Thursday, April 26, 2012

Clearing the Air on this Thursday

Clean Air?

I saw this sign yesterday promoting the "Clean Air" initiative of the Sage Colleges and then saw the URL that was directing me to this site.

No, I am a recent "former" smoker so I am still sensitive to the glee with which people who are willing to "punish" smokers for their "disgusting" habit but this is not about that. This is about the statement that this is being advertised as a clean air initiative. I love clean air! (Okay, who doesn't love clean air?) This is not about clean air though, this is about advertising "clean air" while making a statement about health and health choices. It is fine, and some would argue good, that Sage would do this but...

How does outdoor tobacco smoking contribute to "bad" or "dirty" air? Tobacco smoke has a negligible impact, especially compared with physical plant and vehicle traffic. With that in mind, I went looking for Sage's commitment to reducing emissions from their vehicles as well as the "Greening" of their physical plant, and I found...nothing. I did look. I was so hoping that I would find something so that I would be unable to snark about this. That this institution would have a comprehensive plan regarding their environmental impact, including letting green spaces return to wild flowers and the elimination of hot spots like black tar roofs and parking spaces.

Nope. The clean air program that they are advertising is further segregating adults engaged in legal behavior from their community. It is telling that people preach about inclusion until they find it inconvenient.

Speaking of smoking (sorta)
I had a series of weird dreams that returned when moved from wakefulness to sleep. They were vivid and while not particularly odd, by the standards of my subconscious (I mean, I had a great dream over the weekend that is sticking with me still. It puts a smile on my face and gives me hope for the world.), they were memorable. There were old friends recast in new roles as well as situations that were similar enough to real life that they were obviously being pulled from recent memories.

As I was futzing around this morning before I started my day (you know, washing of the face, brushing of the teeth, and other, less palatable, things) I realized that I had forgotten to remove the nicotine patch before bed. So that's why I had the dreams, right?

Apparently, at least according to the NIH, this is the case. There does seem to be a link between vivid REM sleep and use of the nicotine patch. More link searching pulled up a myriad of anecdotal stories regarding the experience of lucid dreaming related to the use of the nicotine patch. Now I, and by extension the world, know(s). I do have to say that I am going to have a not great day because lucid dreaming does not equal great sleep.

NB: I use the patch sporadically, especially when I think that I am going to be put in a situation when I am going to have a trigger to smoke. This includes, but is not limited to, dealing with Little League players, coaches, and parents, like...yesterday.

More on smoking
Did you see this?

New Findings Support Theory that Smoking Causes Depression

Really? You become more depressed when you smoke heavily?

From the article: "The authors found that, overall, the 12-year risk of MDE* for the entire sample was 13.2 percent.

When split by smoking status, the risk of MDE among current-heavy smokers was 26.7 percent; among former-heavy smokers it was 7.1 percent, and among those who never smoked it was 12.2 percent.

These statistics showed a significant hazard ratio of 3.1 for current heavy smokers, compared with former smokers, even after adjusting for age, sex, and stress."
*Major Depressive Episode

So...maybe that is why Sage is now a smoke free campus?

Via The Awl

And finally...

someecards.com - It may help you quit smoking if you stay focused on judging people who still smoke

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