*Outdoor* Secondhand Smoke is a Hazard?

[tw]

Originally posted by Lady Sidhe
Actually, research has shown that drinking coffee and/or smoking cigarettes increases ANYone's mental faculties in the short-term. It is not a permanent effect, and thus intelligence does not go up or down, despite TW's claims. ...

Anyway,what the most recent research has shown is that when a person smokes a cigarette, or drinks a cup of coffee, they do better on tasks that require quick thinking and alertness. It has nothing to do with native intelligence, IQ, or the lack thereof. It is a broad-spectrum effect on the brain (alertness) caused by the chemicals caffiene and nicotine.

Now lets add the rest of the facts. When a smoker first starts smoking, his mental activity goes from normal to high. But because he is addicted, his overall mental abilities drop over time - as the addiction continues. It explains why smokers routinely have lower SAT scores. A smoker must keep smoking incessently just to maintain a normal mental activity level. That is fact proven by studies using Positron Emmission Tomology (PET) scans.

Coffee, on the other hand, is not a dangerous drug. It does not appear on the list of addictive drugs. And it does not cause an overall diminishing of intelligence levels. Coffee drinkers typically go from normal mental activity levels to accelerated levels. Unlike cigarette addicts, many coffee drinkers don't suffer long term diminished intellectual abilities. Of course, coffee is a powerful drug. Just does not diminish overall mental abilities as cigarettes do. Furthermore, coffee drinkers don't make adjacent non-addicts physically ill.

They stuck me in a hotel room in the smoking section. I did not notice until I was suffering the typical 'someone in the area is smoking' headache. Desk told me they put me there because they had no non-smoking rooms. A problem when one checks in late. Next week I got a non-smoking room. Got a headache. Went out to the hall and smelled the drug addicts. Hotel staff immediately discovered smokers in a non-smoking room about 3 doors down. Smokers are that evil because they smell that bad and because they make non-addicts physically ill. That they have diminished mental abilities - that is their problem. And diminished mental abilities are their problem.

It is a problem especially for smokers who were addicted before 18. Something like over 90% in this group cannot quit. It is a problem we all must admit to - and let the Aprils, et al of this world learn. In the meantime, smokers have this elephant on their back and must take special considerations to protect the rights of others - because they are addicts.