[Wiltshire] OT: Tolerance vs. PC [Was: Meeting place]

[David Fletcher]

The fact that the taking of a drug - in this case alcohol - is an accepted 
part of the proceedings at LUG meetings makes, I think, the subject 
completely acceptable on this list.

There seems to be a misunderstanding here. Andrew, Matt, Jim, Michael and 
anybody else, I absolutely respect, accept and would defend your right to 
smoke and/or take any other drugs you choose to partake in. The trouble is, 
all drugs tend to have different effects on the people taking them and others 
who happen to be around at the time. Therefore out of respect for others, we 
have to accept that there are certain restrictions associated with their use.

For example, in the case of alcohol:- When I drink a pint of beer or a glass 
of wine, the entire drink remains inside me until I go to the toilet to 
dispose of the remains in the proper manner, so it has absolutely no effect 
on the other people around me when I am drinking it. However, it does have 
the affect of impairing my judgement and reactions, so I have to accept that 
I must not, for example, drive a car or pilot an aircraft for some hours 
after drinking, because there is a greatly increased probability of me 
accidentally killing somebody with my car/aircraft.

Nicotine is the exact opposite:- It does not apparently have an adverse affect 
on a person's ability to drive a car, but when taken in the form of a smoke, 
it is inhaled, held for a couple of seconds, then blown out into the air. In 
an enclosed space, it has a horrible effect on other people. The smell is 
very noxious, it makes eyes go sore and watering because of the chemical 
irritation, and following exposure every item of clothing has to be laundered 
and the person has to shower and shampoo in order to get rid of the stink. 
Unfortunately the inside of a person's lungs cannot be washed clean of the 
contamination. Long term (or if unlucky perhaps short term) exposure can, we 
know for certain, cause horrible diseases such as lung cancer, which can kill 
you just as surely as, but far more slowly and painfully than, a drunk 
driver. The term yuk was, I thought, pretty mild. So, smokers now have to 
accept the restriction that they cannot indulge in their habit in an enclosed 
space, such as pubs, shops and offices.

Everybody has been banned from drinking and driving for so many years that it 
is now generally accepted in society. The ban on smoking in enclosed public 
spaces has taken many more years to be implemented, but I rejoice that it has 
finally come to be, and that the insidious effects of passive smoking have 
been brought to an end.

So, everybody mentioned above, and anybody else, as I said before, I respect 
and defend your right to smoke if you want to, but in return I expect you to 
respect my right to breathe clean air.

End of rant.

Dave


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