paulhunterjones

If you have not yet heard the weather figures for the past month are in; July’s awful heat broke the 1930s dust bowl record. The U.S. records for weather extremes are based upon precise calculations for drought, heavy rainfall, unusual temperatures, and storms. July’s average temperature was 77.6 degrees. This average temperature eclipsed the old record by .2 degrees according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. From my point of view if you live in New York City (NYC) or another large urban area – such as Chicago – every day in July was uncomfortably hot. The challenge we faced was to find some respite from the heat while not investing our life’s savings into the effort.

New Yorkers used a variety of tactics to combat July’s heat. Much to the dismay of energy company managers some people constantly ran their home air conditioners even when they were not home. This tactic stressed the local power grid almost to the point of breaking. During lunch time many workers opted to order their food and ate in to take advantage of their air-conditioned offices. Not many people were strolling around in the heat in search of that perfect lunch.

Complaints about City’s mass transit system seemed to fritter away in the oppressive heat. Many people decided to forego the fast-moving and expensive cabs for the trains and buses that offered cheap and plentiful air conditioning. If there was no rush to get some place fast mass transit was the preferred method of travel. Riders never like delays in mass transit service. However, as long as the air conditioning was pumping out cool air any short delay was more than manageable. July was just that hot.

The more fortunate or, perhaps, adventurous New Yorkers frequented the City’s beaches or travelled to rural parts of the State. During the summer months urban areas become islands of heat. In the evening legions of city New York apartment dwellers exited their hot and stuffy apartments to set up temporary residence in front of their buildings. Fire hydrants remained open and in use by kids at all hours of the day. Despite the heat the mood seemed festive.

NYC has a resource that some citizens failed to fully take advantage of in their quest for relief from July’s heat; its many public parks. In a desert of concrete, mental and glass the many lush and expansive parks offer a respite not only from the heat but from the stress of everyday life. The parks also play a role in managing the mostly negative consequences of urban heat island effect. Park vegetation moderates higher urban temperatures through shading and evapotranspiration. Larger parks enhance local wind patterns through the park breeze which spreads cooler park air to adjacent neighborhoods. It has been documented that the urban heat island effect adversely affects weather patterns. NYC parks mitigate local precipitation abnormalities. Studies have shown that the vegetation in parks helps reduce the air-borne pollutants that urban areas produce. The parks serve everyone’s interests.

I have not met a person, New Yorker or foreigner that has not heard of Central Park. If you are from Queens you probably spent time in Flushing Meadows Park. Brooklyn has its Prospect Park while the Bronx has The Bronx Zoo. All of the NYC boroughs have their own botanical gardens.

New York City Park Advocates (NYCPA) is a not-for-profit advocacy watch dog organization that supports the city’s parks and open spaces. NYCPA on their website correctly states the importance of parks and opens spaces for New Yorkers;

“Parks, open spaces and public recreation programs play an important role in both the physical and mental health of New Yorkers.”

All year round the City’s parks offer a wide variety of sporting and relaxing activities, including by not limited to, swimming, bike riding, tennis, all team sports, playgrounds and nature walks. Properly maintaining so many parks is a herculean task. NYCPA is always standing ready to advocate on behalf of the public and the parks. The watchdog group constantly pressures the City to provide adequate security at its parks. In 2011 the crime rate in the parks had dropped, therefore, the City relaxed on providing security at all of its parks. The larger parks usually have a permanent police or security presence. Yet, many of the smaller parks that only serve the immediate neighborhood are the ones that require greater security. This year crime in the City’s parks has increased.

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I am not a smoker and believe that no one should smoke. I can easily list 20 reasons why someone should not smoke. I cannot think of one reason for why someone should smoke. Some of my friends are smokers. They rarely smoke in my presence. If they do it is after they have asked for my permission to do so. I do not believe that it is my place to lecture them about the dangers of smoking. In my opinion they have the right to smoke, if they choose to do so.

In recent years the tobacco industry has been vilified for causing an assortment of health problems. The tobacco companies have been dogged by a variety of lawsuits brought by smokers who became ill as a result of smoking. Local municipalities have placed steep excise taxes on the sale of cigarettes which drives the cost of pack into the stratosphere. Still, the leading tobacco companies manage to stay profitable. The New Tobacco Atlas estimates that revenue from the global tobacco industry is likely to approach a half trillion U.S. dollars annually. The Atlas goes on to state that in 2010, the joint profits of the six leading tobacco companies was $35.1 billion dollars, equal to the combined profits of Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and McDonald’s in the same year. If Big Tobacco were a country, it would have a gross domestic product (GDP) of countries like Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and Venezuela. Even during economic downturns the world’s major tobacco companies are positioned to remain profitable. It is an understatement to say that tobacco is big business. The fact still remains that smoking is hazardous to your health, profits or no profits.

According to the American Lung Association over 392,000 people die from tobacco related diseases each year. Thousands more survive years of smoking only to suffer the horrible medical consequences of having smoked. Years of scientific and medical studies have conclusively established that smoking is a slow killer. Smoking not only causes lung cancer it leads to other forms of cancer. Smokers run a greater risk of developing asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and emphysema. Because smoking is so hazardous the U.S. Surgeon General requires general warnings placed on cigarette packs. I am sure that everyone has seen a graphic advertisement urging people to quit smoking. It must be asked why people continue to smoke.

By exercising their police powers municipalities have banned smoking in public areas to get people to stop smoking. Even private businesses prohibit their workers from smoking on company property. Nowadays if you are a smoker you are likely to be ostracized and shunned. I do not believe that smokers should be discriminated against in any manner.

I cannot understand why anyone in 2012 would start to smoke. For those people who do smoke, there are ample reasons why they should immediately stop. Yet, quitting smoking which is better known as “kicking the habit” is not easy to do. Besides causing a physiological dependency smoking also results in a physical dependence. Research long ago ended the debate over the addictive qualities of nicotine, a drug naturally found in tobacco. The U.S. Surgeon General has concluded that nicotine has similar pharmacologic and behavioral characteristics to cocaine and heroin addictions. People who try to quit smoking actually go through withdrawal symptoms and uncontrollable cravings. It is fair to say that kicking the habit is infinitely more difficult to do than smoking that first cigarette. One cannot quit smoking as easily as turning of a light.

For as long as I can remember my mother smoked. I believed that she developed lung cancer because of her smoking. She passed away in 2006 after refusing further medical treatment to eradicate the disease. She and I often talked about the dangers of smoking and the need for her to stop. She simply acknowledged the dangers of smoking and said she would one day quit. She tried various methods and tactics to quit but was always came up short of achieving her goal.

Would talk with one of your friends who smokes about the need to quit?

My good friend, who I will call Peter, is a smoker. A few years ago Peter would have been described as a chain smoker. He is married with two children in college. His wife works in the hospitality industry. Though Peter and I stand at the complete opposite ends of the political spectrum our friendship has endured for years and seems to get stronger with each passing year. We do business with each other and interchange clients and customers. Every other Saturday we meet at a sports bar in Manhattan for a beer or two and to watch a sporting event. Peter’s wife has repeatedly asked me to help her husband quit smoking. I always told her that I would but never did. I am not sure why I never talked to Peter about smoking.

Towards the end of July I read an article posted on Huffington Post. The piece was entitled “How to Fearlessly Quit Smoking”. It appeared on July 27, 2012 in the Healthy Living section. The article was written by Jonathan Alpert, a licensed psychotherapists, who is an advice columnist and author. Mr. Alpert is highly respected and is a well known for offering no-nonsense advice. I have read many articles about how to stop smoking. “How to Fearlessly Quit Smoking” left out the doom slaying medical-tech babble about the health risks of smoking and instead offered practical ways for quitting.

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