Who smokes

[keithj]

I was at a seminar recently (boutique funds). The first thing the presenter said was 'Who smokes ?' No-one raised their hand - he went on to say that in his many years of presenting only 2 people had every admitted to smoking and he believed there was a -ve correlation between smoking which gives immediate gratification and investing.

So the options are -
I have one or more IPs and don't smoke
I have one or more IPs and smoke
I have no IPs and smoke
I have no IPs and don't smoke

I was reminded of this when I saw this in New Scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99996054)

Smoking wipes 10 years off a person's life on average, according to the longest ever study of smokers, but giving up at any age brings huge benefits.

[Jas]

Yuck!

Makes me glad to live in the ACT. We have the strongest anti-smoking laws around :)

Jas

[Aceyducey]

Keith,

What about people who invest in assets other than property?

And could it be a correlation between the acceptance of smoking & willingness to proudly stand up and say 'I am a smoker'.

IMHO many smokers are ashamed in some way of their habit & constantly try to quit. Very few non-smokers are trying to take it up.....

Cheers,

Aceyducey

[keithj]

What about people who invest in assets other than property?I did consider adding an option for 'Other asset classes', but if people are 'serious' about investing they'll have an IP in their portfolio.:D 'Invest in Other Assets' could be interpreted as $500 in a savings account.

And could it be a correlation between the acceptance of smoking & willingness to proudly stand up and say 'I am a smoker'.

IMHO many smokers are ashamed in some way of their habit & constantly try to quit. Very few non-smokers are trying to take it up.....That was my thought too, hence the reason for this anonymous poll.....

[skater]

Very few non-smokers are trying to take it up.....






Except the school kids.

[qaz]

Of coarse. The tabacco companies are investing for their retirement :P

[geoffw]

I used to smoke many years ago.

I gave up about one month after daughter #1 was conceived (no cause and effect, either way).

At that time (1987), smoking was quite common with IT people. At one stage, it was not uncommon for people to smoke at their desks. Sorry, I was one of them- I'm glad now that things have vastly improved.

Giving up was a huge undertaking, and extremely hard. I didn't set out to give up, I just woke up one day and decided that I did not want that first ciggie that day.

Now it's extremely rare for IT people to smoke (at least in my very limited experience).

MrsW found that the smokers were a powerful political force. The new trainee could be outside with the big boss, on an equal footing- and any grudges towards nonsmoking colleagues carried great force.

[Sim]

Smoking is really bad for computers - heavy particles in cigarette smoke get into electonic parts (and worse - electromechanical parts) and cause problems.

(admitedly there's not likely to be enough smoke to cause any real damage - unlike smoke from a building fire, for example)

[bonecrusher]

Hi all

When is a smoker a smoker.

If one smokes a cigar now and then or say some cigarettes on a weekend socially is that a smoker.

I see it this way that everyone is tossed in the same basket whether they smoke 60 a day or 2 or 3 a day.

lets do the numbers 3 a day 365 days a year 20 years =21900cigarettes.
60 a day 365 days a year 20 years =4380000cigarettes.

Have tests ever been conducted to compare the heavy smokers to the say very light or social smoker.

Employment forms do ask
Are you a smoker? If i smoke 10 a week yes
420 a week yes

regards
BC

[Aceyducey]

Bonecrusher,

There's been plenty of research attempting to discover a 'safe' level of smoking over the past 50 years.

Yup they've been researching it at least that long.....almost the average lifespan of a heavy smoker.
(BTW: on average male smokers lose around 13.2 years & females lose 14.5 years....that's average, not the heavy smokers (http://medicolegal.tripod.com/pearl1938.htm))

After all it'd be in the tobacco industry's interest to say, 'smoking does no harm if you only have X cigarettes a week' in the same way the alcohol industry can say 'one glass of wine a day is good for you'.

Since at least the early 1970s, the industry has been reported as saying "The ‘safer’ cigarette is in my view the key to the industry’s future." (1971 - BAT, Smoking and Health Session, Chelworth, 1971, 28 May [L&D UK Ind 24] )

Unfortunately the smoking industry, and other researchers, doesn't seem to yet have been able to discover a safe level of nicotine for humans......sorry :(

Here's a document from the NSW government talking about one of the myths of smoking...the so-called 'safe level': http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/cancer_inst/news/factsheets/tob_myths.pdf#ggviewer-offsite-nav-8991272

And here's a doc that talks about research by cigarette companies since the 1950s where they've tried to identify a safe cigarette....but have failed: http://www.ash.org.uk/html/conduct/html/tobexpld5.html

I suggest you stub out that 'social cig' :)

Oh, and rollies aren't safer either.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

[geoffw]

Smoking is really bad for computers - heavy particles in cigarette smoke get into electonic parts (and worse - electromechanical parts) and cause problems.

(admitedly there's not likely to be enough smoke to cause any real damage - unlike smoke from a building fire, for example)Back in the mainframe days, I saw a hard drive have a spectacular head crash. Although the room was enclosed and air conditioned, they found that the cause was smoke from the programming area outside- the smoky air was being brought into the computer room.

[Sim]

Back in the mainframe days, I saw a hard drive have a spectacular head crash. Although the room was enclosed and air conditioned, they found that the cause was smoke from the programming area outside- the smoky air was being brought into the computer room.

Which is just one of the reasons that modern hard drives are in sealed containers - any particles getting into the drive unit could potentially get stuck between the drive heads and the platters (yes, they are that close together) - and the result would not be pretty.

Let geoffw's experience be a lesson for everyone - don't smoke around your computer, passive smoking can kill !

[Aceyducey]

I've watched a roof collapse & a load of water fall on around 3 PCs & bits...that wasn't healthy for them either.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

[Sim]

Interestingly, my experience in PC tech support showed that water is nowhere near as fatal for computers, as coffee is. Particularly laptops !

Assuming the computer doesn't immediately short out and fry some important component from the moisture - turning the computer off (and unpluggin it from the power !), mopping up as much moisture as you can, and then leaving it to dry for 12-24 hours will generally see you good to go again.

Coffee, on the other hand, is just evil, gets into everything, dries into a hard crusty shell, and seizes stuff up to the point of uselessness.

So, now that we know we shouldn't smoke around our innocent computers and force their fragile lungs to endure the horrors of passive smoking, we should also now be aware that hard drinks such as coffee are simply no good for our precious babies, and so you really should take more care around them. Feed them well, give them a clean healthy environment to grow up in, and they will thrive and go on to become valued members of society.

[GreatPig]

Sim,

Take-away beef vindaloo is pretty bad too.

GP

[mmerlin]

Which is just one of the reasons that modern hard drives are in sealed containers - any particles getting into the drive unit could potentially get stuck between the drive heads and the platters (yes, they are that close together) - and the result would not be pretty.

Let geoffw's experience be a lesson for everyone - don't smoke around your computer, passive smoking can kill !
Back in the late 80's when I was at uni, one of our lecturers told us that the heads on a hard drive are so close the platter which is spinning so fast it is comparable to flying a jumbo jet at 50 metres, with dust and smoke particles being mountains.

[geoffw]

Interestingly, my experience in PC tech support showed that water is nowhere near as fatal for computers, as coffee is. Particularly laptops !Then maybe I should drink chardonnay at work instead of coffee?

[Thommo]

Originally Posted by Sim
Interestingly, my experience in PC tech support showed that water is nowhere near as fatal for computers, as coffee is. Particularly laptops !

All sorts of things can be revived if simply dunked in clean water. If in salty water, remove power and thoroughly soak in clean water. Leave it in the bucket of clean water till you're home.

I clean my Coke venders with a Gurnie if they have been in a dirty environment and simply allow to dry for a few days. No probs!

Thommo

[Sim]

I'm guessing you turn the power off these things before dunking them in the water ? Or do you find the sparks help clean them :D

[ChrisOs]

GeoffW,
I am also "in IT" and am just a couple of years younger than you. I started as a computer operator when I was 17 and have had various roles since then.

I don't smoke and never have, thankfully. My observations regarding IT and smoking are similar to yours. Quite a few IT people smoked in the 70's and 80's and it was allowed in the general office space, be it a cubicle, or open space right next to my own area. I didn't like it at the time, but my tolerance of smoking over the years has now dropped to about zero, so there is no way I would be able to put up with it now. Being in an elevator with smokers who have just finished a smoke is bad enough.

I have been fortunate to work in Australia, England and the US and the changes in acceptance of smoking has been similar in all three countries, albeit at different times. For instance, when I left England in the early 80's, smoking was not allowed in the work place, yet in the US it was. There may have been different laws in different states, I am not sure. But by the time I had spent three years in the US, smoking was no longer allowed in the workplace. A separate "smoking room" was set up - this was in Massachusetts and going outside during winter to smoke would have been suicidal! Even colder than Canberra! I would say that Australia was and maybe still is, leading the way in relation to concerns about passive smoking and "protecting" non smokers.

Sorry - off topic.

Regards,
CHrisOs

[Fester]

I work in a power station control room. Many years ago we had a fairly nasty fire in a cable tunnel and the consequent deposits from the burning PVC sheathing on the cables coated everything. All the affected electronic equipment including cards, components, keyboards, etc, and this included the mainframe and control equipment was soaked in Trichloroethane (Genclean). Genclean is now a banned substance where I work due to health concerns! But back to the topic in question, when I first started in the power industry probably about 90% smoked, me included. Over the last 10 years things were starting to get a bit difficult. Smoking was banned in the control rooms and equipment rooms, then banned under any roof or in any enclosed area. So for me working on a control panel in the control room, and I work 12 hour shifts, I had to get someone to relieve me while I went out for a smoke. About 4 years ago work were offering free patches, so I gave it a go and haven't had a smoke since and now I look back at all those wasted dollars. I was spending around $4000 a year when I gave up (I was a heavy smoker, 50 -60 a day!). When I look back at all the money I have spent on women, booze, smokes, flying and computers over the years I could probably have had another dozen or more properties by now! But it has been fun!! :D

[Sim]

The rest you can give up Fester - but don't give up the computers ! :D

[geoffw]

Smoking was banned in the control rooms and equipment rooms, then banned under any roof or in any enclosed area. So for me working on a control panel in the control room, and I work 12 hour shifts, I had to get someone to relieve me while I went out for a smoke. In about 1978, we would work on paper at our desks, and when we had something to work on, we would go to the screens- the VDUs- an a room for the terminals.

A sign was posted outside the room, "No smoking in the terminal room".

Somebody had written underneath,

"It causes terminal illness".

[geoffw]

I have been fortunate to work in Australia, England and the US and the changes in acceptance of smoking has been similar in all three countries, albeit at different times. For instance, when I left England in the early 80's, smoking was not allowed in the work place, yet in the US it was.Chris,

Agreed.

I went to work in the UK in 1988 (I got married on the way over, but that's another story). In Australia, it was still common for people to smoke at their desks. In England, smokers could smoke indoors, but only in the passageways outside the office. When I came back to Australia in 1990, smokers had to go outside.

Attitudes have changed substantially, and for the better.

(That was not long past an era when it was socially OK to drink and drive, as long as you didn't get caught).

[astroboy]

Yep, I used to smoke at my desk, I was 20 something, I was in IT and mainframes occupied a rather not so small room. Thru a number of stop/starts I havent smoked for ~4-5yrs after having a 7 year break prior. Go figure.
I still work in the mainframe areana.
A "big one" ,IBM z-series, is about the size of your average fridge, though black with a copper band rather than white & this will run your average bank or insurance co., add another for DR and you're set.

8-). Sub 200 MIPS comes in a convenient 'bar fridge' size.

astroboy

[Lplate]

I can remember people smoking in shops and in cinemas. When I commenced work there were smoking appliances everywhere. Wherever you went there was the odor of fags and often, the burn marks to go with it.

It is a tragedy that tobacco companies are allowed to package their products in 'starter' packs to encourage smoking by children. Tobacco should not be on public display for sale, it should be kept under the counter.

I smoked for many years but gave it away. Smokers worry about the risk of lung cancer, but emphysema, COAD and stroke can be crueler disorders attributable to smoking.