My friend recommended this book to me and after reading it, I would like to recommend it to all the caring loving devoted animal lovers out there! The book is entitled, "Smoke Screen, A Cautionary Non-Fiction Account of Manipulation and Deception". This book is amazing and contains some very heartwarming eye opening non-fiction accounts of people who have suffered tremendous losses and pain while watching their loved ones' lives being destroyed by smoking and big tobacco. Some of the stories are about some wonderful amazing animal lovers who actually gave up their ugly addiction for the love of their beloved 4-legged animal baby companions and stood strong to protect them! This book is unlike any other book I've ever read and I highly recommend it! To learn more about this book, please visit her blog website: http://www.smoke-screen.org

Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet

Secondhand smoke, also know as environmental tobacco smoke (ET, is a mixture of the smoke given off by the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar and the smoke exhaled from the lungs of smokers. It is involuntarily inhaled by nonsmokers, lingers in the air hours after cigarettes have been extinguished and can cause or exacerbate a wide range of adverse health effects, including cancer, respiratory infections, and asthma.¹

• The current Surgeon General’s Report concluded that scientific evidence indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Short exposures to secondhand smoke can cause blood platelets to become stickier, damage the lining of blood vessels, decrease coronary flow velocity reserves, and reduce heart rate variability, potentially increasing the risk of heart attack.²
  
  
• Secondhand smoke has been classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a known cause of cancer in humans (Group A carcinogen).³
  
  
• Secondhand smoke exposure causes disease and premature death in children and adults who do not smoke. Secondhand smoke contains hundreds of chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic ammonia and hydrogen cyanide.⁴
  
  
• Secondhand smoke causes almost 50,000 deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year, including approximately 3,400 from lung cancer and 22,700-69,600 from heart disease.⁵
  
  
• Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at work are at increased risk for adverse health effects. Levels of secondhand smoke in restaurants and bars were found to be 2 to 5 times higher than in residences with smokers and 2 to 6 times higher than in office workplaces.⁶
  
  
• Workplace productivity was increased and absenteeism was decreased among former smokers compared with current smokers.⁷
  
  
• Twenty-three states - Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, Utah, and Vermont – as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have passed laws prohibiting smoking in almost all public places and workplaces, including restaurants and bars.⁸
  
  
• Secondhand smoke is especially harmful to young children. Secondhand smoke is responsible for between 150,000 and 300,000 lower respiratory tract infections in infants and children under 18 months of age, resulting in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations each year, and causes 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SID deaths in the United States annually.⁹
  
  
• Secondhand smoke exposure may cause buildup of fluid in the middle ear, resulting in 790,000 physician office visits per year.¹⁰ Secondhand smoke can also aggravate symptoms in 400,000 to 1,000,000 children with asthma.¹¹
  
  
• In the United States, 21 million, or 35 percent of, children live in homes where residents or visitors smoke in the home on a regular basis.¹² Approximately 50-75 percent of children in the United States have detectable levels of cotinine, the breakdown product of nicotine in the blood.¹³
  
  
• Research indicates that private research conducted by cigarette company Philip Morris in the 1980s showed that secondhand smoke was highly toxic, yet the company suppressed the finding during the next two decades.¹⁴
  

For more information on secondhand smoke, please review the Tobacco Morbidity and Mortality Trend Report as well as our Lung Disease Data publication in the Data and Statistics section of our website at www.lungusa.org, or call the American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872).

 Statistically it has been fruitless to try and educate tobacco smokers out of their addiction. Neither will attempts at trying to put them on a guilt trip work. 

Most smokers are not clueless about the effects of smoke on themselves nor second hand smoke on people and animals.

It's an addiction and many smokers try to quit numerous times as in the case of President Obama.

Cigarettes today have additional addictive chemicals that work on the neurotransmitters in the brain so it is not just nicotine the smoker has to try and kick. In fact cigs today are more addictive than crack, yet we think if we just tell them how harmful tobacco smoke is they'll just yell "EUREKA, I'll quit now". The tobacco companies get away with this with no interference from the FDA. So blaming the smokers is blaming the victim.

To expect millions of smokers to just up and quit is unrealistic to say the least. The only realistic thing that can be done is harm reduction but understand, there is harm reduction and then there is real harm reduction. Some harm reduction carries other consequences. As in the case of inside smoke banning. In an effort to cut down on second hand smoke, it goes into the environment instead and millions of butts are ending up in the ground water after being thrown on the ground.

Another bad side effect of supposed harm reduction is the recent law passed giving the FDA control of tobacco. In the first place, realize if the FDA wanted to they could outlaw tobacco altogether but they are not going to kill their cash cow from the tobacco sin tax. Besides, if the FDA was really running the show, Phillip Morris wouldn't be on the board with them and they wouldn't have lobbied in favor of the toacco bill.

Phillip Morris has a lot to gain from the FDAs help. The FDA is going to order the amount of nicotine reduced in cigs. Sounds like harm reduction on the surface doesn't it?  In actuality though, this means the smokers will have to smoke twice as many cigarettes to get the same amount of nicotine for their fix. Increasing their (and those around them) health risk from the 4,000+ chemicals (in addition to nicotine) to 8,000+ chemicals and carcinogens and twice as many butts thrown on the ground and twice as much toxic third hand smoke collecting everywhere, soon the whole world will turn yellowish brown at this rate of unbridled "harm reduction". 

Oh but it's not all bad news, Big Tobacco will be even more filthy rich than they are already are and be able to throw many more millions to the lobbyists and the so-called harm reduction orgs. Oh and don't forget about Uncle Sam who cares so much about people it wants to get its cut too from the soon to be doubled sin tax revenue from twice as many cigarettes sold.

So it's not the smokers who need to be educated but those around them who can't see the forest for the trees.

As for me I'm seeking out real harm reduction efforts and products so I can educate smokers on them because that is the realistic thing to do.

One of those is the electronic cigarette which has no smoke, just water, propylene glycol (used in medical vapor nebulizers to deliver meds) and nicotine (in varying percentages of strength and choice). The vaper vapes (inhales) the vapor instead. The vapor is exhaled and dissapates quickly like when one exhales in cold weather and it disappears in the air.

It is a much safer alternative for smokers and though it isn't being marketed for people as a smoking cessation device (because the FDA won't let them to protect Big Pharmas interests who markets the patches, gum and lozenges and chantix, all dangerous to the unfortunate users), the eCigarette has been very effective in aiding smokers to wean themselves off nicotine when they exercise their freedom of choice to do so. Weaning oneself off nicotine is a lot easier when all the other addictive chemicals aren't there along with the nicotine. No second or third hand smoke and no butts as the eCig is reuseable.

For more info on the eCig go here: http://www.GreenSmoke.com/Breakfree

As a doctor of naturopathy and a former addictions professional, I am aware of many completely natural methods which have been proven to help smokers stop, if this is what they desire.  I like to combine numerous methods, and top it all off with an herb called Lobelia.  My friends, family and clients have had much success with using this herb.  It helps to clean out the lungs and to reduce the cravings all at the same time.  Other factors added into the program work better than just lobelia alone, but it does seem to help a whole lot.  It's a nice addition to any program you're on! 

Vibraceous, ND

I was just at a friend's house last evening doing a presentation on natural health, and just before the program began, a couple of people lit up their smokes.  I can still feel the effects of being exposed to those two cigarettes in my body today.  My head hurts, my nose is stuffed up, my throat feels like it's been sandpapered, my chest feels heavy, and I have a bad taste in my mouth...all from being in a room with only two cigarettes, over twelve hours ago!

Recently I went to a convention held in Las Vegas.  I stayed at the Paris hotel...nice fancy hotel that STUNK!  There was so much smoke from the casino downstairs, that it nearly ruined my trip.  I had extreme sinus distress, baaaaaaaaad headaches, sore throat, hurting lungs.  And every morning...that

taste. 

I tasted like cigarettes...YUCK! 

So when I felt this way all over again this morning, I knew right away what it was.

I wonder how many people live with these symptoms and don't even realize the cause. 

I'm glad to live in Ohio where we have a ban on smoking in public buildings.  It cuts down my exposure a LOT.  We went out to sing karaoke on Friday night, and I'd have to totally give that up if smoking indoors was still allowed.  We like to go out to restaurants a lot, too, and that wouldn't be enjoyable to me anymore.  Even with a smoking section, it was always awful.  Heck, I could feel the effects in Law Vegas when I was way up on the 5th floor! 

It's a good idea to carry peppermint essential oil when you think you might be exposed.  At least you'll be able to breathe.

Hugs to All...

Vibe