Smoking...is it still allowed in public in KY? (Louisville: relocating, wages)

[AlwaysOnTheRoad]

I'm from North Carolina and going to Berea College in Kentucky, and yes smoking is everywhere. I have even seen someone smoking inside a McDonalds. But part of the reason smoking is so prevalent in rural Kentucky (and North Carolina), is the attitude that "Tobacco Pays the Bills". There are a lot of tobacco farmers, and tobacco is one of the crops judged in the county fairs. Yes, we know smoking is bad for everyone, but attitudes, especially in rural areas, take a while to change. I'm a non-smoker, but if I'm in a place with too much smoke for my comfort, I leave and don't go back. I let them live as they choose and I live as I choose.

And yes there are a lot of dry towns and counties across Kentucky, but that has more to do with a heavily Baptist tradition and population than health concrens.

Also, just for an interesting fact, there is not a motorcycle helmet law in Kentucky either.

[nlschr0]

Originally Posted by AlwaysOnTheRoad

I'm from North Carolina and going to Berea College in Kentucky, and yes smoking is everywhere. I have even seen someone smoking inside a McDonalds. But part of the reason smoking is so prevalent in rural Kentucky (and North Carolina), is the attitude that "Tobacco Pays the Bills". There are a lot of tobacco farmers, and tobacco is one of the crops judged in the county fairs. Yes, we know smoking is bad for everyone, but attitudes, especially in rural areas, take a while to change. I'm a non-smoker, but if I'm in a place with too much smoke for my comfort, I leave and don't go back. I let them live as they choose and I live as I choose.

And yes there are a lot of dry towns and counties across Kentucky, but that has more to do with a heavily Baptist tradition and population than health concrens.

Also, just for an interesting fact, there is not a motorcycle helmet law in Kentucky either.

Yes, I agree. There is still a lot of pride in the traditions and heritage of tobacco farming throughout the farmlands of KY. There are large billboard-type adverstisements that you'll see advertising "100% Kentucky Burley" or something of the sort. Tobacco farming is still pretty common, even on small-scale farms, and often has been passed down by generations of families.

[Davart]

Originally Posted by AlwaysOnTheRoad

Also, just for an interesting fact, there is not a motorcycle helmet law in Kentucky either.

If you are on a learners permit, under the age of 21, or have had your motorcycle license less than one year you are required by law (KRS 189.285) to wear a helmet. FYI

[NatashaQuick]

I'm sorry, is there really propaganda out there that says sitting in a smoky bar for an hour once a week will give you cancer? does it come from the same people who say that smoking four cigarettes while out on Saturday will kill you just as quickly as someone who smokes 3 packs a day?

[Davart]

Originally Posted by NatashaQuick

I'm sorry, is there really propaganda out there that says sitting in a smoky bar for an hour once a week will give you cancer? does it come from the same people who say that smoking four cigarettes while out on Saturday will kill you just as quickly as someone who smokes 3 packs a day?

Don't smoke, don't drink, eat right, exercise daily and die anyway.

Life to short do what you enjoy.

[NatashaQuick]

I personally have quit smoking. I know how dangerous it is, but I also know the facts. I don't believe the propaganda. not everyone who smokes will die from emphysema or cancer. everyone's bodies and circumstances are different, and it's not arsenic. some people have very few health problems from smoking their entire lives, and others get horribly sick and die. smoking greatly increases your chances that this will happen, but is not a guarantee.

what bothers me about attitudes today, that lead to legislation like this, is the sentiment expressed by the poster so convinced that I am an ignorant Kentuckian who hasn't done research on - what was it? - how one single person, across from me in a large room, is doing permanent damage to my body by smoking one cigarette. I really don't care to do research on this, as I know it's a load of crap. maybe there is one webpage out there that has taken some study results and skewed them to make it look like people die from being in the vicinity of a smoker every now and again. that's fine, go ahead and show it to me and preach it like the Ten Commandments.

the stats that can be reasonably taken into consideration: those that have been done and replicated several times over, show that smoking regularly, or spending a large amount of time in the vicinity of smoke, indoors, causes a significant increase in health risks to you. the original studies that caused all this hoopla out in California were following people who worked in bars, casinos, and other heavy smoke-filled areas full time. these findings were no surprise to anyone, but were needed for those who require facts in order to take action. wow, look at that, I can watch the news, too. hey, we actually got cable out here, y'all! how 'bout it! dat's some fancy telervision, I tell you what.

it's the sentiment that people have these days, where they're imagining harm being done to themselves by people who are doing things that are totally unrelated to the public at large. similar to those who think the guy smoking in his car next to them at a stoplight is doing direct and permanent harm to them, are the people who think two men getting married are somehow invalidating their straight marriage, causing them to pay more taxes and also attempting to "take over the country." both ideals are totally ignorant and those who subscribe to them need to "brush up" on Reality. we don't need more laws limiting the freedoms of all by going against what this country was actually founded on: the Constitution. it's not spelled "B-I-B-L-E."

[nlschr0]

Originally Posted by NatashaQuick

I don't believe the propaganda. not everyone who smokes will die from emphysema or cancer. everyone's bodies and circumstances are different, and it's not arsenic. "

Interesting thoughts! I just wanted to point out that arsenic IS actually one of the dangerous products that is contained and released from cigarettes:

"Few indoor sources of arsenic other than tobacco smoke have been identified. The arsenic content of mainstream cigarette smoke ranges from 40 to 120 nanograms of arsenic per cigarette." (U.S. DHHS)

[NatashaQuick]

do you have any idea what a nanogram is? you don't seriously believe that inhaling a nanogram of a harmful substance will do permanent damage to your body?

please, exhaust fumes from vehicles cause pollution to a city's air in quantities that can actually be measured, but none of you are proposing that sidewalks should be 40 feet from any given street to save your children.

[Davart]

Originally Posted by NatashaQuick

do you have any idea what a nanogram is?

Let's see a pound is 2.204 kilograms, a gram is 1/1000th of a kilogram and a nanogram is 1/1,000,000,000 of a gram. So in other words ...

does some math ...

A nanogram is smaller than a flea turd or give or take .... 0.0000000002204622622622 of a pound.

[nlschr0]

Originally Posted by NatashaQuick

do you have any idea what a nanogram is? you don't seriously believe that inhaling a nanogram of a harmful substance will do permanent damage to your body?

please, exhaust fumes from vehicles cause pollution to a city's air in quantities that can actually be measured, but none of you are proposing that sidewalks should be 40 feet from any given street to save your children.

Just pointing out the irony in choosing arsenic as your example.