Ridiculous new smoking laws in South Africa brings smokers to their knees

Public duped over smoking health laws

The laws are tightening on cigarette smokers at the time of writing this I happened to be sitting outside on the open air veranda of a restaurant and was told to smoke outside on the pavement. No-one was being affected in any way as I was in the fresh air outside sitting at a table?  I went to another restaurant a few days ago which had a smoking section. We were sitting at the other end of the section to a family, (who chose to sit in the smoking section - plenty of seats in the non-smoking room), and all we could hear was the women complaining to the restaurant manager in a loud voice how she did not like people smoking near her family? Get a life lady sit somewhere else! 

Why are we smokers been singled out? You might as well demand that you do not want to sit near anyone with a cold, in case they have swine flue or some other dread disease! Or you want to check the restuarant staff for AIDS in case they get a scratch and drip blood on you! That is how ridiculous this whole sorry state of affairs has become.

I am not going to spend anymore time on my experiences that I have had with stupid inconsiderate people who have started a vindictive vicious campaign against smokers. The point is that they use the "HEALTH" word to cover up the fact that it has nothing to do with "HEALTH" these people just cannot stand the smell! The issue is as simple as that! If you were to look at the health angle let me give you some thoughts on this aspect:

Here is a heads-up on this health hazard:

To put it simply, Carbon monoxide Kills! Standing near exhaust fumes exposes you to poisonous carbon monoxide (CO) gas, which is present in large amounts in vehicle exhaust fumes. Overexposure to this odorless and colorless gas can cause death. Even mild exposure to CO can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and fatigue.

Diesel exhaust, the ubiquitous black smoke that can be seen streaming out of large trucks, has recently been getting a lot of attention.

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) launched a Dump Dirty Diesels Campaign with the ad slogan in 1996: "Standing behind this bus could be more dangerous than standing in front of it." After eight years of research, the California air resources board (CARB) finally declared the soot, or particulate matter, from diesel exhaust to be a cancer causing pollutant. CARB also identified forty chemicals found in diesel exhaust as toxic air pollutants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently conducting its own study of the health impacts of diesel exhaust.
Diesel exhaust can cause a number of health impacts. The exhaust contains some known carcinogens and hazardous materials. Arsenic, benzene and nickel, are known carcinogens among many other suspected carcinogenic components of diesel exhaust. The exhaust contains 38 other components that are hazardous pollutants listed by the EPA. (compared to the 40 recently identified by the CARB) including suspected carcinogens benzo[a]pyrene, 1,3-butadiene, and formaldehyde. The exhaust itself is listed as a probable carcinogen by the EPA, NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health), and IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer).

Incidence (annual) of Carbon monoxide poisoning: 25,000 annual cases of home exposure in the UK
Incidence Rate: approx 1 in 2,400 or 0.04% or 113,333 people in USA
Incidence extrapolations for USA for Carbon monoxide poisoning: 113,333 per year, 9,444 per month, 2,179 per week, 310 per day, 12 per hour. Source

The California Air Resources Board, a division of the California Environmental Protection Agency, estimates that diesel particles cause a majority of the outdoor air pollution lung cancer risk.
Within the last few decades, the impact of vehicle pollution on the environment has gradually garnered more attention in the public eye. However as researchers at UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Riverside have discovered, within children's school buses, the real damage is done from within, as the exhaust leaks back into the vehicle and pollutes the air the school children are breathing. Source

Comment: How many kids are exposed to busses and trucks in our streets and towns? Why do we not ban busses and motor cars? Don't you think your family who goes to shopping malls underground parking areas could get sick from these poisons? Why are there no laws about this health hazard? A vehicle could certainly spew out a lot more poisonous gas in a second than I could in a whole year! Why is there no public outcry on this pollutant like there is with smoking a cigarette? Where are the mothers voices wanting to protect their children? The new law states, smoking a cigarette is not allowed in public parking areas, but it is OK for vehicle exhaust and diesel toxins, where is the logic?

Abstract: Whereas international trends show that many developed countries are adopting policies that promote pesticide reduction, use of pesticides in South Africa continues to expand. In particular, macroeconomic policies encourage pesticides use among emergent small-scale black farmers, while potential exposures of workers on commercial farms remain high. Despite having legal controls that seem to conform to international standards, the present health and environmental impacts of pesticide use in South Africa are substantial and generally underestimated. The reasons lie in the fragmentation of regulatory mechanisms as well as the absence of public awareness and participation in policy-making related to pesticides. Failure to enforce existing legislation, an ambivalent relationship between government and industry, and the existence of a pesticide culture will continue to prevent implementation of meaningful control measures. As a result, it is marginalized groups, such as small-scale farmers and farm workers, who bear the brunt of policies that have not kept pace with a growing international awareness of the hazards of widespread pesticide use for human health and for the environment. Opportunities for fundamental transformation of the legal and policy framework relating to pesticides in order to promote environmental justice are explored. Source: Baywood Publishing

The responsibility for this selective, vindictive biased legislation are the Health Promotion Division Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) and the Department of Health Directorate, what are they doing? I will tell you they are not interested in spending any time on the dangers to school children of vehicle exhaust or hazardous pesticides and crop spraying in the rural farming areas affecting people, no they just want the smokers banned from public places yet if you asked them to provide proven cases of people who have died due to second hand smoke they may not even come up with a single person (the science is still soft about the carcinogenic properties of second-hand smoke). A vindictive and pathetic waste of time and money considering these other health risks!

Smoking legislation in South Africa leaves me dumfounded? I could well die of a smoking related disease but my point is where is my FREEDOM to choose how I live my life, why do I have to be treated like a persona non grata, where are my rights? Secondary smoke must reflect the same legislation as any other air pollutant and not be subject to special circumstances in law!

If we were to apply the same laws to these more serious hazards let's have a law that says no diesel burning vehicle should be allowed within 5 kilometres of any city or no crop spraying for 5 kilometres near rural dwellings, including schools! See how selective our smoking law has become. You are able to sit on a sidewalk cafe or restaurant and have a great big diesel truck and a bus glide past you leaving their toxins to swirl around you, without interference from the law. Where is the "popular outcry from the non smoking public" on these other more dangerous TOXINS in the air?  These are examples of what my point is about smoking laws. Why and where is this coming from, smoking a cigarette is not the ONLY toxic pollutant but is minimal compared to other toxins in the air? Who are the drivers of this stupid law on smoking and why? Is there something sinister in this? Is it because smoking has just become socially unacceptable? I do not understand. Why not go direct to the source and ban tobacco companies from even producing the stuff? Ban the farmers who grow the stuff? Please will someone tell me the real reason for this legislation? gordon@epnet.co.za

• It is now illegal for adults to smoke in a car where there is a child under 12 years of age. Perfectly legal if they are 13 years of age!



• Fines up to a maximum of R50,000 will be handed to owners of a restaurant, pub, bar or workplace who breach the smoking laws and R500 for the individual smoker. Worth it if you don't like your boss or the restaurant and want to close it down, smoke on the premises three times (or more as necessary), pay your fines that should close the business down!



• Smoking is now illegal in “partially enclosed” public places such as covered patios, verandas, balconies, walkways and parking areas. But motor car exhaust in parking areas is fine so no problem



• Smoking is not permitted on premises, including private homes, used for commercial childcare activities, or for schooling or tutoring.



• The tobacco industry is no longer permitted to hold “parties” or use “viral” marketing to target young people.



• The sale of tobacco products to and by people under 18 years is prohibited, as is the sale of confectionery or toys resembling tobacco products.



• Also in the pipeline are rules to keep smoking away from entrances to buildings, and restrict it in sports stadiums, railway platforms, bus stops as well as outdoor dining areas.

Permanent, poisonous haze
Poor are worst affected by air pollution, while government continues its 'dirty path'

"Nobody in South Africa should have to climb out of bed, wondering why their chest is tight, why their eyes are burning and why they cannot breathe."

"SMOGGY: The air quality over Joburg is not of great quality, and winter brings with it a pall which is especially visible in the early mornings and evenings as the image taken over Bedforview, east of Joburg shows."

"On most days, his township of Sebokeng is enveloped in a smoggy haze while the medical bills to treat his families asthma mount."

"We have this problem of pollution everyday. Its worse at night because they (the industries) just open up their stacks. People are suffering from asthma, sinus and all kinds of chest-related problems."

"It's the health impacts on the poor who are forced to burn cheap coal, wood and paraffin in their homes, inhaling toxic fumes remains the most serious and pressing national problem."

Don't tell me that these new laws are anything but a social set of laws designed to outcast a small segment of the population. Shame on you Government to restrict the man in the street (because he is easy to bully) and do nothing effective to combat Industrial and Agricultural toxins and pollutants! Just leave us alone and get on with your real job to make the quality of life of the masses better, which is what you were elected for!

"Furthermore, ‘smoking-related disease’ is an incredibly misleading term as there is not a single illness or ailment that affects only smokers, and as such it cannot be a ‘smoking-related disease’; such a term would relate to something that only afflicts smokers, or at least, an ailment which was caused solely by the act of smoking. There is no way of telling whether a smoker would have contracted the same illness if he or she did not smoke, and consequently the statistics are misleading."