Smoking v asthma

In My Humble Opinion
1

Tis the season for the smokers to huddle right outside of any given building, puffing away. It’s cold, it’s Wisconsin, often with snow flying horizontally at them, so I can understand the desire for shelter. But…

I have asthma; a minor case comparatively; I only have a rescue inhaler. But there’s something about the combination of the shock of cold air and smoke that frequently triggers a reaction - usually wheezing and difficulty in breathing - when I exit the building.

I’m not sure what to think. On a political level, I don’t want to infringe on people’s freedom to smoke in an open place; on a personal level, I’d like to be able to walk around without wheezing. While there is a rule ‘prohibiting’ smoking within 25’ of the door, it’s not enforced, and the idea of asking a bunch of smokers to move does not appeal to me…there’s a move to ban smoking in restaurants in Madison, and some smokers treat it like a threat to their personal freedom.

So, what do you think? Is it my ‘right’ to breathe unimpaired? Or do smokers/ viablity take precedence? (This concerns a public building - would the situation be different were it private, eg, people with severe asthma who cannot go to a given bar for the cigarette smoke?)

2

Well, considering that there are over 5000 deaths a year in this country from asthma, and that cigarette smoke is one of the leading triggers for asthma attacks, I would think that the benefit of the doubt should be given to the asthmatics.

3

Not to seem insensitive, but maybe you can try holding your breath when walking through the smoke. Just a thought.

4

I agree with B]Quadrop**, that asthma patients (and other lung ailments) should get the benefit when it comes to smoking. If I were you aurelian i’d inform the proper people about it to make the no smoking rule enforced. use the word “liable” somewhere in your complaint.

they banned smoking in doorways at my school and, of course, there was the uproar from smokers saying their rights were being infringed and blah blah blah. of course, there was an uproar because we are concerned about our health and don’t want to catch a cold.

I am a smoker and nothing short of losing a lung is going to make me quit. I understand all the health risks (risks? eh, call them inevitabilities) but my views on life allow me to do something so self-destructive (but oh so gratifying). But I understand that smoking is vile and disgusting and, if in a restuarant or in some close proximity to others, if I’m asked to not smoke or I can tell people are getting angry about it, I’ll either put it out or move along. Just because I want to inhale toxins and poisons doesn’t mean I should make those around me do the same.

So yeah, inform the campus police, building security, whatever, that people are smoking in the doorways and that you would like the no-smoking rule to be enforced. they will probably be accomodating.

–greenphan

5

I’m also an asthmatic who has severe reactions to cigarette smoke, especially if it’s an absrupt change from clean air. I also have the problem of going through doors like that. And often, holding my breath is what I try to do, but it doesn’t work very well as, at my old school, it was like running the gauntlet of smokers, and it couldn’t be done in ~20 seconds.

6

I also deal with company complaints about people having to walk into the office building through a “wall of smoke” caused by the six smokers within 20’ of the door. Give me a break. I’m allergic to cats. Does that mean that I have a right to force people within 50 feet of me to wear clothing that is guaranteed “cat-free”? It reminds me of people lobbying for anti-smoking in apartments in LA and San Fran. The air quality of those “maybe” 30 seconds that you spend around cigarette smoke compared to what you breathe for the other 23 hours 59 1/2 minutes each day is not very consequential.

For the record, I smoke. Thank you for holding your breath for the seconds it takes to enter the building.

For the record, I’m asthmatic. An asthmatic smoker, stupid I know, but I’m trying to correct that. And even when I do quit smoking, I will continue to support what few rights that remain to smokers.

If you are so asthmatic that you can’t handle even the sight of smoke, stay home, otherwise suck it up and don’t breathe for half a minute if it bothers you that much.

7

Turbo Dog, I know you think it’s exaggeration but it isn’t always.

Well, as the smoke in bars is so bad, I have been staying home. Not much fun either.

8

I have asthma. I smoke.
I react mainly to animal fur and to strong perfumes. I have a friend whos sister usually calls round with her dog while I am visiting and I suck it up. I would ask her not to bring the dog if she were visiting my house, but otherwise shrug not my place to tell her not to. I have asked friends not to wear strong perfume when visiting my house for the same reason, but if we are going out somewhere together, again, not my call. Not saying either “bu” or “bä” as they say in Sweden, just tossing in my two cents.

9

FWIW…

http://193.78.190.200/10p/asthma-rates.htm

http://193.78.190.200/10m/clean-living.htm

10

I have asthma and for me cold air is even worse of a trigger than smoke. There are a couple of things you should do.

  1. Use your rescue inhaler (albuterol maybe?) a minute before walking out the door. I keep an MDI in my coat pocket.

  2. Wear a scarf that you can pull up to cover your mouth and nose. This will warm the air before it enters your lungs and help to filter the smoke. I wear one of those roomy scarf/hoods and it looks just fine.

You could try to talk to security or whatever but I there is no guarantee of results. Avoid the urge to say anything to the smokers. It is possible that if you explained that the smoke is triggering your asthma one or two may feel responsible and move away from the door but the others will just see you as an adamant anti-smoker and make it worse.

Ultimately it comes down to you. One of the most important things you can do regarding asthma management is to avoid known triggers. Maybe you need to adjust or add some medications. You should definitely be checking peak flows every morning even if you are not taking a routine med. I find that in the winter I usually need to take my inhalers twice a day and occasionally add a nebulizer treatment mostly because of being inside all the time where we all know the air is much more polluted. If you do not have a peak flow meter, steroid inhaler or nebulizer machine and you are actively wheeezing then you need a check up with your family doctor or pulmonologist.

It sort of comes down to the old joke. “Doctor it hurts when I do this” Then don’t do that.

11

My son was recently diagnosed with a mild case of asthma. This is not a huge surprise, as I have asthma and he had some respiratory problems at birth, but it was something we were hoping he could avoid. Oh well.

He had two attacks triggered from two visits to family we don’t see often within a few weeks time. This side of the family has lots of smokers and 90% of the folks at the party over 18 were smoking. The quick answer is we won’t visit them with my son.

Another mild attack was triggered (we think) by a man and his cigar in a McDonald’s. A very brief exposure to one cigar in a large room caused my son to wheeze. I have certainly calmed down since the incident (he was with his grandmother, not me), but I hope my wife never encounters a similar situation cause she was rather upset.

We went to the ER for the last two incidents and he now has a nebulizer which we can use as needed. Now, I can’t tell people not to smoke in their own house, and it wouldn’t matter much anyway at this place because the whole house smells like smoke, but the guy in McD’s still rankles. His addiction caused my son a trip to the ER. Now, I’m sure this guy’s smoking will cause him some grief further on down the road. So I take some comfort in that.

My son’s asthema is (for the moment) a mild case. We don’t worry about it. But people die from asthma (I almost did), and that’s not something we can just shrug our shoulders over.

The cavalier attitudes some of you are showing about asthma and smoking I find incredibly selfish and stupid, to a very insulting degree. I honestly don’t care if anyone smokes. I don’t care if a smoker has asthma. I don’t care if your smoking aggravates your asthma and you die from asphyxiation. What I care about is if your smoking causes my son to have asthma attacks. If it happens again, I’m gonna turn my wife loose on whoever it is, and they won’t like that.

12

I’ve had asthma for 40 years. Both intrinsic and extrinsic. Hospitalized a couple of times with severe attacks. Over the years my triggers and symptoms have changed. At times I was on multiple maintenance meds. Lately, I’ve been doing better. But I ALWAYS carry my inhaler with me.

Smoked a couple of packs a day for several years - stopped 17 years ago. Noticed no difference in breathing, endurance, etc.

I am often surprised at the concerns I hear from asthmatics these days. It strikes me as odd that someone who was so sensitive to cigarette smoke would be able to walk down a city street without experiencing an attack. Also, reference to an albuterol inhaler as “a rescue inhaler” suggests a measure of exaggeration to me.

Sure, in a perfect world, you’d constantly breathe clean air that smelt of wildflowers. And treating your body as your temple, you have every right to desire not to put any more medications than necessary in it.

But we don’t live in a perfect world, and aren’t able to dictate everyone else’s actions. And an occasional hit of albuterol isn’t a big deal for the overwhelming majority of folks. So just carry your inhaler, take a hit when you need it, and deal with it.

13

I absolutely disagree – what is it about smoking a cigarette that is so much better when you’re standing right in front of a doorway than twenty feet away? There’s no cost to the smoker, and there’s a tremendous benefit to the asthmatic who doesn’t have to walk through that shit. I choose not to smoke because it makes my lungs stop working. If you want to smoke, go ahead, but why should I have to suffer when you can just walk eight steps away and still enjoy your cig?

–Cliffy

14

What is it about non-smokers, that they cannot appreciate someone’s desire to gain some protection from the wind/elements?

Just another example of the all-too-common hyperbole and pretended ignorance that - IMO - takes away from non-smokers’ many very real concerns.

15

Dinsdale, I called it a rescue inhaler because that’s what my doctor calls it. I normally refer to it as my puffer.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate that it’s friggin’ cold here, and it is quite unpleasant to be outside in such conditions. But I’ve purposely avoided hyperbole in this post. For me, cigarette smoke + cold air = asthma problems. I’m sorry that you’re frustrated, but my wheezing is not a result of me being too uptight or a desire to cause problems.

16

This is all well and fine, but you may have missed the part of the OP where she says “smoking is not allowed within 25 ft. of the building”. When did smokers obtain the rights to break the rules?

17

I also have athsma, and I’ve gotta tell y’all that sometimes inhalers just don’t cut it. Besides that, I’m a very clean person. I take pride int he way I smell. People at my old dorm didn’t smoke all the time - usually there was a person, maybe two outside - but even so I always ended up smelling like smoke and having to shower again. It’s just gross!!!

18

It’s very simple – the asthmatic non-smoker doesn’t get a choice as to whether smoke is going to make him wheeze. The smoker can choose to smoke in the cold or to avoid the cold by going without. The person who is choosing to participate in a leisure activity is the one who should bear the costs of that activity, not the one who was born this way and has chosen not to smoke for this reason.

–Cliffy

19

Yes the smokers are wrong for congregating in the doorway, fouling up the air for everyone entering or exiting the building.

Yes they are breaking the rules by being within 25 feet of the doorway.

Yes I think smoking is a smelly disgusting habit and one whiff starts me gasping, coughing and wheezing. If it was up to me, everyone would quit this unsavory practice.

But at the same time, I realize that I cannot control another person’s behavior; I can only control the way I react to it. I would remind the smokers of the rules once and let them know how their smoking affects me but if that didn’t work, I would just let it go with the knowledge that I tried and cover my mouth and nose as I walked quickly by them.

I doubt that confronting the smokers who are already pissed about being made to stand in the cold will get you anywhere. They already know they are breaking the rules. Do you think that reminding them of that fact will make them move farther away? In a perfect world everyone would follow the rules but …

In the end you have to take responsibility for your disease and take whatever steps you need to do to avoid exposure to your triggers.

I wish that just once a smoker could feel what it is like to have bronchospasms brought on by exposure to cigarette smoke. I wish they could feel how terrifying it is to gasp for air. I wish they could experience the feeling of having their lungs fill with mucus and how horrible it feels to cough and cough until you wet your pants while trying to clear your lungs of the mucus. I wish they would have to try to sleep sitting up in a chair because they can’t breath when they lay flat. I wish they could experience the nightmare that is high dose steroid treatment, the manic depressive emotional roller coaster, face as round as a dinner plate, legs with 4+ pitting edema due to heart failure brought on by the steroids. Not to mention the 3 or 4 inhalers and nebulizer breathing treatments every 3 or 4 hours. Not to mention having a peak flow of 150 when normal is 450 or having an o2 sat of 90% or being in the hospital on oxygen and breathing treatments and iv steroids.

I have experienced all of the above and more. I am not saying anyone caused my asthma, I am saying that it has been set off more times than I can keep track of by exposure to OTHER PROPLES smoke, perfume, candles, room sprays and the like.

You may think I am being overly dramatic but in reality, I have barely touched the surface of what this disease is all about. My disease is pretty well controlled right now but I have to be vigilant about reducing my exposure to known triggers.

Someone explain to me how a smoker’s desire to be protected from the cold is more important to my ability to breath.

20

Yikes!

Talk about your party pooper.