Cigarette Smoking Facts & Bans

Do you remember when people could smoke a cigarette anywhere and anytime? I can remember going into a restaurant smelling smoke and actually having someone smoking at the next table. It was just a given that this might or could happen. Then they had the smoking or non smoking section in a restaurant. When you walked in the greeter asked if you preferred smoking or the non smoking section. If you choose the non smoking did that really help? Lets face it, second hand smoke doesn’t have a traveling pattern. Now does it…

I’m not saying that I haven’t tried smoking. In high school, I wanted to be cool like the other kids, so I gave it a try. Later that summer I would buy my cigarettes at the local hamburger joint because they had a cigarette machine and buy a pack of cigs. I’d smoke maybe two or three cigarettes and then hand the pack over to one of the guys in my neighborhood.

I never had the taste for cigarettes and thank goodness; it’s a nasty habit and the smell is gross. I’m always struck by people who smoke in their garage or outside because I guess they don’t want the smoke coming into the home. Do they not realize that the smoke is on them, their clothes, hair and breathe. And if they smoke with their door open do they think the smoke is smart enough not to go inside……you gotta laugh.

Then California put a ban on cigarette smoking in restaurant….Thank
goodness!!!! What a pleasure to eat dinner now…not smelling smoke. But not all States have banned this practice. The following States still allow this.

States with no laws about smoking are: Wyoming, Texas, Alaska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Michigan.

When I was living in Wyoming, it wasn’t a pleasant experience too eat in one of the oldest restaurant because the minute you opened the doors you were bombarded with smoke. Yuck!!!

Related Facts About Smoking Cigarettes:

• Smoking-related diseases cause an estimated 440,000 American deaths each year.

• Smoking costs the United States over $150 billion annually in health care costs.

• A 2004 Study by the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and * * * Health Promotion found that cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer.

• Women account for 39 percent of all smoking deaths.

Teenage Smoking Facts:

• Each day 3,000 children smoke their first cigarette

• At least 3 million adolescents are smokers

• Adolescent girls who smoke and take oral birth control pills greatly increase their chances of having blood clots and strokes

• Of the 3,000 teens who started smoking today, nearly 1,000 will eventually die as a result from smoking

Second Hand Smoking Facts:

• 3,000 nonsmoking adults die of diseases caused by exposure to second hand smoke every year

• Secondhand smoke causes coughing, phlegm, chest discomfort and reduced lung function in nonsmokers

• Children exposed to secondhand smoke at home are more likely to have middle-ear disease and reduced lung function

• More than 10 million young people aged 12-18 live in a household with at least one smoker

• Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemical compounds, including carbon monoxide ( which poisons the human body), ammonia, formaldehyde, and other poisons. 4 of the chemicals – benzene, 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, and polonium-210 are classified by the EPA as known carcinogens—cancer causing agents

As of April 2011, 27 states have enacted statewide bans on smoking in all enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

What is the cost of a pack of cigarettes? In California the cost for a pack of cigarettes is roughly, $4.75 to $9.00. But New York has the highest cigarette taxes in the country. Starting July 1, every pack sold in the state will cost an extra $1.60, raising the total state tax to $4.35 and pushing the average cost of a pack up to $9.20. For New York City residents, the cost of a pack will now come out to close to $11 — a $2 rise from just over a year ago.

Its good to know that smoking rates in the United States have dropped by half from 1965 to 2006 falling from 42% to 20.8% of adults. I know in California its hard to find a place you can smoke and I see less and less smokers when I'm out and about.

Is it still cool to smoke? In my opinion I don't think its as popular these days as it was. More health issues and research have been report from cigarette smoke in the pass several years and if you know someone who has health related issues due to smoking, its not pretty.