Secondhand Smoke

It is 12 noon, already 87 degrees, and sunny here in El Dorado, Kansas. But I am not outside enjoying it as I would like to be. I am inside my trailer with all the windows closed because someone somewhere in the vicinity has started a fire already. I can’t see where the smoke is coming from but I can smell it.

So let me take this time to write a little about the effects of wood smoke versus cigarette smoke. Here are a few facts gleaned from an article on the Families for Clean Air website. You can read the full page here. http://www.familiesforcleanair.org/health/health4/

• The lifetime cancer risk of wood smoke is twelve times greater than the risk from a similar amount of cigarette smoke.

• The hazardous free radicals inhaled from wood smoke are chemically active 40 times longer in your body than inhaled cigarette smoke.

It took a long time for the dangers of secondhand smoke from cigarettes to be fully acknowledged and acted on. But now those of us who want to avoid it and still enjoy public places can. Wood smoke is the next frontier for secondhand smoke from my perspective. Those of us who want to enjoy camping in the great outdoors without inhaling wood smoke can’t under current circumstances where every campsite has a fire ring. And I am kidding myself thinking I am protected in my trailer from the effects of this smoke. Wood smoke particulates are so small they can seep into even the most well insulated home. Those of us in RVs don’t stand a chance. Campers in tents are out of luck.

Here are a few solution suggestions for addressing the dangers of secondhand wood smoke.

• Create campfire-free zones in campgrounds much like the no smoking zones of old. In the campground we are currently in there are several camping loops. One or more could be designated campfire-free. It would be interesting to see how many campers would choose these areas.

• Create a communal fire pit area and mark it clearly so those who want to camp away from it can.

• Ban campfires in any campgrounds of a certain density. In one campground where we stayed recently, the fire ring for the adjacent site was less than six feet from our trailer. Thankfully no one was camping at that site that night. We only stayed one night for this reason. It was a state park and tightly packed with sites, each with its own fire ring.

Any other solutions?