WHO: Smoking kills 5 million every year

Smoking is NOT the problem. The problem is the CRAP the tobacco companies poison tobacco with!

Do you know why cigars go out if not puffed but cigarettes burn to the filter? Because they put chemicals in the tobacco so that it keeps burning! How healthful is that you think? How many building fires started that way you think?

Again, its not smoking. Its the tobacco companies. Other chemicals they use are designed to addict you, and those are not healthful either.

If you like to smoke, get natural stuff and roll it yourself.

Do you know why cigars go out if not puffed but cigarettes burn to the filter? Because they put chemicals in the tobacco so that it keeps burning! How healthful is that you think?…

Do you know why tobacco plants produce nicotine? Hint: As a poison.

wiki

The LD50 of nicotine is 50 mg/kg for rats and 3 mg/kg for mice. 40–60 mg (0.5-1.0 mg/kg) can be a lethal dosage for adult humans.[39][40] Nicotine therefore has a high toxicity in comparison to many other alkaloids such as cocaine, which has an LD50 of 95.1 mg/kg when administered to mice. It is impossible however to overdose on nicotine through smoking alone (though a person can overdose on nicotine through a combination of nicotine patches, nicotine gum, and/or tobacco smoking at the same time.) [41][42] Spilling an extremely high concentration of nicotine onto the skin can result in intoxication or even death since nicotine readily passes into the bloodstream from dermal contact.[43]

The carcinogenic properties of nicotine in standalone form, separate from tobacco smoke, have not been evaluated by the IARC, and it has not been assigned to an official carcinogen group. The currently available literature indicates that nicotine, on its own, does not promote the development of cancer in healthy tissue and has no mutagenic properties. However, nicotine and the increased cholinergic activity it causes have been shown to impede apoptosis, which is one of the methods by which the body destroys unwanted cells (programmed cell death). Since apoptosis helps to remove mutated or damaged cells that may eventually become cancerous, the inhibitory actions of nicotine may create a more favourable environment for cancer to develop, though this also remains to be proven.[44][unreliable source?]

The teratogenic properties of nicotine have not yet been adequately researched, and while the likelihood of birth defects caused by nicotine is believed to be very small or nonexistent, nicotine replacement product manufacturers recommend consultation with a physician before using a nicotine patch or nicotine gum while pregnant or nursing.[44][unreliable source?]

Women who use nicotine gum and patches during the early stages of pregnancy face an increased risk of having babies with birth defects, says a study that looked at about 77,000 pregnant women in Denmark. The study found that women who use nicotine-replacement therapy in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy have a 60 percent greater risk of having babies with birth defects, compared to women who are non-smokers, the Daily Mail reported. The findings were published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Nessie, somewhere in your wanderin's, didn't you find it stated that nicotine has a medicinal use beyond gettin' folks off smokin' cigarettes?

The cancer sticks of death are a tool of the devil. Smoking should be banned worldwide and millions of lives saved and health improved.

The companies are even targetting children in Africa, offering them free cigarettes to get them hooked. The tobacco companies should be closed down now. Let the air become clean again. For a change i agree with the WHO on this one.

Yay Nessie!! Rising from the depths... appearing... disappearing into the inky blackness. Nessie's wiki is fun reading because there certainly is a lot about tobacco that remains unknown. What we do know is plenty scary enough. Importantly, it avoids a discussion of tar and its effects.

It is true. Tobacco is a nightshade. Poison as all get out. If you ate it, just as if you ate tomato plants (not fruit) or potato plants, you would poison yourself pretty quickly. Only a few insects can stomach the plants, compared to say... lettuce. You can make insectide with old cigarette butts.

Japan disappoints me when it comes to smoking. I can't go to restaurants here because they are filled with smokers 'Oh, we have a non-smoking section.' Uhhh......smoke travels.....there's no such thing as a non-smoking section in a restaurant with smokers. Convenience stores etc. never card underage customers that buy cigarettes and openly display them so that children become normalized to them. Isn't it apparent that the Japanese government encourages smoking? What's up with that? The only place I can go to for a smoke free atmosphere is Starbucks, and I don't even drink coffee. Instead of being passive and polite all the time, sometimes you have to show a bit of anger in order to get your point across. I do that if someone is smoking near me. It's for the right reasons.

Smokin' is an adult decision.

Second-hand smoke ain't gonna kill ya, Dick.

As for things like your clotin' and hair smellin' like the devil, I guarantee that the evil that comes outta my backside after a good sit-down English repast will make even Satan leave the room.

Kindly get over this unreasonable phobia which began to large extend by the cherry-picked scam studies done by the American EPA. Honorable scientists within that organization complained agenda was leadin' science instead of the other way around, but they lost. And you now believe.

Kinda like 'climategate'...

Smokin' is an adult decision.

That's right. If you want to smoke, go ahead, it's your right. Just don't do it around me.

It's a sad news but how much tax revenue does this business generate for the goverments? and how much profits for medical businesses? Entertainment?....who cares for what says WHO...acceptable evil, isn't it?

Japan has started to use a few strategies to curb smoking but still not nearly enough. Smoking should be banned from all restaurants, cafes and other indoor public places and they should definitely tax cigarettes way more. Cigarettes should not be available in vending machines and should be kept out of view at convenience stores. In Canada, they have an ugly picture and warning on all cigarette packages which also serves as a deterrent--another strategy that Japan could use. Sure smoking should be a choice but not when it clearly annoys non-smokers and affects the health everyone.

Nessie, as if your own cut and paste is not nearly damning enough, you don't seem to have read the whole wiki article.

Nicotene is a stimulant in mammals when used in small doses. It has a half-life, which means that it does not build up into a fatal dose over time. Heck, Flintstones chewable vitamins with iron will kill you if you eat enough.

My grandparents smoked like chimneys but did not take a fatal dose!

Carcingenic properties have not been established.

But first things first. The first step is to get the chemicals out of cigarettes. Trying to ban cigarettes is like trying to eat a whole chicken in one swallow.

MrUSA, are you afraid of second-hand smoke?

MrUSA, are you afraid of second-hand smoke?

It smells bad.

Isn't it apparent that the Japanese government encourages smoking? What's up with that?

Because the Japanese government owns big shares in the tobacco industry.

I find smoking repulsive, and it should be banned outright. If not, at least in all food areas. I don't want that sh!t blowing over my coffee or open food, thank you.

I'm usually a bit more open, but smoking is absolutely disgusting. I was more laws that will prevent you from smoking anywhere in my vicinity and believe it should be banned. Yes, its an adult decision, so remember that when you light up around me and I slap the back of you head, especially if my kid is walking with me. Do it in your house - not on the street. pigs, really.

Skip, are you afraid of second-hand smoke?

If you slapped someone on the back of the head, would you first consider whether or not you may survive that encounter?

Smoking kills the smoker, their loved ones and friends. It is a selfish and unchristian act.

I wish the wortld could all agree on a total ban, and save the millions of lives ruined by this wicked product.

Smoking usually doesn't kill the smoker, Dick, much less others in the near vicinity.

You look at smokin' tobacco the same way some folks once believed that film 'Reefer Madness'.

-You know a total ban is out of the question, right?

skipthesong

remember that when you light up around me and I slap the back of you head, especially if my kid is walking with me.

If I'm smoking in a "smoking allowed" area, keep your damn kid away. That way he won't have to watch me kick hid daddy's ass for attempting to slap the back of my head.

USAFdude and other smokers; Maybe if you gave up your habit and spent the money saved on making your family happy or helping your community, then you may feel better about yourself.

I enjoy deep breathing. Nothing bugs me more than people smoking outside, forcing me to take shallow breaths on my way to and from work!

Dick, I don't see what smoking and feeling better about oneself have in common with one another.

This is nothing to be weak about, Dick, other than you've been socialized to live in fear of second-hand smoke.

You'll be alright unless a smoker lights up in an enclosed outhouse and you're leanin' against it.

moonbeams, you, too...

You may find it unpleasant like one of my Guinness and cabbage poots... even offensive... but it ain't gonna harm you.

Please be a stronger individual. You'll be OK.

moonbeams: I agree with you! I can totally understand how smoke can bother other people. It's not just about concern for their health but it's just not nice. It smells and it gets in your hair and clothes. I've been both a smoker a non-smoker and a smoker again so I see both sides' opinions but overall non-smokers' rights trump the smokers'.

Here's an idea. Since it is illegal for anyone under 20 to consume or posess tobacco products then smoking shouldn't be permitted in any location where children under 20 are allowed. Example: Occasionally my kids love for me to take them to a local family-style game arcade so they can play their favorite game. Needless to say this being Japan smoking is permitted there and quite often there are too many smokers polluting the air inside for my comfort. At a certain time in the late afternoon the law requires all minors to leave the establishment regardless of whether or not they are accompanied by an adult/guardian. If it's inappropriate for children to be there when the hour gets late then I think it's far more inappopriate that they have to be poisoned by dense secondhand smoke while they are just trying to have some innocent fun during hours when it is indeed acceptable for them to be there. If I had my way I would add a law that would, in a case like this arcade, prohibit smoking during hourse when minors are allowed to frequent the establishment. After it's adults only then patrons can feel free to smoke their health away. Fair enough?

USARonin

Secondhand smoke is hazardous to your heath and can be fatal over time. It is an established and accepted (by anyone with half a brain, smoker or otherwise) fact that is scientifically proven. Why do you believe otherwise?

USARonin: "Skip, are you afraid of second-hand smoke?" No, and I'm not afraid of dog crap either, but I sure as heck don't want to step NOR SMELL such a disgusting stench.

If you slapped someone on the back of the head, would you first consider whether or not you may survive that encounter?" Very few people in Tokyo scare me, so I don't really need to.

I'ts little inconsistancies like this that make me smile.

5 million deaths every year from cigarettes and no one bats an eye.

One death (apparently) from MDMA and Japan is outraged

USAFdude

"If I'm smoking in a "smoking allowed" area, keep your damn kid away." hmm, well several ku's in Tokyo now have a no smoke ordenance, but I still you base types lighting up. So, its still up to you guys. " That way he won't have to watch me kick hid daddy's ass for attempting to slap the back of my head." This is an air force guy talking like this? And one who has a weakness for a little stick?

Sheesh. The no smoking crowd is up to their peculiar "I know better than you do and I think you're disgusting" attitude and now the "I'll smoke when I wanna" crowd is getting stupid. I don't smoke but I'm not afraid of second hand smoke and I find the people who are rather annoying. There are plenty of ways to die and your more likely to get the swine than cancer from smoke. Lighten up a little, everybody!

ca1ic0cat: I'm not scared of it but how often do you find yourself sniffing urine stench in train station restrooms? Are you afraid of that stench or just think its disgusting - and that is a natural smell...... But, let's get this point across, as we move to a nationalized health care.. your smoking is now my business! Yes, many things are killing us and we are tackling many of those many things. Oh, and let's not forget those disgusting butts either too all over the place too!

Smokers stink.

Their breath stinks, their hair stinks, their clothes stink.

Their house stinks. Their car stinks. Anything they touch stinks.

And "Pigs Don't Know Pigs Stink".

smokers are losers who want to commit slow suicide. They are no better than any other junkie. And clearly their smoking makes them more stupid and shrinks their nuts and bolts down to air force size.

Smokers never have the right to kill others with their poisons. Period.

Ban all the damnable cigarettes you want but leave me my cigars, my pipe, and my occasional hookah well the hell alone. I smoke on my porch, I smoke on my walks, and I smoke in establishments dedicated to tobacco indulgence. If memory serves I've never blown a smoke ring in a kids face, smoked in my home or car, smoked in another’s home or car, or caused serious detriment to the lifestyles of those around me so bugger off.

And clearly their smoking makes them more stupid and shrinks their nuts and bolts down to air force size.

My neural pathways and the size of my danglies are no concern of yours buddy.

Smokers never have the right to kill others with their poisons.

Tobacco, my love my darling, why do they detest what they cannot hope to understand? Cigars are the pinnacle of decades of work and a practiced art handed down over generations but they discount you as garbage. But worry not, the only way their getting into my humidor is over my bullet ridden corpse. Addicted? Maybe, but I embrace it.

TheQuestion; Cigars were popular when people were uneducated about the harm smoking causes.

All tobacco products cause cancer, a slow and painfull death. Use at your peril!!!

My neighboor across the street is among these 5 millions. She had a painful cough episode around midnight and was taken to the hospital, where she discovered she has enphysema. I made my image search about enphysema and found a photo of a lung destroyed by tobacco that would make any smoker give up on the spot, it's full of pus. Uuugh!

Sad that Japanese government don't accept WHO reports on smoking. No wonder you see groups of young Japanese girls no more than 16, smoking inside cafes.

skipthesong -

This is an air force guy talking like this?

Yep, but more to the point, it's a guy who won't stand for the bullying of people who use a completely legal product in a completely legal way.

Cigars were popular when people were uneducated about the harm smoking causes.

Considering how many the cigar bars in tokyo and most other major cities in the U.S I'd say that they're still popular. And fyi, they have the same warning sticker on boxes of cigars that they do on packs of cigarettes. I dislike cigarettes because of poor quality, shotty construction, and poor taste.

All tobacco products cause cancer, a slow and painfull death.

My abuelo and his brothers have been smoking since their early teens and all of them are still kicking, drinking, smoking, and womanizing in their late 80's. Damn near everything in modern society causes cancer bud, from the carcinogenic bacteria that grows in our food and exude from the oil we use in our cars, hell even your television puts out tiny ammounts of radiation. I know the risks of smoking and I do it anyway, so allow me to reiterate, bugger off.

For anyone interested, this is one of the best books on the subject http://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Century-Persistence-Product-Defined/dp/B002UXRZBM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260395780&sr=1-1

a guy who won't stand for the bullying of people who use a completely legal product in a completely legal way." First of all, if its a no smoking zone, you are no legal! Like those old Jguys on the stations who sometimes are too lazy to go to the smoking area. But, I do fear smacking a Japanese person in Japan, but not a gaijin!

I equate smoking in public to picking your nose.

skipthesong - Learn to read. I said "If I'm smoking in a "smoking allowed" area. Of course I know better than to smoke in a no smoking zone. By the same token, I expect and require non-smokers to respect my decision to smoke in a smoking allowed area. Those who don't, including you, place themselves in the wrong; it then becomes my job to correct you. Maybe you don't fear smacking a gaijin yet, but if you ever pull a stunt like this with me, you'll quickly learn to not talk, or attempt to act, so tough.

It's called standing up to a bully, and I love few things more.

I am amazed at the people so worried about second hand smoke...outdoors of all places. Are you all so near-sighted that you missed the cars and smokestacks out there??? I think some people should be less worried about dying from second-hand smoke induced lung cancer, and more worried that their brain is so dumb, it might forget to breathe altogether one day!