What Second hand smoke symtoms do you experience?

[336Robin]

Silver Lining to Smoking Bans

Im a former smoker and second hand chokes me to death. I get to the point I cant play if its bad but I do because I love the game.

The Silver Lining is that bars who cater mostly to drinkers are probably going to lose some business to private clubs where the patrons can smoke.

That makes the pool player and the time he spends on the talbes --more valid---profits generated from pool time sales start to matter more to owners. Hopefully more appreciation for player dollars will be the cause that sort of happens by accident.

I would like to dream that this will stimulate pool business but I believe the loss in revenue from the drinker will probably outweigh any increase in pool time sales for a long time.

Private Clubs will flourish because of the additional business coming from the bars gone smokless.

I play in one of those clubs and thats a lot for me to look forward to I guess. So maybe one gets the cash when the other gets robbed.

Probably about the time that happens someone will come up with a bill that says a private club cant have smoking if some condition persists or some rule is not obeyed or present to further decrease the amount pool rooms. its a shame all the way around.

I try to not be in heavy smoke but its hard to abide by that when you just want to hit some then go home or you really want to get your stroke out for about 4/5 hrs.

I all actuality there isnt much of a silver lining if we dont keep our pool rooms open.

Outside smoking rooms may save a few places.

 

[Neil]

................

 

[TATE]

Hi there everyone,

I get so sick from the smoke that I can't play after about 3 or 4 hours. It takes me about 2 days to feel good again.:smile:

I was just wondering if everyone that doesn't smoke experiences just some or all of the symptoms that I do.

Could you share your symptoms with us all...............

Thanks geno..............

30 years ago, I smoked ...

...in airplanes, restaurants, elevators, grocery stores, hospital waiting rooms, other peoples homes, pool rooms, cars, hotel rooms, my office, in other people's offices, when taking clients out to lunch, when taking a shower, around children, in bed I would wake up every few hours and smoke. I chain smoked too and mashed the butts out on the store's tiled floor or sidewalk or gutter or threw them lit out a car window.

And so did most everybody else.

What the hell was wrong with us? Did those glamorous cowboy ads and movie stars smoking on the screen really make us that stupid?

Quitting smoking was both one of the most difficult things I've ever done and certainly one of the most rewarding.

Chris

 

[miplayerstour]

Symptoms..yes you can have them and they are real!

Im a former smoker, over 20 years not smoking now. i quit when I heard I was pregnant and never started again. I dont condemn smokers its their choice as it was mine to quit. I was a courteous smoker and tried to to never offend anyone with it but Im sure someone was at some point.

Despite my efforts to stop smoking, playing pool makes it tough because yes, pool rooms and bars are thick with smoke you have to breath it in. I became very sensative to the smoke about 7 years ago, it actually started to cause me breathing problems and allergy like symptoms including headaches for days afterwards. I was often on inhalers and steroids for lung problems. When I stopped playing pool for many years and stopped going to bars or places that were too smokey, the problems were almost totally gone. now what caused me to be more sensative was another issue but, the smoking iteself multiplied my problems.

Its still my choice to go to places where there is smoke and at times i go and play but rarely for long because I cant take the days of being sick afterwards. Its a smokers right to smoke but its my right to enjoy venues and public places without affecting my health. Pool rooms could often settle this as could other businesses by having seperate areas that were truly seperate where the air was divided for lack of a better phrase.

We all have rights and there is no right or wrong here.......................its about finding a solution that works for everyone.

To answer the OPs question...................difficulty breathing, headaches, sniffles, stuffy nose, itchy and watery eys........flu like symptoms etc.

 

[ShootingArts]

Neil you make some good points

Neil,

As always you make some excellent points. However as I mentioned, I never knew the grief that cigarette smoke was causing me until I got out of it.

By the way, I have isocyanate poisoning too. If I were sue happy I should own a big chunk of PPG! Like asbestos, the isocyanate poisoning never really goes away. Any exposure to isocynates now leaves me spending the night in a chair, I can't breath lying down. The smoke issues were before I started painting though.

I don't doubt that part of my current sensitivity to smoke is because my lungs aren't the best in the world anyway because of the isocyanates and asbestos but wood smoke doesn't begin to bother me as bad as tobacco smoke. Two totally different beasts like me being allergic to dogs but not any other animal I have discovered yet. Heavy wood smoke bothers me while I am in it and has no longer term effects. The effects from cigarette smoke last for days.

Hu

O.K., I'll bite.... did it ever occur to you that his lung cancer could very well, and probably, not be from cigarrette smoke?? So, why try and associate it to smoking?? Did it ever occur to you that it is probably due to exhaust fumes and other environmental pollution? You know, the stuff all you non-smokers do, but have no problem with because you like doing it.

But, let's ban the smoking because YOU don't like it. Funny how so many are against socialism until it suits their agenda.

To those of you that have bought into the nonsense of how bad secondhand smoke is, I suggest you try getting a little informed about it instead of just following the PC trends. This just proves that if you say something enough times, people will actually believe it. In case you haven't noticed, bans on smoking is nothing more than a push towards socialism. Let the government control everything.

For those of you that want to see how harmful second smoke actually is, read this site. http://www.smokingaloud.com/corrupt.html (also click on the articles to the right)

I'm NOT saying smoking isn't bad for you. And I do agree that it can cause some problems for nonsmokers. Such as those wearing contacts, the smell, those with asthma. But, some of you are so convinced that it is so bad for you, that you actually make yourselves sick. Try learning about it a little instead of being spoonfed.

Just an example- if you are getting sick from a few hours in a poolroom, you have other problems, or you are mentally making yourself sick. Think about it. You, as a nonsmoker, are having symptoms that take actual heavy smokers about 40 years to develop! See a little problem there?

When I went to the Dr. a couple of years ago because I couldn't breathe due to Isocyanyte poisoning, the first thing the doc did is fill out a questionairre. He asked if I had ever been around anyone that smoked. Well, duh, who hasn't? So, my breathing problems automatically fell into the smoking related cause. He was against it also, but he said his hands were tied, and that is how they had to 'play the game'. THAT explains why you hear of so many smoking related diseases. They MAKE it smoking related to fit their agenda.

 

[SUPERSTAR]

I think there needs to be a distinction made.

Second hand smoke, in the traditional sense, like walking by someone who smokes, having smoke blow by you, and being near a group of smokers, does not really represent the pool hall second hand smoking experience, at least for me.

When the pool hall i frequent used to be smoking, on any given night of the week, you'd go in there and not be able to see stuff from across the room.

So in a sense, EVERY breath you took, was like taking a drag.
There were many times i woke up coughing up who knows what, or waking up wheezing in the middle of the night.

When you add the fact that most of the hardcore pool junkies like myself were in there every day till closing, it does not represent your typical second hand smoking scenario.
Like going to the club once a week. Or having a spouse who smokes, but might be smoking outside, or in another part of the house apart from you, or in a food joint where some puffing goes on, but where you had different sections.

If you were in a pool hall like some of the ones i went to, you can basically consider it First hand smoke and gauge your packs per day accordingly.

 

[hangemhigh]

As a former smoker, 8 years smoke free, I get sick when I come into contact with 2nd. hand cigarette or cigar smoke. Sick like a Heroin junkie, wanting another fix. I have to use all my will power not to break down and fire one up! I am acutely aware of shs now, but getting physically sick is not my experience.

 

[ronhudson]

even as a "former smoker" I feel like a PRIVATE business should be able to run their business ANY WAY THEY WANT! (and this is not just about smoking) If they want peanut shells on the floor and stale smoke in the air, then guess what? IT'S THEIR BUSINESS! If the customer doesn't like it they have A PERSONAL CHOICE TO MAKE.

That arguement seems good on the surface, but it falls apart under a closer look. The issue is not about choice so much as it's about heath. A club owner can choose what brands and types of drinks and food to offer; he can choose to allow pool playing in his establishment and he can choose how many tables he will have. He cannot however choose to allow urine or feces to be on the floor and he can't choose to allow cockroaches or pet rats to roam the kitchen.

Bear with me while I get up on the soapbox and tell you what I think about smoke and why. Any kind of smoke -- first, second, or third hand smoke is in the same category, it's unhealthy. It causes sickness and makes you smell bad. It costs a lot -- first in money in buying the tobacco products, and then -- for many people -- later in healthcare costs. It costs you in other ways too.

I'm an ex smoker and I'm fortunate that I don't have any problems from it that I know of, but I live with the effects and costs of tobacco every day. My wife, who is also an ex smoker, had a great career as a fiction author with over 40 books published. She was diagnosed with emphysema from smoking about three years after she quit. She was on oxygen 24/7 for about 5 or 6 years and could not even sit in a chair without oxygen or her lips would turn blue. She increasingly had trouble with thinking and finally admitted she had lost the ability to write stories. Her agent and her editors put her contracts on hold. Not only did we have higher medical costs, now we abruptly lost her contribution (which was pretty significant) to our income.

Her doctor recommended her for the lung transplant list and after a long period of testing, she got on the list several months ago. Then she began to have bouts of CO2 buildup and just went "dull". She would just sit in a chair and stare at the tv without even knowing what was on. She was in ICU three times this year. She couldn't even read and comprehend much of anything, much less write anything. Then on September 17th she received the gift of a new right lung. Her recovery is going well. I think she's recovered her mental state fully, and we are hopeful that she will be writing again soon.

Sorry about the rant, but it really galls me when people talk about the "rights" of people to contaminate others. I know that not everyone will be affected by smoking, but when it happens to you, you adjust your thinking.

 

[Drew]

Nobody forces anybody to go to a pool hall. If you want to play pool, you have to abide by the room owner's rules.

Or I guess you can go cry to your state legislatures and have them seize the rights of your fellow man.

 

[JesPiddlin]

Speaking as an ex-smoker, I can see both sides of the fence.

Me, too. I think it's wrong to tell someone they can't smoke, but it's also wrong to tell someone they can't breathe. So, if someone wants to smoke, they need to take it to a space that doesn't affect anyone who doesn't want to smell like smoke or have to breathe it.

Because we didn't want to force the kids to breathe the smoke, we smoked outdoors for about 15 years and the last couple of years, I just couldn't quit, no matter how hard I tried. I could smoke as few as 1 or 2 cigarettes on most days, but I just couldn't quit, until I had the heart attacks. When I went home from the hospital after only 2 days, I had a cigarette a day for 2 days and I put out the last one on 9/11 of 2005. Once every couple of months, I get a massive craving for a cigarette. When those happen, I just go outside the pool hall and talk to the smokers for a few minutes.

The only negative to quitting smoking is that it is good to keep a person awake when driving a car for long distances. Without that cigarette, I have to have something to snack on, or some very loud music from the 1970's. Other than driving, I have found absolutely no positive effect that is missing from my life, since quitting smoking. Twizzlers, sunflower seeds, etc., are fairly good replacements for cigarettes. Watch out for too much sugar or salt, though. Chips will raise your blood pressure almost instantly, so I avoid them while driving.

Of course, people do get cancer from not smoking, but if you smoke, you increase your chances of getting it. :yes:

Okay... Last I knew, not smoking is NOT A CAUSE of cancer , but I had to comment on this statement. It caught me totally off-guard.

My favorite place to go visit is my mother-in-law's. I can go over there for 2 or 3 hours. If my granddaughter's eye starts weeping, that's a sign she and I are about to have more symptoms, so we leave, or go outside. The only fairly quick symptoms I might get are puffy, scratchy eyes and a horribly stopped up nose that gives me a headache and makes me feel like I'm getting a bad head cold. The next morning, I wake up coughing and sneezing and blowing crud out of my nose and feeling all-around miserable. I think back, trying to remember who I was around that was sick and after a little bit, I realize I was in a heavy smoking environment and I'll be okay in another day or two.

When I was a kid, I remember stealing my daddy's cigarettes and flushing them down the toilet. I thought I was so cool and I was going to get him to stop smoking. When I became a smoker and had kids, I let them know real quick that I would much prefer that they encourage me verbally, because if they flush or destroy my cigarettes, I'm just going to go spend more money that I could have spent on something they wanted, instead. My kids were very supportive and even though they didn't understand, they really tried.

I love my kids for trying to so hard to make sure I knew they didn't want to lose me. There are no negative memories of them trying to get me to stop smoking. The heart attacks were a definite wake-up call, though. Smoking and lots of stress and some genetic issues worked pretty hard to kill me. It didn't happen, but it sure scared all of us.

Come this February 16, 2010, at 1:30 p.m., it will be 2 years of me not smoking! :clapping::clapping::clapping:

Congratulations, Jam! It's so scary to give it up. And, it's really hard. I'm glad to hear you're still a non-smoker.

Our favorite pool hall is no smoking, no drinking. We won't normally play pool in a place that allows either one, because we don't want our grandchildren around it. We've considered going to Magoo's in Tulsa, once in a while, even though they allow both. A lot of folks we know play pool there. We stopped in a couple of months ago and neither of us could breathe after only a few minutes of deciding which table we wanted to play on, so we left and we haven't been back.

Gene is not allergic to 2nd hand smoke, so he can normally handle it, if it's not bad. I believe the places in Tulsa that are allowed to have smoking in their business are supposed to have good air ventilation and/or have a separate room for smokers. But, our pool hall is better than all the smoking pool halls, so we don't really care. We have no need to go there and play, because our pool hall also has an in-house 8 ball league, so we never have to find the next place we are supposed to play, or worry about whether we'll have to breathe. We just go to our pool hall and play our league games. It's 3 man teams and they've made it really fun. Plus, we get out of there by 10 or 10:30 pm, so we don't have to worry about being up all night, before going to work the next day.... or coughing our lungs out for a few days. We get to play pool, have fun, AND breathe. :smile: :smile:

 

[sausage]

Hi there everyone,

I get so sick from the smoke that I can't play after about 3 or 4 hours. It takes me about 2 days to feel good again.:smile:

I was just wondering if everyone that doesn't smoke experiences just some or all of the symptoms that I do.

Could you share your symptoms with us all...............

Thanks geno..............

i quit entering tournaments because of the cig smoke. long ago in dallAss there was a regional bar-box 9ball tournament which BTW was won by dick lane.... anyway, the air was a fog of cig smoke so thick that i had to leave. amazingly, smokers were still lighting up even though all they had to do to get a "fix" was breath the air.

i remember when it was permissible to smoke on airplanes. as soon as the no smoking light went out, the drug addicts would fill the cabin with acrid smoke. and these people have the NERVE to complain that their rights are being violated by no smoking bans. i'd rather have a heroin addict next to me shooting up. at least he isn't putting his drug into MY BODY!

 

[ugotactionTX]

First of all I want to say that I'm sorry your wife has had to endure this horrible problem and am glad that she's seems to be on the mend. However, your comments illustrate my point exactly. If your wife smoked, then SHE made the choice to smoke. There is a very distinct difference between choosing to smoke and choosing to be "around" smoke. And comparing smoking in a private establishment to pissing and crapping on the floor is ridiculous. We all know that smoking is bad for you and I don't think anyone is trying to argue the contrary. If good or bad for you is the deciding factor then we're all in trouble. because pretty much everything we as humans like is probably going to kill us. whether it Scotch and water or BLT's we all make choices and the consequences are our own. I'm REALLY not being cold hearted, and I know that the human element makes it a very touchy subject. My grandfather smoked 3 packs of Viceroys a day for 60 years and died when his lungs were too weak to recover from pneumonia after suffering a heart attack. My grandmother died from emphysema. She smoked for years. They both would have lived a lot longer without the damaging effects of smoke. And as much as I wish they could have been around a few more years, They made choices that ultimately shortened their lives. But again, it was a CHOICE. The idea that the government can tell adults how to live their lives and run their businesses makes me nauseous. just my opinion...

That arguement seems good on the surface, but it falls apart under a closer look. The issue is not about choice so much as it's about heath. A club owner can choose what brands and types of drinks and food to offer; he can choose to allow pool playing in his establishment and he can choose how many tables he will have. He cannot however choose to allow urine or feces to be on the floor and he can't choose to allow cockroaches or pet rats to roam the kitchen.

Bear with me while I get up on the soapbox and tell you what I think about smoke and why. Any kind of smoke -- first, second, or third hand smoke is in the same category, it's unhealthy. It causes sickness and makes you smell bad. It costs a lot -- first in money in buying the tobacco products, and then -- for many people -- later in healthcare costs. It costs you in other ways too.

I'm an ex smoker and I'm fortunate that I don't have any problems from it that I know of, but I live with the effects and costs of tobacco every day. My wife, who is also an ex smoker, had a great career as a fiction author with over 40 books published. She was diagnosed with emphysema from smoking about three years after she quit. She was on oxygen 24/7 for about 5 or 6 years and could not even sit in a chair without oxygen or her lips would turn blue. She increasingly had trouble with thinking and finally admitted she had lost the ability to write stories. Her agent and her editors put her contracts on hold. Not only did we have higher medical costs, now we abruptly lost her contribution (which was pretty significant) to our income.

Her doctor recommended her for the lung transplant list and after a long period of testing, she got on the list several months ago. Then she began to have bouts of CO2 buildup and just went "dull". She would just sit in a chair and stare at the tv without even knowing what was on. She was in ICU three times this year. She couldn't even read and comprehend much of anything, much less write anything. Then on September 17th she received the gift of a new right lung. Her recovery is going well. I think she's recovered her mental state fully, and we are hopeful that she will be writing again soon.

Sorry about the rant, but it really galls me when people talk about the "rights" of people to contaminate others. I know that not everyone will be affected by smoking, but when it happens to you, you adjust your thinking.

 

[JesPiddlin]

That arguement seems good on the surface, but it falls apart under a closer look....

...Sorry about the rant, but it really galls me when people talk about the "rights" of people to contaminate others. I know that not everyone will be affected by smoking, but when it happens to you, you adjust your thinking.

Ron, I had no idea. I'm so glad your wife is doing so well and I hope she gets well enough to begin writing, again. I love writing and creating and it's awful when I go blank for even a day or two. After my heart attacks, I couldn't comprehend a sentence from the time I started reading it until I reached the period. I had to read a sentence about 3 times and sometimes take it apart, before I could get it. We were in the process of buying a house and due to the fact that I insist on reading everything and making sure I understand it before I sign my name to it, it was at least 3 or 4 hours, before we finished our closing on the house, that day. But, I did manage to save us some money and some worries down the road, because of my diligence, because I did actually catch some major flubs.

Best wishes to your wife and kudos to you for hanging around and helping her through it. I'm so glad she got a lung in time.

 

[JesPiddlin]

...They both would have lived a lot longer without the damaging effects of smoke. And as much as I wish they could have been around a few more years, They made choices that ultimately shortened their lives. But again, it was a CHOICE. The idea that the government can tell adults how to live their lives and run their businesses makes me nauseous. just my opinion...

Since when is it supposed to be okay to make the choice to harm or kill others? Whether it's a knife or a puff of smoke, it can be a lethal weapon, depending on how it's used. Irresponsible use that endangers others generally brings on the control of the government.

 

[donny mills]

Think about it. How would it hurt a business if every single public indoor place was non smoking?? Everybody would still go because you wouldn't be allowed to smoke inside any public place.

Hurt the economy? How much money is spent on cancer and lung problems now? How much less would it be if public places were non smoking? I smoked from 1994-2002 and I woke up feeling like shit. I promise you it doesnt take 40 years to get some bad effects. I didn't go to the poolroom for 5 days, and the 6th day I went in, I left the poolroom and the next morning coughed and I could taste that bullshit.

So if you own a bar that the public is welcome to is it okay to have target shooting with a gun instead of the dart machines? Lol stupid analogy but still kinda valid.

 

[D_Lewis]

Second hand smoke is a killer, if it don't kill you get lung, and heart disease. IMHO NON SMOKERS HAVE RIGHT ALSO!!!

Here is AZ Smoke are $7.00/PACK. $.35/Coffin Nail. In Canada smokes go for $13.00-$15.00/Pack because the GOVERMENT KNOWS Smoker get sick more, so let the smoker pay for their Health Care up front.

You are inaccurate with your pricing on Canadian cigarettes.

 

[ShootingArts]

same difference

Think about it. How would it hurt a business if every single public indoor place was non smoking?? Everybody would still go because you wouldn't be allowed to smoke inside any public place.

Hurt the economy? How much money is spent on cancer and lung problems now? How much less would it be if public places were non smoking? I smoked from 1994-2002 and I woke up feeling like shit. I promise you it doesnt take 40 years to get some bad effects. I didn't go to the poolroom for 5 days, and the 6th day I went in, I left the poolroom and the next morning coughed and I could taste that bullshit.

So if you own a bar that the public is welcome to is it okay to have target shooting with a gun instead of the dart machines? Lol stupid analogy but still kinda valid.

Donny,

Your point is perfectly valid. Just like nonsmokers go now because it is the choice of put up with smoke or don't play, smokers would come if the only option was nonsmoking or don't play. When businesses get hurt is when there are options for both nearby. Smokers number roughly twenty percent of the population I believe, higher in pool halls so let's guess thirty percent or roughly a third of the business. Most expenses stay the same so you are talking between a fifth and a third off of the net and few businesses can take that kind of a hit.

Hu

 

[Drew]

Think about it. How would it hurt a business if every single public indoor place was non smoking?? Everybody would still go because you wouldn't be allowed to smoke inside any public place.

Hurt the economy? How much money is spent on cancer and lung problems now? How much less would it be if public places were non smoking? I smoked from 1994-2002 and I woke up feeling like shit. I promise you it doesnt take 40 years to get some bad effects. I didn't go to the poolroom for 5 days, and the 6th day I went in, I left the poolroom and the next morning coughed and I could taste that bullshit.

So if you own a bar that the public is welcome to is it okay to have target shooting with a gun instead of the dart machines? Lol stupid analogy but still kinda valid.

Why wouldn't that be okay? I think places like that exist...they're called shooting ranges.

You like to play pool and you don't want to be around smokers? Simple solution: put a pool table in your home. Nobody's stopping you from having your own non-smoking poolroom. But don't go around instructing other people how to run their establishments. I'll tell you what, if you walk onto my property and order me to stop smoking, I'll swiftly kick you out. Just like if I walk into your home and light up a cigarette.

All this talk of economy is pretty much worthless if you don't know what you're talking about. You have to realize that tobacco is still one of the highest grossing cash crops that this country produces.

Oh and by the way. Bars, poolrooms, Wal-Marts, malls, and 99% of the buildings in this country are PRIVATE. Public places would be courthouses, national/state/municipal parks, police and fire buildings, and public schools.

How about you don't tell me what I can and can't with my property, and I don't tell you what you can and can't do with your property? Sound fair?

 

[ugotactionTX]

I think the difference is the individual choosing to go somewhere that the owner allows their patrons to smoke. It's only able to do harm if YOU choose to be around it. Again, if enough people want to hang out in non-smoking establishments then those businesses will exist and thrive. It's the telling the owner what he can and can't do with his private property that I have a problem with. I understand banning smoking outdoors in public places, on planes, trains and business where consumers DO NOT have a choice. But bars, pool halls, and restaurants are different. There ARE alternatives in most places or (here's a shocker) open your own and make it however YOU WANT! YOU OWN IT!

jeez I'm not even a smoker. I hate the way it smells. what it does to my clothes and having to listen to my wife tell me how much I stink when I get home. But you know what? I STILL think it's the owners prerogative.

Since when is it supposed to be okay to make the choice to harm or kill others? Whether it's a knife or a puff of smoke, it can be a lethal weapon, depending on how it's used. Irresponsible use that endangers others generally brings on the control of the government.

 

[D_Lewis]

Why wouldn't that be okay? I think places like that exist...they're called shooting ranges.

You like to play pool and you don't want to be around smokers? Simple solution: put a pool table in your home. Nobody's stopping you from having your own non-smoking poolroom. But don't go around instructing other people how to run their establishments. I'll tell you what, if you walk onto my property and order me to stop smoking, I'll swiftly kick you out. Just like if I walk into your home and light up a cigarette.

All this talk of economy is pretty much worthless if you don't know what you're talking about. You have to realize that tobacco is still one of the highest grossing cash crops that this country produces.

Oh and by the way. Bars, poolrooms, Wal-Marts, malls, and 99% of the buildings in this country are PRIVATE. Public places would be courthouses, national/state/municipal parks, police and fire buildings, and public schools.

How about you don't tell me what I can and can't with my property, and I don't tell you what you can and can't do with your property? Sound fair?

Bars, poolrooms, Wal-Marts, etc count as public places. Private places require memberships and whatnot. Your home is a private place, however if you use your home as a home office or you drive a work vehicle, they count as workplaces and are no longer protected as private.

I have two bets for you.
1) if Donny was standing in front of you, you wouldnt say nearly the things you decided it was a good idea to post on the internet.
2) You wont be able to smoke in any business in your area in 10 years. Including bars, restaurants, poolrooms etc.

Let me know if you'd like either bet.