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Ok kinda touchy subject......
Shopping for scrubs this morning, and yes I'll be the first to admit I smoke. Friend walks up to me and says "Aren't you a nurse??? Don't you know what that does to your body???"
Ok, now I'm not giving it to my patients or blowing it in their faces..... and I know what I'm doing to my body.
Does anyone else know why nurses are frowned upon for smoking?? Yes, I do plan on quitting, but I don't want to RIGHT this second b/c I passed my boards.....
Man smoking with part of his throat removed is exactly why the stuff should be illegal! Too addictive, we outlaw other substances that are addictive such as illegal drugs. Why not cigarettes? Because corporations would not hear of losing precious profits even if it means killing people by the 1,000's every month. Cigarette companies have increased their advertising budgets by millions in the last couple of yrs all in a effort to get more people to smoke (including children & teenagers, they do not care). Also side note, frebreeze believe me does not take care of the horrible smell. You are in denial and people are just being polite to you not saying anything. You will understand when you give your self the gift of LIFE and quit smoking.
[recently, I seen a man who had part of his throat removed and was smoking through his trach. remeber we are all human. I don't think we should be put on some kind of pedestal just because we work in health care. and by the way, I carry febreeze with me to take care of the smell. no one seems to notice.
I used to be a smoker 20 years ago and stopped .
But when I just had to go in for surgary awhile back this nurse smoked camels YUCK I could smell her a mile away .I know when I smoked I at least held the smoke away from my clothes and uniform as much as possible She would lean over me to hang the IV and I would Gasp for air .
The least a smoking nurse can do is one hold the smoke away from her clothes Take a puff and hold away .Also gargle before she comes in from smoking.
Perfume is another Thing ,not to much remember we are not there to date the Pt's we are there to take care of them.
I think besides smoking being unhealthy, it stinks, it's unattractive and it's expensive but to each his own. I can't condem someone for doing what they have every right to do or for not being able to stop. I am an overeater which may not stink but it definately is unhealthy. We all have our vices.
Many people here are comparing smokers to those who are overweight. I would just like to point out that there are many reasons people are overweight. Granted, eating too much of the wrong food and being inactive are very common reasons. But there are also genetic, hereditary, and medical factors to consider that are beyond *some* people's control, and no matter how healthy they eat, they will still be overweight. I know many overweight people who eat MUCH healthier than others I know who are skinny as a stick! All bodies are different and just because someone is overweight does not mean that they sit around eating fast food and washing it down with Coke all day. Perhaps you should think about that the next time you begin to judge someone by their weight.There are no genetic or medical factors that influence a person to smoke. I realize that some will argue that his/her parents smoked, and they grew up with it so they now do it. There are many others who did not take up the habit on their own or who smoke when their parents did not.
Also, smoking is detrimental to the health of everyone around the smoker, including children, spouses, etc. Being overweight does not affect the health of anyone but the person who is overweight. It also *shouldn't* make you smell offensive to everyone you come in contact with. :chuckle
So, let's please don't compare these two issues, as they simply are not the same thing.
That being said, I do not judge people by their decision to smoke or not to smoke. They are grown, they know what it does to them, and if they want to take that chance then so be it. I know the addiction must be horrible b/c many of the students in my class will walk the 1/4 mile trek to the smoking area in below freezing temps for every one of our hourly 10 minute breaks and they would not do that if they weren't addicted!
I beg to differ that they are two different things. They are both risk factors for declining health. I won't even take the time to list the illnesses. And yes, there are reasons besides overeating that will cause obesity, but honestly, the people that are impacted are few and far between. Face it, we are a country of underactive, overfed people.
Would you believe this country spends in excess of 4 billion a year to loose weight?? Somehow I find that criminal considering that a great portion of the world can not feed itself, but works as hard or harder than we do.
I think smoking and overeating are flip sides of the same coin...
I have traveled enough of this world -- and have not seen the level of obesity that this country has in other countries. Have we all suddenly developed hypoactive thyroids? Genetic mutations??
Man smoking with part of his throat removed is exactly why the stuff should be illegal! Too addictive, we outlaw other substances that are addictive such as illegal drugs. Why not cigarettes? Because corporations would not hear of losing precious profits even if it means killing people by the 1,000's every month. Cigarette companies have increased their advertising budgets by millions in the last couple of yrs all in a effort to get more people to smoke (including children & teenagers, they do not care). Also side note, frebreeze believe me does not take care of the horrible smell. You are in denial and people are just being polite to you not saying anything. You will understand when you give your self the gift of LIFE and quit smoking.
When our country's smoking shows signs of decreasing, the corp. take their $$ to other countries that don't have regulations and advertise there. You are so right, it is all about keeping the $$ rolling in..
I praise the people that remember that nurses, doctors, and aides are all HUMANS. just like those patients lying in the bed that we are taking care of. I smoke, only on mandated breaks and lunch, guess what? I am fat too!! Just because some nurses are healthy, practice what they preach, doesn't mean in 10-15 years theyare going to drop dead of a heart attack, a stroke, or cancer. Don't judge me because of what I do, judge me by how I take care of my patients. when i see them struggling with the same vices as they are I can tell you who they won't listen, some rabbit food eating non-smoking skinny minny. they will however, listen to me and how I struggled and try to deal with it. recently, I seen a man who had part of his throat removed and was smoking through his trach. remeber we are all human. I don't think we should be put on some kind of pedestal just because we work in health care. and by the way, I carry febreeze with me to take care of the smell. no one seems to notice.
You are right, we should be judged by how we do our jobs, not how we look.
I is a pet peeve of mine when people who have never been in a situation feel justified getting on a soap box and preaching.
SJ
PS, I love my real butter, Godiva chocolates and french pasteries.
Many people here are comparing smokers to those who are overweight. I would just like to point out that there are many reasons people are overweight. Granted, eating too much of the wrong food and being inactive are very common reasons. But there are also genetic, hereditary, and medical factors to consider that are beyond *some* people's control, and no matter how healthy they eat, they will still be overweight. I know many overweight people who eat MUCH healthier than others I know who are skinny as a stick! All bodies are different and just because someone is overweight does not mean that they sit around eating fast food and washing it down with Coke all day. Perhaps you should think about that the next time you begin to judge someone by their weight.There are no genetic or medical factors that influence a person to smoke. I realize that some will argue that his/her parents smoked, and they grew up with it so they now do it. There are many others who did not take up the habit on their own or who smoke when their parents did not.
Also, smoking is detrimental to the health of everyone around the smoker, including children, spouses, etc. Being overweight does not affect the health of anyone but the person who is overweight. It also *shouldn't* make you smell offensive to everyone you come in contact with. :chuckle
So, let's please don't compare these two issues, as they simply are not the same thing.
That being said, I do not judge people by their decision to smoke or not to smoke. They are grown, they know what it does to them, and if they want to take that chance then so be it. I know the addiction must be horrible b/c many of the students in my class will walk the 1/4 mile trek to the smoking area in below freezing temps for every one of our hourly 10 minute breaks and they would not do that if they weren't addicted!
I just wanted to point out a minor discrepancy in your post. Addiction most definitely does have a genetic component. Studies done on the offspring of alcoholics showed that they had increased chances of becoming alcoholics themselves, even if they were taken away from the alcoholic parents and raised in a non-alcoholic household. Studies have also shown that those with certain genetic makeups are predisposed to nicotine, heroine, and cocaine addiction.
So, in regards to factors leading to nicotine addiction and obesity, they are multifactorial, with genetic and environmental components.:balloons:
Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN
12,126 Posts
Having a no-smoking section in a restaurant is about as effective as a no-peeing section in the public pool. The entire place still winds up being a haze.
Thank God our city banned smoking in restaurants around here.