Two more cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in MA.
One area where American public health has excelled is the now nearly 60 year old campaign to stop smoking. The U.S. is the most successful country among its peers in terms of its anti-smoking campaigns. It’s been that way for a very long time. I believe it’s because unlike other public health campaigns, like Covid-19 prevention and vaccination, this one is very well-coordinated across ALL jurisdictions, has buy-in from businesses and offices, too, and is generally accepted by the public.
The contrast with many parts of Europe is striking. In the Netherlands, in recent years, smoking has once again increased. It already had a significantly higher percentage of adults smokers than the U.S. The campaign against smoking is less effective. And, it doesn’t have the buy-in from all businesses or offices. There’s also more push-back from smokers who feel it’s their “right” to smoke wherever they’d like to. Not that they actually smoke everywhere – it’s prohibited in public transit, in most restaurants and bars, and in most offices – but they vociferously complain about infringements of their rights as smokers.
I remember well the progression of smoking restrictions at the office I worked:
– Smoking allowed anywhere in and around the building
– Only allowed in closed offices
– Only allowed in closed offices with an air filtration system that the smoker had to buy.
– Only allowed outside the building.
– Only allowed in designated outdoor smoking areas.
The smokers that I worked with never complained. In fact, this lead to some of them quitting altogether.
I wonder how these restrictions would be accepted in the more confrontational times that we are now living. For example, would there be violence on airplanes as we saw with simple mask requirements?
I don’t see too many teens or even college age students smoking these days but adults 30 and up still puffing away either the traditional tobacco or the now “legal” pot. I get around the city between walking and T and if I don’t see someone actually smoking, stand or sit beside them or just walking by reek of the stuff. I see “old timers” all the time not even thinking about quitting from what I can tell. I have always wondered how the late great George Burns lived until age 100 in spite of smoking cigars all the time. He always smoked during his performances if I recall.
It wasn’t all that long ago (20 years?) that many restaurants still had smoking/non-smoking sections.
Great question, SClarke. Perhaps because of externalities associated with smoking, people in the U.S. are accepting of restrictions. I know that in the Netherlands people are less accepting. In the Netherlands, my high school teachers in the 80s smoked in the classroom. They rolled their cigarettes and lit up, right in front of us. In the 90s some lecturers at the university did the same. And even in the 2000s smoking was permitted in most buildings and many restaurants and bars. In the 2010s laws were put into place limiting smoking to certain designated areas, and prohibiting smoking in most restaurants and bars. The culture, however, in Holland, is much more accepting of smoking than here, even among young people. There’s a lot smoking in high schools across Europe.
Again, it’s the one area – and a very important one, I might add – that America has done a better job than its European counterparts.
Just heard that my 100 year old friend – former professor – has Covid again. Sylvia will turn 101 on June 22nd. She was boosted (2nd) 5 weeks ago. Still, she got it. She’s sick – bad cough and other bronchitis symptoms – but not as sick as her health aide, who is 60 and has diabetes. Her aide is quite ill. Not hospitalized, but still. The concern now is that the virus is spreading at the nursing home/assisted living facility.
C-19
6-14
ready
Comments are closed.
Your no-hype southeastern New England weather blog!
Thanks TK.
Two more cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in MA.
One area where American public health has excelled is the now nearly 60 year old campaign to stop smoking. The U.S. is the most successful country among its peers in terms of its anti-smoking campaigns. It’s been that way for a very long time. I believe it’s because unlike other public health campaigns, like Covid-19 prevention and vaccination, this one is very well-coordinated across ALL jurisdictions, has buy-in from businesses and offices, too, and is generally accepted by the public.
The contrast with many parts of Europe is striking. In the Netherlands, in recent years, smoking has once again increased. It already had a significantly higher percentage of adults smokers than the U.S. The campaign against smoking is less effective. And, it doesn’t have the buy-in from all businesses or offices. There’s also more push-back from smokers who feel it’s their “right” to smoke wherever they’d like to. Not that they actually smoke everywhere – it’s prohibited in public transit, in most restaurants and bars, and in most offices – but they vociferously complain about infringements of their rights as smokers.
I remember well the progression of smoking restrictions at the office I worked:
– Smoking allowed anywhere in and around the building
– Only allowed in closed offices
– Only allowed in closed offices with an air filtration system that the smoker had to buy.
– Only allowed outside the building.
– Only allowed in designated outdoor smoking areas.
The smokers that I worked with never complained. In fact, this lead to some of them quitting altogether.
I wonder how these restrictions would be accepted in the more confrontational times that we are now living. For example, would there be violence on airplanes as we saw with simple mask requirements?
I don’t see too many teens or even college age students smoking these days but adults 30 and up still puffing away either the traditional tobacco or the now “legal” pot. I get around the city between walking and T and if I don’t see someone actually smoking, stand or sit beside them or just walking by reek of the stuff. I see “old timers” all the time not even thinking about quitting from what I can tell. I have always wondered how the late great George Burns lived until age 100 in spite of smoking cigars all the time. He always smoked during his performances if I recall.
It wasn’t all that long ago (20 years?) that many restaurants still had smoking/non-smoking sections.
Great question, SClarke. Perhaps because of externalities associated with smoking, people in the U.S. are accepting of restrictions. I know that in the Netherlands people are less accepting. In the Netherlands, my high school teachers in the 80s smoked in the classroom. They rolled their cigarettes and lit up, right in front of us. In the 90s some lecturers at the university did the same. And even in the 2000s smoking was permitted in most buildings and many restaurants and bars. In the 2010s laws were put into place limiting smoking to certain designated areas, and prohibiting smoking in most restaurants and bars. The culture, however, in Holland, is much more accepting of smoking than here, even among young people. There’s a lot smoking in high schools across Europe.
Again, it’s the one area – and a very important one, I might add – that America has done a better job than its European counterparts.
Just heard that my 100 year old friend – former professor – has Covid again. Sylvia will turn 101 on June 22nd. She was boosted (2nd) 5 weeks ago. Still, she got it. She’s sick – bad cough and other bronchitis symptoms – but not as sick as her health aide, who is 60 and has diabetes. Her aide is quite ill. Not hospitalized, but still. The concern now is that the virus is spreading at the nursing home/assisted living facility.
C-19
6-14
ready