Smoking
Smoking, primarily of tobacco, is an activity that is practiced by some 1.1 billion people.
Smoking can be a social activity which serves as a reinforcement of social structures and is part of the cultural rituals of many and diverse social and ethnic groups. Anti-smoking can provoke reactions of smokers against what was, and often still is, perceived as an assault on personal freedom. O seeks to find a happy medium by providing designated smoking areas.
Designated Smoking Areas
Designated smoking areas will be identified by a sign and marking on the digital map. All representatives are aware of the location(s), so please feel free to ask.
Public health
O is trying to deter people from smoking with our non- smokers. Passive smoking, or secondhand smoking, which affects people in the immediate vicinity of smokers, is a major reason for our enforcement of smoking restrictions. No smoking in our indoor public places, such as cafes, workshops.
In addition, for the prevention of fire hazards, smoking is not allowed on any trail or other area of protection.
Plant health
The smoke itself is particulate matter that will accumulate on the surface of plants. As it does, the plants will have more and more trouble breathing. The pores (stoma) on the leaf surface can become clogged with things like dusts. The tars in smoke will also block these pores. This coating may also make protective chemicals produced by the plant less effective. Thus, resistance to disease may be reduced. Cigarette smoke is also rich in carbon monoxide and low in oxygen. The plants may have difficulty living in an atmosphere very rich in carbon monoxide, as it is reactive with some enzymes.
Another issue is that of genetic mutation. As you may know, the sequence or order of the bases of DNA carry information. This information is used to make proteins that perform the chemistry of life. If the information is changed by mutations that change the order of the bases, then a different protein is made. Usually mutations cause changes that are bad to the protein and it won't work anymore. This could cause that cell to die. If it was in a critical gene in a seed, then the seed may not grow to become a plant. Plants don't have the cancer genes that animal cells carry and wouldn't have cancer genes (oncogenes) turned on by these mutations.
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