 | I don't smoke much only one pack per
day. Heavy smoking starts with 1/2 pack per day. Although any
amount of exposure to carcinogens is undesirable, at a 20 pack year history
(smoking one pack per day for 20 years, 1/2 pack per day for 40 yrs, etc.)
their is a much higher rate of cancer formation.
|
| Tobacco's not bad it's the
additives!! Over 25 carcinogens (chemicals which cause cancer) are in
tobacco. Some additives have imposed significant health risks.
However, the vast majority of the carcinogens are from the tobacco plant and
not the factory.
|
| Smoking has had a positive impact on
Kentucky's Economy. Life Insurance is twice as much for smokers as for
non-smokers, corresponding to the 7 year shorter life span in smokers.
Private health insurance costs 32% more for smokers. Medicare and
Medicaid has no increase in premiums so the cost of smoking related heath
care is spread to all consumers.
|
| They chose to smoke, its their
right. 80% of smokers started smoking in high school. The
average age in Pulaski County is the 8th grade. Once started few can
kick the habit. The long term quit rate is approximately 3%.
|
| I can quit any time I want to.
Only 3% of smokers quit smoking for good, much lower that alcohol addiction,
about the same as heroin.
|
| Alcohol kills more people than
smoking, I do not hear this ruckus about alcohol use. It is true that
alcohol consumption is a major health problem in the United States. It
increases the carcinogenic effect of smoking and by itself can be lethal.
However, Smoking kills more people per year than Auto Accidents, HIV,
Homicides, Suicides, Alcohol and Drug Abuse COMBINED. In
Kentucky during 1998, there were 869 traffic fatalities, 205 alcohol related
compared to 3500 lung cancer deaths, 90% which are caused by smoking.
|
| His cancer was not caused by
smoking, he quit smoking years ago. Smoking causes irreversible
genetic damage. Quitting will not improve this. You do not hear survivors
of Love Canal or those exposed to irradiation in childhood, thinking their
cancers were not caused by prior exposure to carcinogens.
|
| My grandmother is 90 and she has
smoked all of her life--It hasn't hurt her. As with most things in
life nothing is 100%. But if one applied this logic to drunk driving
one would say: "Driving under the influence of alcohol does not
cause accidents because I drove drunk yesterday and did not get in an
accident.
|
| I pay for my health insurance.
If I want to smoke it's my business not yours. The health costs of
smoking are not only in health insurance but in costs created by the
employee missing work. The employer also has an increase in his
insurance profile and a resultant increase in health care costs. Many
smoking illnesses are severe and during the course of the illness the patient
often losses insurance. In addition, most occur in the elderly and
they are on Medicare. These costs are born by us all.
|
| My "Sinus" condition is
worse since I quit smoking. Thus, smoking did not cause it.
Smoking caused irreversible damage to the lining of the nose. When one
quits smoking nasal secretions may increase for months and because of
 the
damage to the nasal lining, the nose has a reduced capacity to clear
them. Symptoms may worsen for months, but in the long run it is much
better to quit smoking now. |
