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Tuesday, November 25, 2003
Gulle: Doctors could be more realistic
By Inocentes A. Gulle
Your Business is Our Business
SOME doctors are sometimes too overzealous that they can be paranoid. Their paranoia could be infective as to cause distress, in addition to the one their patient complained about. At the very least, they could cause some kind of discomfiture in the family of their patients.
You see, a doctor said that a smoker in the family could cause respiratory ailments to other members of the family. I cannot argue with that. But, I find it hard to agree that even if one smokes outside he still can cause harm to others in the house by the tobacco fumes sticking in his hair, clothes and skin.
Smoking in the open, most of the smoke (and fumes) would be carried away by the air movement. The most that could probably stick in one's person would not, by any reckoning, approximate to one per cent (.01) of all the smoke given off by a stick of cigarette. All considered, I doubt if the smoke would contain 10 parts of harmful substances per thousand (ppt).
Assuming, for the sake of argument, let's say that one stick of cigarette can produce one milligram of the harmful substances - nicotine, tar, others. The most that could accumulate in one's person would be not more that one-tenth (.01) of one thousandth (.001) of a milligram. Two, or even four, sticks smoked outside the hose in one hour, could produce only some .004 milligram. Assuming again that one-fourth of that is transmitted by tough to the other family member, the most that one could collect would be .002 milligram.
Considering that what is generally considered harmful level is two packs of cigarettes a day (forty sticks), how significant is .002 milligrams, in terms of harm it brings into the house?
I knew a medical doctor who was a heavy smoker, some 30 years back. I also knew he smoked inside their residence. I still see him around and his children are all professionals - doctors, accountants, etc. (I don't know if he still does, though.)
How can this one other doctor now be sure that fumes retained by one's hair, skin, or clothing harm other members of the family?
Oh c'mon, doc.
(November 25, 2003 issue)
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