This is the list of Frequently Asked Questions for the alt.support.non-smokers newsgroup.

1. I still don't have a smoke-free workplace. Who can I contact for help?
2. I live in an apartment building, and cigarette smoke is coming into my suite because of people smoking elsewhere in the building. What can I do about it?
3. Who was Wayne MacLaren? How old was he when he died, and what did he die of?
4. Why does cigarette smoke stink so much?
5. Would any sane person want to spend the last couple of years of their life with emphysema?
6. Who was Heather Crowe?
7. Why does alt.support.non-smokers attract so many addicts^H^H^H^H^H^H^Htrolls?
8. How can I respond to trolls?
9. Do trollers have any consideration whatsoever for human beings?

1. I still don't have a smoke-free workplace. Who can I contact for help?
   • Eastern U.S.: Action on Smoking and Health, http://ash.org
   • Western U.S.: Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, http://www.no-smoke.org
   • Eastern Canada: Non-Smokers Rights Association, http://www.nsra-adnf.ca/
   • Western Canada: Action on Smoking and Health, http://www.ash.ca
   • British Columbia, Canada: AIRSPACE Action on Smoking and Health, http://airspace.bc.ca
   • United Kingdom: Action on Smoking and Health, http://www.ash.org.uk
   • Elsewhere: Try http://airspace.bc.ca/component/option,com_weblinks/catid,68/Itemid,43/ or http://tobacco.org.

2. I live in an apartment building, and cigarette smoke is coming into my suite because of people smoking elsewhere in the building. What can I do about it?

   Two U.S. states, Massachusetts and Utah, have passed legislation that mandates smoke-free apartment buildings. (The text of Utah's law can be found at http://www.le.state.ut.us/~1997/bills/sbillint/sb0049s3.htm.) Communities in Florida and California have passed local regulations mandating this.

   In 1992, the Michigan Attorney General's office announced that it is legal for apartments to provide smoke-free buildings, or to prohibit smoking in entire communities. No [Michigan] State or Federal law prohibits it. Apartment Management companies have refused to provide this because, they say, that no one asks for smoke-free buildings.

   But it wasn't enough. The apartment communities have ignored the ruling and refused to provide what is an absolute basic need for many people.

   If you are bothered by second-hand smoke coming from neighbouring apartments, you should:

   • Inform your landlord.
   • Whenever you go looking for apartments, let the management know that you want (or need) a smoke-free building.
   • Write your State Representative and your Congressman

   People have the right to breath clean air in their homes, even apartments. But we must speak out, and demand it. We must inform the apartment management companies that we require smoke-free buildings, and if they refuse to listen, then we must demand legislation that forces them to provide it.

   The more people who speak up, they sooner they will start listening. Even apartment residents have a right to clean air in our homes, including on balconies and patios.

3. Who was Wayne MacLaren? How old was he when he died, and what did he die of?

   Wayne MacLaren was a model that was used for the Marlboro Man. He died of lung cancer at the age of 51.

4. Why does cigarette smoke stink so much?

   Nicotine is an irritant; one of its other commercial uses is for rat or insect poison. Cigarette smoke contains a long list of other chemicals (see http://www.healthplanning.gov.bc.ca/ttdr/index.html for a list of what's in major brands sold in Canada). One of them is ammonia, which serves the purpose of increasing the speed of metabolization of nicotine; in other words, it gives cigarettes a more powerful "hit".

5. Would any sane person want to spend the last couple of years of their life with emphysema?

   No.

6. Who was Heather Crowe?

   Heather Crowe worked as a waitress for 40 years in smoke-filled bars. She died of terminal lung cancer in 2006, at the age of 61. She never was a smoker. A park in Ottawa, Canada has been named after her. See The Heather Crowe Campaign for more information.

7. Why does alt.support.non-smokers attract so many addicts^H^H^H^H^H^H^Htrolls?

   Cigarettes are one of the most addictive drugs on the planet. Any demographic study of smokers done in North America or Western Europe will show that their income is below average. So, when the price of cigarettes goes up, they have little choice but to pay more, and spend less money on food, clothing, entertainment, and transportation. It's dangerous to stand between an addict and his or her drug.

   Some general discussion of what motivates trolls can be found at http://www.firelily.com/support/depression/trolls.html or http://www.faqs.org/faqs/sierra-club/faq/ (see the section on "brown spam").

   There is also a class of people who have an interest in the well-being of the tobacco industry. Not just stockholders, employees, and tobacco farmers, but also tobacco retailers and employees of charities funded by tobacco companies. One definition of the word "libertarian" is: "Someone who tries to make you believe that what's in his best interest is what's in everyone else's best interest also."

8. How can I respond to trolls?

   One way to improve the signal/noise ratio is to use a killfile. Any worthwhile news reader program has a "kill" or "filter" facility. Use it.

   If a troll contains material blatantly contrary to "support.non-smokers", you can try complaining to the troller's ISP. For example, if the troller's "From" address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , forward the troll to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; for This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it becomes This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . (Also try This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for the latter.)

   Note that some posters to newsgroups munge their email address, so be sure to have your newsgroup reader set on "full headers", and then look in the headers for an "X-Complaints-To:" entry. For example, postings by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it have the line "X-Complaints-To: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ". If this entry is not present, look at the "Path:" entry. The ISP where the posting originated will usually be the second-from-righmost entry in this line.

   Postings sometimes contain an "X-Originating-Host" header which is useful. For example, if the address is 199.60.85.7, an nslookup on this address gives h857.vic.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca. This is recognizable as a Canadian government computer. A complaint to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it should be taken seriously.

9. Do trollers have any consideration whatsoever for human beings?

   Apparently not. Here's an excerpt from a troll by Audrey Silk ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ): "Don't force your kids on me. Nothing worse than crying babies in public places and obnoxious toddlers and little kids whining and running around the place while their parents think it's cute. Keep them home until they can behave."