Aneirin
Posts: 6121
Joined: 3/18/2006
From: Tamaris
Status: offline
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As a smoker, I used to cycle six miles a day to work, every day bar sundays and when I say cycle, I mean fast as I was as ever usually late for work.Cycling is a cardio vascular activity and my aim was never mind the hills, maintain a steady cadence, so the term used was spinning, low gears and maintain the pedal cycle of about 62 cycles per minute as that was the most efficient way of getting anywhere.
In order to get to work, I had to cycle in traffic and much of that was down a fast moving dual carriageway, what is called an A road in this country, anyway my journey to work resulted in me arriving at work on time and walking around stinking of diesel fumes before I even started working with the things. How I felt, was yukky, sort of slimey and sick, sick in that my stomach was gassy and I felt on the verge of vomiting for a good hour after my arrival. I read the hazard reports at work regarding my occupation and then linked diesel to my feeling, so, I purchased a respro pollution mask and there wore that to work, the result of which, no more sicky feeling, but the smell of diesel fumes was still with me, which eventually contributed to me leaving my profession, as the persistant smell that was with me it seemed all the time I came to find abhorrent.
Now, I quizzed my doctor regarding the sick feeling prior to the respro pollution mask and he said well, I smoke, so therefore that was the cause, but he was amazed I was a cyclist being a smoker, but I told him later I had cured my own problem by the use of the mask and it was my belief it was the traffic fumes that was causing this chronic illness, he was adamant, it was my smoking even after the problem had gone.
Now I only smoke rolling tobacco, the stuff that comes in a pouch and has to be rolled into a ciggy or sometimes stuffed into my pipe, I cannot smoke ready made cigarettes, as they make me feel instantly sick and give me a sharp headache to boot, I also cannot smoke cigars, they are too heavy for me. I am as I have always been, a fairly heavy smoker, but I know I would do better as a lighter smoker, the effects I seek would be more, but I do what I do, and now on a very low income I find it helps to quell hunger pangs from not having the food I should be having. After a severe back injury caused at work, I have now quit heavy cycling but to maintain my fitness, I walk a lot and dance, and walking around here to get anywhere involves lots of hills, my route down to anywhere involves a one in four hill which has to be climbed to get back home carrying whatever, usually my shopping when I get it, as I have no viable motorised transport.
This topic came back to me recently, as I now have motorised transport, which when it becomes viable, i.e. I have put it back together, I will again be facing the traffic fumes and as the motorised transport is a motorcycle, I will not be having the luxury of an air conditioned cabin to shield me from the majority of the fumes, I am again going to have to go down the pollution mask route, but the topic came back to me hard because of what I know about diesel fumes.
Smoking tobacco from a users point of view, yeah I continue because it is a habit, but I do get some relaxation from it, which to me is a plus, but due to my low income, it helps battle the food problem. What I see as bad from smoking is a continuation from the hunger quelling aspect, feeling hunger pangs means I need food, the lack of which makes me tired and lethargic, the lethargy contributes to a lazier lifestyle, which is not good for overall health. I understand this, but it also works for me in that when I run out of tobacco, it forces me out of my home in all weathers to walk those hills again, so it is helping me exercise. Often when I do go out, my return journey is quite often extended from say half an hour to a few hours as I find interest in walking on the cliffs, through the woods or going to watch the sea from the beach, all of which gives me an appetite tobacco will not quell.
Regards the government seeing tobacco users as a cash cow, whom they are it seems more than happy to make money out of, why the double standard, if it was as dangerous as they make out and in this country the majority burden on the NHS, why then is it still allowed to be sold, that is what I do not understand. Perhaps I am being obstinate, but I will only believe them when it is outright banned from sale, as to me then, they are putting their(our) money where their mouth is, they believe what they say.
Scientists, why do they pick what they do to research, who pays them and where does the money come from has to be asked, as most of us are aware agenda can be woven into any scientific hypothesis, the current global warming fiasco is a good example of this. We in this present age have taken science to be the new god and what they say we abide by, although often what is made available as sound bites, is not the complete story and by being incomplete, it is out on context, we need to learn to be critical of the new god, as we have always been with the old gods.
Diesel fume cleaning, well work is going on to clean the exhaust gases as I speak,so the danger is obviously known about, Dyson, the inventor of the cyclone vacuum cleaner, designed such a device years ago for diesel transport, but even at a cost of I remember no more than £200 fitted, it was seen as not viable due to cost, not performance, it worked, but most did not see the need as they were unaware of the dangers of diesel fumes. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Scania wagons have a similar device fitted in their smoke stacks, which would be about right for the Swedes, for they care about air quality and put their money where their mouth is, they have a beautiful land to protect.
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Everything we are is the result of what we have thought, the mind is everything, what we think, we become - Guatama Buddha
Conservatism is distrust of people tempered by fear - William Gladstone
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RE: Diesel fumes more carcinogenic than smoking - 
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