Smoke makes my eyes sting

I can't remember what comic said it but it was funny and true.

Having a no smoking section is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
 
Hierovision said:
I hate smoke. I have been playing pool seriously for a decent amount of time now and the only thing that can REALLY throw me off my game is smoke. It's not because it makes my throat hurt (it does, but I can ignore that when playing), it's because my eyes sting and get blurry in an environment with several cigarettes burning at once.

My questions to the forum are do any of you have experience with different eye drops, and which kind worked the best in a smoke-filled environment?

I have experience with lots of eye drops but not in a smokey setting. Patanol (rx) works best for my allergies, but I'm out of it and can't get any more unless I fake some rhinitis and red eyes (allergy season isn't here yet). Is there anything OTC I can use that lasts a decent amount of time and allows for clarity and focus in a smokey pool hall? Don't bother responding if you're going to say Visine; that stuff is terrible for your eyes.

Before I even read any responses, I predict a flame war has broken out amongst the smoking indoors/no smoking indoor. There will be two basic arguments:

FOR smoking indoors. (Coming from a smoker of 10 years, no less) "I stand up for the FREEDOM of a business owner to CHOOSE whether or not he wants to cater to the smoking crowd or no! (read: I want to be allowed to smoke indoors, so I will come up with any specious argument to support that want..)

AGAINST smoking indoors: "Employees at bars should not have to risk getting respiratory problems from the hazardous environs of their work place. The common person ought to be able to go into any PUBLIC business without having to deal with smoke in their cloths, hair, etc... Rates of people having health issues from second hand smoke are going up every year. Smoke ruins the paint on walls, the carpet, electronic equipment, etc..etc.etc..."

And the response from the smokers: "I have the FREEDOM to do whatever the heck I want!!! And you DO NOT have the freedom to be smoke free anywhere else but your home!!!!!!!!!"

And both sides get p!55ed at each other.. It's a circus. Let's see if I was right about this thread..

Russ
 
Russ Chewning said:
Before I even read any responses, I predict a flame war has broken out amongst the smoking indoors/no smoking indoor. There will be two basic arguments:

FOR smoking indoors. (Coming from a smoker of 10 years, no less) "I stand up for the FREEDOM of a business owner to CHOOSE whether or not he wants to cater to the smoking crowd or no! (read: I want to be allowed to smoke indoors, so I will come up with any specious argument to support that want..)

AGAINST smoking indoors: "Employees at bars should not have to risk getting respiratory problems from the hazardous environs of their work place. The common person ought to be able to go into any PUBLIC business without having to deal with smoke in their cloths, hair, etc... Rates of people having health issues from second hand smoke are going up every year. Smoke ruins the paint on walls, the carpet, electronic equipment, etc..etc.etc..."

And the response from the smokers: "I have the FREEDOM to do whatever the heck I want!!! And you DO NOT have the freedom to be smoke free anywhere else but your home!!!!!!!!!"

And both sides get p!55ed at each other.. It's a circus. Let's see if I was right about this thread..

Russ
Not really. I expected that myself within a half dozen posts.
 
I think I'm going to try a few different suggestions. I also checked out the bausch&lomb website and I'm going to get some of the soothXP solution to try as well. Thank you to everyone who made suggestions.
 
plain old visine, is always in my case it does the job for me. never had a problem in poolrooms its always in the bars that i have this problem. Try nicer bars with better filtration some are better than others. As for the smoking debate. I agree with Jude, We should all have a choice. Nonsmokers choose to go to a smoky bar and then complain about it so we should at least have the choice of smoking or not. Hopefullly TX never goes nonsmoking. They tried it city wide a while back and it failed horribly. Thank god democracy works. (sometimes)
 
Hierovision said:
I haven't tried contact lens drops. I'll give it a shot. Any other eye drop suggestions? Not looking for advice like "move to a non smoking state" or "wear goggles" :D Thanks though!

edit: Collyrium sounds like artificial tears (which I have, and it works fine but lasts about a minute). I want something that will last for at least a rack.

Having grown up as the grandson, son and brother to optometrists... I have exactly what you're looking for. But since I always just grab it out of the samples bin I have no idea the name. It's basically artificial tears, but more viscous, so it lasts significantly longer. Right away it feels kind of like you've put oil in your eyes... but they feel nice and lubricated for tens of minutes instead of tens of seconds.

Heading out for a family lunch on Sunday, I'll try to learn the name and get back to you next week.
 
TXsouthpaw said:
plain old visine, is always in my case it does the job for me. never had a problem in poolrooms its always in the bars that i have this problem. Try nicer bars with better filtration some are better than others. As for the smoking debate. I agree with Jude, We should all have a choice. Nonsmokers choose to go to a smoky bar and then complain about it so we should at least have the choice of smoking or not. Hopefullly TX never goes nonsmoking. They tried it city wide a while back and it failed horribly. Thank god democracy works. (sometimes)

I like smokey poolrooms, It's just pool the way it should be, and I don't even smoke cigs.
 
I AM a smoker, but if it gets too smoky it hurts my eyes and affects my game. I never understand how my good old dad can drive around withi his windows up and snoke in the car.

I might be the odd one here, but just because you enjoy a cigar or cigarette doesnt mean secon dhand smoke is fun to deal with. Heck, sometimes if a place is too smoky i dont shoot well and I cant smoke myself because the air is too suffocating as it is.
 
Phidget said:
I AM a smoker, but if it gets too smoky it hurts my eyes and affects my game. I never understand how my good old dad can drive around withi his windows up and snoke in the car.

I might be the odd one here, but just because you enjoy a cigar or cigarette doesnt mean secon dhand smoke is fun to deal with. Heck, sometimes if a place is too smoky i dont shoot well and I cant smoke myself because the air is too suffocating as it is.


I am a smoker also and i agree with you. Too much smoke can be hard on the eyes especially if your playing for a couple of hours. but its more to blame on bad air circulation than on smokers themselves.

Smokey pool rooms is just part of the game. I wouldnt mind a law requiring air purifers in bars but doing away with smoking alltogether is going way too far. I like to enjoy a cigarette with my beer.
 
i'm firmly in the anti-smoking camp. it's so much nicer in england now being able to sit in a pub for a long time or play pool without the stench of some prehistoric drug habit filling the room.

i just don't buy the "it's part of pool room culture having smoky rooms" argument. so what? doesn't make it a good thing does it.
 
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Hierovision said:
I hate smoke. I have been playing pool seriously for a decent amount of time now and the only thing that can REALLY throw me off my game is smoke. It's not because it makes my throat hurt (it does, but I can ignore that when playing), it's because my eyes sting and get blurry in an environment with several cigarettes burning at once.

My questions to the forum are do any of you have experience with different eye drops, and which kind worked the best in a smoke-filled environment?

I have experience with lots of eye drops but not in a smokey setting. Patanol (rx) works best for my allergies, but I'm out of it and can't get any more unless I fake some rhinitis and red eyes (allergy season isn't here yet). Is there anything OTC I can use that lasts a decent amount of time and allows for clarity and focus in a smokey pool hall? Don't bother responding if you're going to say Visine; that stuff is terrible for your eyes.
I use samisilan;it was recommended to me by an optician.

I don't play in places that ignore the needs of non smokers. I take my cash elsewhere.
 
worriedbeef said:
i'm firmly in the anti-smoking camp. it's so much nicer in england now being able to sit in a pub for a long time or play pool without the stench of some prehistoric druge habit filling the room.

i just don't buy the "it's part of pool room culture having smoky rooms" argument. so what? doesn't make it a good thing does it.
True that.
 
Smoke or no smoke

Ahhh, the eternal diatribe. Whose rights trump.... Let me see, I believe our declaration of independence gave us the right of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happines" Our constitution makes no mention of any retriction or garauntee of "a smoke free enviornment". ...... This guys, is the classic no win scenario.......... Personally, I could care less either way.
 
avmaster said:
Ahhh, the eternal diatribe. Whose rights trump.... Let me see, I believe our declaration of independence gave us the right of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happines" Our constitution makes no mention of any retriction or garauntee of "a smoke free enviornment". ...... This guys, is the classic no win scenario.......... Personally, I could care less either way.

Well, let's put it to the smokers a different way...

We all know that pool halls are going under left and right, correct?

And we know a lot of people choose not to go to bars/pool halls/etc that are smoky, correct?

So, smokers are going to have to make a choice. Either be considerate and refrain from smoking indoors, or go outside. If you choose to do neither, and continue to smoke indoors, your pool hall will be voluntarily giving up approx. 10%-20% of it's business from nonsmoking customers.

Now, if you believe that your local pool hall is doing well enough financially that it can afford to lose even 10% of it's business, then by all means, smoke away, Fireman Joe...

With how many halls are closing up lately, I think we need to find a way to get AS MANY people as we possibly can in the doors.

Guess what? A smoke-filled room ain't it.

Now, smokers..... Please tell me the flaw in THIS reasoning...

Russ
 
Russ Chewning said:
Well, let's put it to the smokers a different way...

We all know that pool halls are going under left and right, correct?

And we know a lot of people choose not to go to bars/pool halls/etc that are smoky, correct?

So, smokers are going to have to make a choice. Either be considerate and refrain from smoking indoors, or go outside. If you choose to do neither, and continue to smoke indoors, your pool hall will be voluntarily giving up approx. 10%-20% of it's business from nonsmoking customers.

Now, if you believe that your local pool hall is doing well enough financially that it can afford to lose even 10% of it's business, then by all means, smoke away, Fireman Joe...


With how many halls are closing up lately, I think we need to find a way to get AS MANY people as we possibly can in the doors.

Guess what? A smoke-filled room ain't it.

Now, smokers..... Please tell me the flaw in THIS reasoning...

Russ

The flaw in your reasoning is the claim of "public places". These are not public places, they are private business's that are owned by private citizens. To wit, these citizens have the right to dictate behavior in thier establishment. You, on the other hand, have the right to choose not to frequent thier establishment, should you disagree with how they operate. Our government pokes it's nose in where it shouldn't thanks to the "collective socialist think" that is prevalent in our country. I personally, do not go out of my way to antagonize non smokers, and abstain from smoking if it annoys them. Unfortunately, I find non smokers to be generally intolarant of smokers to the point of being fanatical in thier attitude of no rights for the smoker and they are intolerant, arrogant and down right rude.
 
First of all I dont think pool halls are gonna lose that much business because of complaining non smokers, Especially pool playing non smokers. If all the pool halls allow smoking than pool players have no choice but to go to a pool hall thats smoking. Either that or give up the game. I dont think lots of people would give up pool because they cant take the smoke

Second of all, I didnt realize smoking bothered this many people. Next time im in a set for $ with a non smoker im gonna make sure to light up more. hell maybe ill start carrying a couple of cigars in my case too. Any little thing can turn a match around and im sure irratating theyre eyes with my smoke will work in my favor.
 
avmaster said:
Unfortunately, I find non smokers to be generally intolarant of smokers to the point of being fanatical in thier attitude of no rights for the smoker and they are intolerant, arrogant and down right rude.

It is not smokers per se, that I am against. It is their thought process. They rationalize (just like you did) that a public business is not really public. They rationalize that others "have the choice" to go somewhere else if they don't like the smoke, but will rant and rave if someone opines that they should exercise their "choice" to go outside and have that cigarette as a matter of common courtesy, if only for the establishment owner's sake, to protect his property from becoming smoke stained.

It has been shown in a few pretty big studies that smokers are "generally" more prone to be discourteous to their fellow man. They are much more likely not to hold the door for someone, more likely to leave their tray on the table insteading of bussing it themselves at a restaraunt, more likely to flip someone off on the road.

In short, something about smoking turns off some of the ability to empathize with others in a large section of the smoking population.

But it's okay though. All the other smokers who refuse to show courtesy to their fellow man will one day be FORCED to by the government. They are in the minority of the overall population, and people are finally standing up for what's right and making "public" places safe for patronage.

Unbeknownst to you, (actually, I am QUITE sure you DO realize this) businesses are NOT FREE to run their businesses as they see fit. They NEVER HAVE BEEN. Government can tell a restaraunt it cannot use MSG. They can tell a business they MUST have working fire alarms. It can tell a barber shop it MUST use a disinfectant on the combs after every haircut.

The public safety is what is at stake here. What constitutes public safety? What the public decides. Now, that may not be pleasing to the minority population, but it's still the way things are, and the way things shall REMAIN.

If the public no longer thinks smoking in public is good for the health of the overall population, then it is going to go away. Your personal rights are exactly that. PERSONAL. You have the right to smoke wherever the government hasn't specifically told you you can't.

And, for the record, my wife is a smoker. She has never whined once about going outside in our own house to smoke. She accepts that it is a bad habit, and will not subject the family to it.

And as far as tolerance, I would much sooner tolerate a heroine addict shooting up in the bathroom of a pool hall than I would smokers stinking up the entire joint. The heroine addict has no direct influence on me, by "conducting his habit". The smokers however, DO. If I spend enough time in a pool hall, then the leather in my case soaks up the smoke.. It gets in my clothes. Gets in my LUNGS.

Russ
 
TXsouthpaw said:
Second of all, I didnt realize smoking bothered this many people. Next time im in a set for $ with a non smoker im gonna make sure to light up more. hell maybe ill start carrying a couple of cigars in my case too. Any little thing can turn a match around and im sure irratating theyre eyes with my smoke will work in my favor.

LOL. See my quote from the post I made just as you were making yours..

Russ Chewning said:
It has been shown in a few pretty big studies that smokers are "generally" more prone to be discourteous to their fellow man. They are much more likely not to hold the door for someone, more likely to leave their tray on the table insteading of bussing it themselves at a restaraunt, more likely to flip someone off on the road.

PRICELESS. :D :D :D

Russ
 
Hierovision said:
I haven't tried contact lens drops. I'll give it a shot. Any other eye drop suggestions? Not looking for advice like "move to a non smoking state" or "wear goggles" :D Thanks though!

edit: Collyrium sounds like artificial tears (which I have, and it works fine but lasts about a minute). I want something that will last for at least a rack.

Bausch and Lomb Optcon A eye drops work great as long as you're not wearing contacts. Optcon A is formulated for allergy relief and irritation, it works fast and it lasts for a couple of hours. It's available over the counter at just about any drugstore. Try it.

Fats
 
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i used to wear contacts and the smoke never bother me before about 10 years ago.... quit playing and just started playing more often about a year ago but wearing glasses, which was hard cuz my glasses would slid down my face all the time and i would see the top of the rim of the glasses when i was down shooting which was annoying. i tried to switch to contacts just last week, and now i can barely keep my eyes open with the smoke!! never bothered me in the past but now i cant take it! dont know what has changed but just cant do it...i have to adjust to playing with my glasses now...
 
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