Tuesday, March 23, 2010

New Jersey moves to ban breathing

New Jersey Bill to Ban “E-Cigarettes” Use in Public Passes another Hurdle

In an attempt to ban cigarette simulators, a New Jersey Senate committee has decided to ban public "smoking". "Smoking would be defined as any process of inhaling tobacco and exhaling smoke, or any other substance or vapor that can be inhaled and exhaled."

The question arises: Would the bill cover fetuses, who are inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid? Or is in-utero activity considered private even if the mother is in a public place?

8 comments:

Kathy said...

I'm guessing they just legislated mass self-suffocation, since air is a "substance or vapor that can be inhaled and exhaled." ;-)

OperationCounterstrike said...

Remedial biology alert:

Fetuses do not "inhale" amniotic fluid! First of all, they don't take anything in through the lungs, only through the umbilicus, and secondly, they don't take in amniotic fluid at all.

Kathy said...

Ok, nobody take medical advice from OC!

Fetuses *do* inhale amniotic fluid. If they didn't, how could they possibly get meconium aspiration syndrome and/or meconium in their lungs? If they didn't, why do babies born by C-section have more lung problems (not to mention just plain sounding more gurgle-y) due to amniotic fluid that wasn't squeezed out of their lungs as they passed through the vagina? If they didn't, why do so many doctors and even midwives routinely suction babies' mouths and noses?

Fetuses have been videotaped on ultrasound "practice breathing," and you can see the intake of amniotic fluid into their lungs. Obviously, the lungs haven't expanded as they do after the baby has born, and the baby does not receive oxygen from these respiratory movements, but they do inhale amniotic fluid into their lungs.

Christina Dunigan said...

OC, how can you be so ill-informed? It's common knowledge that fetuses both swallow amniotic fluid (more if it's been sweetened, less if it's been given a bitter taste -- a fact that's been used to correct conditions of too little or too much amniotic fluid), and breathe it in and out.

That's not how they get their oxygen, but they do it nonetheless.

Christina Dunigan said...

Here we go:

"Amniotic fluid also helps your baby develop his lungs. While in the womb your baby practices breathing by breathing in and out the water in the amniotic sac. The baby swallows and inhales the amniotic fluid and replaces the volume in the amniotic sac by urinating and exhaling the liquid."

OperationCounterstrike said...

OK, what I meant was, they don't get OXYGEN by inhaling amniotic fluid. That was the subject of the original post: whether restrictions on "breathing vapors" would apply to fetuses.

Thx for correction though.

Kathy said...

It wasn't just vapors, but "substances." Of course, this reminds me of that Penn & Teller episode of Bull$#*t when they took on environmentalists. Towards the end, they started a petition drive at an environmental gathering to ban dihydrogen monoxide. One of the "dangers" of this substance was that it is used in the productions of plastics and styrofoam; and after it is used in these processes, it is found in streams and rivers; also, it could be deadly if inhaled. Of course, di-hydrogen monoxide is H2O, water, which of course *is* a deadly substance if inhaled. :-)

Anonymous said...

My mother, whose two sisters lived in New Jersey (one passed away, the other moved away), used to have an expression that would now be appropriate: "Excuse me if I breathe!"