Your favorite bar doesn’t allow smoking inside anymore. What a bummer, right? You used to go down there every Friday night with the girls, have a few drinks, and a drag or two, and it was all good fun. Now, most states don’t allow smoking in bars at all, and these sweeping changes have put a damper on your weekend outings.
The truth is, many states have enacted clean air laws because smoking cigarettes is nothing less than a health hazard to the person smoking and to anyone in the immediate area. From cancer to lung and heart disease to hypertension and beyond, the list goes on and on. Let’s dive deeper into why smoking isn’t allowed in bars anymore, so you can better understand the impact of secondhand smoke on those around you.
Secondhand Smoke Is Deadly
Not only are you forcing the people around you to smell like your cigarette smoke when you light up, but you’re also exposing them to all of the deadly chemicals inside of your cigarette via secondhand smoke. Just because they aren’t taking a drag off your cigarette doesn’t mean they aren’t breathing in those harmful vapors just like you.
What are the health effects of secondhand smoke, anyway? According to the American Lung Association, secondhand smoke effects include but are not limited to:
- Lung cancer
- Heart disease
- Developmental disorders in children
- Hypertension
- Respiratory infections
- Poor blood oxygenation
- Fatigue
These are only a few of the effects of lighting up in an enclosed space and exposing others to the smoke. Secondhand smoke can be just as deadly as smoking directly from the source, which is why most states have outlawed it.
Confined Spaces Amplify Negative Effects
Cigarettes emit carbon monoxide, along with thousands of other harmful gasses and chemicals. When you mix this potent cocktail of chemical pollutants with a confined space, you amplify their effects tenfold. For example, if you read the warning label on a charcoal bag, it says do not burn in a confined space; carbon monoxide poisoning may occur. Why?
Because carbon monoxide is an odorless, tasteless gas that can cause death, and every time you smoke a cigarette, you’re inhaling that gas and exposing everyone around you to it. Just like if you were burning a charcoal grill indoors; minus the 6,999 other chemicals and gasses that occupy a single cigarette.
Smoking and drinking have gone hand-in-hand for centuries, which is why bars and restaurants were the targets of these laws. As more and more scientific evidence arises on the harmful effects of cigarette smoke, the government stepped in to help protect those citizens who don’t want to be exposed.
Luckily for us, there are dozens of tobacco alternatives on the market today, reducing the number of smokers around the world. From tobacco free chew to tobaccoless cigarettes, quitting has never been easier!
Non-Smoking Sections Didn’t Help
You might remember a time where you could go to a restaurant and sit in either the “smoking” or “non-smoking” section. While this was certainly a good idea in theory, put to practice, the idea fell apart.
This is because cigarette smoke doesn’t just stay in the smoking section. People moving around, ventilation systems, and A/C units and fans push the smoke throughout the restaurant or bar, exposing the non-smokers to the stench and dangers to the smoking section’s fumes.
The worst part? That smoke can stick to walls, furniture, upholstery, and other surfaces for months or even years, discoloring everything and cementing the tell-tale cigarette smell in every part of the building.
It’s Time To Quit
It’s amazing how many people still smoke cigarettes, despite ample scientific evidence, warning labels that specifically state smoking can cause cancer and endless campaigns against the practice. Even with nearly 500,000 deaths every year related to smoking, Americans still love their cigarettes.
It’s never too late to quit and take back your physical health. Smoking can damage your lungs, heart, and other vital organs, but the minute you quit smoking, the body begins to heal. Within just a few months, you can gain your lung function, endurance, and drive back. Your lungs can fully heal within just a few years as well!
The Bottom Line
The reason you can’t smoke inside bars anymore is that smoking is a public health hazard, plain and simple. When you smoke indoors, you’re exposing other people to those harmful chemicals and the smell of your cigarettes.
Not everyone wants to participate in your lifestyle choices and limiting the public spaces where smoking is allowed helps keep non-smokers from being exposed. Consider putting down cigarettes for good and gaining your health, confidence, and drive back! Your loved ones and friends will be proud (and grateful) that you’ve set aside such a dangerous habit.
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