker gets in an elevator after going outside for a cigarette, or in a hotel room where people were smoking. Your nose isn’t lying,” said Dr. Jonathan P. Winickoff, the lead author of the study and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. “The stuff is so toxic that your brain is telling you: Get away.”
Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician who heads the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, said the phrase third-hand smoke is a brand-new term that has implications for behavior.
“The central message here is that simply closing the kitchen door to take a smoke is not protecting the kids from the effects of that smoke,” he said. “There are carcinogens in this third-hand smoke, and they are a cancer risk for anybody of any age who comes into contact with them.”
Among the substances in third-hand smoke are hydrogen cyanide, used in chemical weapons; butane, which is used in lighter fluid; toluene, found in paint thinners; arsenic; lead; carbon monoxide; and even polonium-210, the highly radioactive carcinogen that was used to murder former Russian spy Alexander V. Litvinenko in 2006. Eleven of the compounds are highly carcinogenic.
According to the Centers For Disease Control, secondhand smoke may be a lot more harmful than commonly believed. The CDC also says, smoking bans are saving lives and reducing the rate of heart attacks.
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