Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site bnl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!cmcl2!philabs!sbcs!bnl!valenz From: valenz@bnl.UUCP (Greg Valenzuela) Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: Smoking in the Workplace Message-ID: <355@bnl.UUCP> Date: Sun, 26-Feb-84 00:21:42 EST Article-I.D.: bnl.355 Posted: Sun Feb 26 00:21:42 1984 Date-Received: Mon, 27-Feb-84 08:34:00 EST References: <164@wdl1.UUCP>, <595@sbcs.UUCP> Organization: SUNY at StonyBrook Lines: 23 It is certainly true that smokers can suffer from withdrawal symptoms when trying to quit, as would someone trying to kick any other drug habit. There is, however, a clear distinction between the effects on the smoker of not smoking, and the effects of smoke on the non-smoker. Very simply, the damage to the non-smoker is of a permanent and possibly eventually life-threatening nature, while withdrawal symptoms are merely temporary. I am not familiar with the details of the San Francisco law, which seems to ban totally any smoking in offices at the request of non-smokers, and can't say whether it's the best solution to the problem. It seems to me that this law doesn't keep people from smoking, rather, it forces them to leave the work area to do it. In that sense, it doesn't cause smokers to go through withdrawal. Greg Valenzuela Dept. of Physics SUNY@StonyBrook {harpo!decvax!linus,mcvax,seismo}!philabs \ USENET: !sbcs!bnl!valenz allegra / ARPANET: valenz@bnl