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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-03-30, Page 22PSe soar^ to a! ",far o[ a ra, elbx :a� ith You �. n �lle In •the little restaurant around the Corner; The service is brisk ana'. amiling and, acro the: table, Charlie is smiling too. He unzips a packet antdholds itts vlardyou. "Cigarette?" "Thanks. 't. don't smoke;.."' Oh? Well, let's seen what . happens when Charlie lights his cigarette. Two Kinds of:Poliution. The flick .of Charlie's lighter touches off a two- stage train of pollution in the air you'll be breathing: There is mainstream pollution • and there is sidestream pollution. Except for the fact that the odor of exhaled tobacco smoke • can be stomach- turning to some people, mainstream pollution offers the lesser hazard to a non- smoker. It consists of the smoke that Charlie draws in, holds in his lungs for awhile, and thenbreathes out. It's to your advantage that Charlie holds the smoke in his lungs for, in so doing, he acts as a kind of filter, body significantn>;within amountos n of body gases and solid particles that would otherwise be available to you. For instance, he'll re- tain 54 per cent of all the car- bon monoxide he inhales and over 90 per cent of all the solid smoke particles -but to his detriment, not yours. Charlie's "filtration" takes off a lot of the edge of mainstream pollution as far as you are concerned. The sidestream pollution is another matter, though. The sidestream pollution represents all the smoke that Charlie can't get into his mouth: smoke that escapes from the burning tip of his cigarette and from its butt. And that's where problems begin Think. Have you . ever noticed how the grey in Charlie's hair has a blondish . tint? That's from his sidestream smoke. Some of the smoke is made up of • things that are in a gaseous state when they are warm, but which become sticky solids when they cool off. These "tars" condense on anything that is at normal' room temperature --on Charlie's hair, for instance, and on his clothes, giving his jackets a characteristic musty aroma. All that tar doesn't condense on Charlie: there's plenty left over for you... Your health is at risk Besides tinting and scenting your hair and every cigarette ... -makes your heart beat faster -shoots your blood pressure up - -lowers your skin tem- perature -replaces oxygen in your blood with carbon monoxide -leaves cancer-causing chemicals to spread through your body REGULAR SMOKING INCREASES YOUR CHANCES OF DYING FROM A SMOKE - RELATED DISEASE BY 70 PER CENT OVER A NON- SMOKER. THINK ABOUT IT!! clothes, sidestream smoke offers you some very real health risks. You are bound to suffer some discomfort from eye irritation due to smoke exposure, but if you have allergies that affect your breathing, such as hay fever or asthma, you'll face other problems as well. Sidestream smoke triggers and .'iii ►` zits -carbon; they can tellifotthgtI payable emtot; Carbon of cancer . erea t 0noxide one o on with -t amount of simplest., yet WAWA g4W4 exposure toanycarcinogen; known µto chemists., It ala And, fuithermore, 'thy 11 colorless and ,odorless, so: tell you how deceptilve that you cannot tell when itis carcinogens can be. Some around. One of the first ef- seem to lodge in the body and fects is to make you dull and lie dormant for years before: - perhaps a little sleepy producing a cancer. Only Carbon monoxide works recently, new cancers have . by robbing , the body of been traced to contact withit oxygen that' needs, Red asbestos used in gas mask` blood cells normally carry manufacture during World oxygen from the* lungs to all War II. • of the body's tissues. If there With tobacco smoke, : the is., any carbon monoxide in only dose that you. can; your lungs, the red blood consider safe is no dose at cells will ignore the oxygen all. But, if you continually and pick it up instead. breathe sidestreaina. smoke As the carbon monoxide content of your blood in- creases, more and more of your body begins to .starve for oxygen, including your heart and brainiissues. When this happens, you may become more fumbling and uncertain. Your ability to sort out visual detail may suffer.. To make matters worse, carbon Monoxide is a cumulative poison. It builds up. in your system: you take it in faster than you can get rid of it. The carbon nasal nuisances such as monoxide that you inhale irritation. and a runny nose. from Charlie's sidestream It makes you cough and smoke will stay in your body wheeze far more than a non- for hours. Each successive allergic person. Odds are it cigarette he smokes in your will even give you a mild presence, adds to that headache. buildup. Carbon Monoxide There's More Sidestream smoke causes The big sidestream smoke significant damage to the lungs of nonsmokers exposed to it. The smoke from Charlie's cigarette per- manently scars some of the small airways in your lungs. As this reduces your lung capacity, it makes it necessary for you to put more effort into breathing in. order to get the amount of oxygen your body needs. Furthermore, reduced lung capacity is often a forerunner of emphysema and other serious lung disorders. If Charlie has children or if. his wife is pregnant, sidestream smoke around his home may be cause for concern. Impaired lung functions have been found in the children of parents who smoke. And constant ex- posure to cigarette smoke can injure the health of non- smoking wives and their unborn babies. How much can you safely inhale from sidestream Medical authorities can't answer that question. But from others' cigarettes, you are. getting tiny doses day after day... There you have it Unwanted odors and tints of tobacco smoke in your hair and clothes. Irritations of your allergies. Cumulative carbon monoxide poisoning. Reduced lung efficiency. And an increase in cancer risk. And all from other peoples' cigarettes. So don't smoke Seems you only thought you didn't! You are a smoker, a passive smoker; as long as you are in the company of active smokers. What can you do about it? Well, to start with, you might begin by asking others not . to smoke in:. your ,. presence:'Teli .them that the odor of tobacco smoke an- noys you. Then you could urge smokers you know to quit. There is plenty of -literature available that tells how and plenty of organizations willing to offer advice and help. For instance, your local office of the Canadian Cancer Society can help you out. Ask the owners of restaurants and taverns that you patronize regularly to set up nonsmokers' sections. They'll do it if enough people urge them. Phone or write your elected officials to ask what is being done about prohibiting smoking in en- closed public places and on trains, buses and aircraft. They want to hear from you. And, above all, be sure to discuss the problem with your nonsmoking friends. You'll be surprised at the number of new and useful ideas an enthused group can develop to combat passive smoking. This information is brought to you with the kind co-operation of the following: Commercial & Residential Swimming Pod Builders & Consultants Rantoul s Pools & Spas BILL RINTOUL President RR 1, Wingham, Ont. NOG 2W0 Half Mile North on Highway 4 , 519-357-2628 BANK OF MONTREAL John B. Pollard, Manager 55 Josephine Street, Wingham, Ontario NOG 2 WO (519)357-1750/3 HEAD OFFICE - LISTOWEL, ONTARIO Branches in: Wingham, Godericb. Kincardine, Hanover, Orillia, Owen Sound, Mount Forest, Midland. 'Bracehridge, Orangeville, Barrie, Stratford. WINGHAM MOTEL George and, Mary Romanik Hwy. 4 S. of Wingham 357-1342 T. B. ALLEN LTD. . Loridesboro, Ont. • Feed and Fertilizer Call 482-3363, 523-9606 or • WINGHAM FEED MILL, Wingham; Ont. Call 357-3060,