On Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:15:06 GMT, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

OK. I'll bite.

BRG wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

It is a problem in the open air - smokers are polluting and here are
some statistics for you to inhale:

SECONDHAND SMOKE CONTAINS 4,000 TOXIC CHEMICALS
People that breath secondhand smoke are at risk of the same diseases
as smokers, including cancer and heart disease, because secondhand
smoke contains 4,000 toxic chemicals. It is estimated that secondhand
smoke causes thousands of deaths each year.

Oh dear, not that old chestnut again. You really are gullible aren't you?

Absolutely. There are actually only 3996 toxic chemicals in cigarette
smoke. Four of them are safe.

OK, for the hard of thinking, lets go through it one thing at a time;

"SECONDHAND SMOKE CONTAINS 4,000 TOXIC CHEMICALS" Indeed it does, but at
what dose? You don't know do you? Basic rule of toxicology 'the poison is
in the dose'. May I remind you that many other things also contain many
toxic chemicals.

Just because there are other toxins in the environment does not
justify exposing people to more because of a drug addiction.

"People that breath secondhand smoke are at risk of the same diseases as
smokers, including cancer and heart disease,"

Clearly riduculous. Smokers must absorb the majority of the toxins, or
smoking would have no adverse affect on them. Therefore smoke diluted by
the smoker cannot have the same effect.

There is no evidence for this. If smokers absorb enough toxins
through their filters to harm themselves it proves nothing about the
level of toxins absorbed by people nearby.

As a matter of interest, non smokers also develop lung cancer. Before you
trot out the Roy Castle argument you should know that non smokers develop an
entirely different form of cancer in a copletely different part of the lung.

Where's the evidence for this?

"It is estimated that secondhand smoke causes thousands of deaths each year"

Indeed it is. Estimated. 'Thousands' is an interesting term. There are
'official' figures for the number of deaths caused by passive smoking. The
UK Guvmint claim either 9,000 or 11,000 in the UK (depends which department
you listen to). The EU claim 16,000 Europeans (which includes the UK) every
year. I'll leave you to spot the anomaly in the figures.

So 9,000 is acceptable and 16,000 is not? Even the lowest figure is
horrendous.

That statement shows just how ignorant you are of the facts - if you
have kids yourself and you smoke in the house - then work it out for
yourself!

Well strangely enough we designated the kitchen (with two extractor fans) as
our smoking area simply because they didn't like the smell.

So your neighbours get it instead?

Alas it displays that the smoking ban is the thin end of the wedge. Who is
next? Drinkers? Bacon sarnie eaters? Drivers? Fat people? You?

So we should let anyone do anything they like, no matter the
consequences?

M.