AviationBanter - View Single Post

**Mxsmanic**

writes:

1) No one becomes "immediately incapacitated", whatever that means,
from smoking.

A heart attack is immediately incapacitating, and smoking dramatically
increases the likelihood of a heart attack (something that the FAA ignores).

2) If smoking were "immediately incapacitating" from an altitude change,
every ski resort would be littered with bodies.

High-altitude ski resorts have their share of problems with people who develop
altitude sickness, and many people without frank symptoms of illness still are
far from being in top form at altitude.

3) Everyone becomes oxygen starved as altitude increases. For the average
heavy smoker that will happen at a lower altitude than for the average
non-smoker.

Yes. And so will the consequences.

4) Oxygen starvation doesn't result in medical problems, it causes
phyisological problems that are eliminated by increased oxygen.

Same thing. Not all of the problems can be fixed by increased oxygen, but
usually that helps.