HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Smoking is banned in US public parks

Can you tell the forest from the trees?

Re: Exchange Rates

Confused in Pattaya

Today cigarettes, tomorrow sky diving

Rat problem could be boon to tourism

Eating meat and smoking

Meat and cholesterol

Smoking is banned in US public parks

Editor;

Regarding the 14 May excellent letter by Dr. M in response to the 7 May letter by John Arnone: In the last paragraph Dr. M questions why smokers cannot comprehend that second hand smoke is a problem for nonsmokers. I would like to answer that based on my many negative and hostile confrontations with smokers. Some are just uneducated and oblivious. Some deny and rationalize that second hand smoke is not harmful and if outside the wind will blow it away. Most are just plain inconsiderate and don’t care.

The 21 May letter by Ken refers to smoking in a fictional park. Is that why local and state governments across the U.S. have banned smoking in real parks?

Lawrence Remington
Bangkok

Can you tell the forest from the trees?

Editor;

I will refrain from using names, but most readers will know of whom I speak. When will people realize that the fumes from local trucks and buses cause more long term problems to the human lungs than if everyone in Pattaya smoked ten packs of cigarettes a day?

I certainly don’t want someone smoking next to me while I eat, but having a smoke in a bar with a drink, why not, or having a smoke in an open park.

If you don’t like meat, don’t eat it, but I have seen the results of eating only ‘rabbit food’ and no thanks. So you might have to pay a little more in health premiums, so what. If you cannot afford it, stay at home inside and clip coupons.

If one wants to become a productive element to Pattaya society, get off your butt sitting on a Beach Road bench and donate time to the orphanage, instead of writing inane comments in an effort to change people.

Hyde Parke
Pattaya

PS - I don’t smoke and I am not a ‘used to smoke’ person, but it is your choice... just be considerate of others.

Re: Exchange Rates

Dear Sir;

I read with interest, and some sadness, the letter entitled “Exchange Rates” in which the author in the UK stated he would have to wait until the rate reached 60 baht/pound until he could live here. I suspect he will be waiting until hell freezes over before that happens.

The reality is quite simple. It is not the ‘strength’ of the baht that is the problem, it is simply the continuing weakening of the UK pound - and the euro for that matter. The current political problems have nothing to do with it. The Thailand economy is basically sound, with no real balance of payments or debt problems and is also a major exporter in the region, particularly of rice. Taking all these factors together, you have the basis of a stable currency. That is the key.

The pound, euro and US dollar are all subject to the whims and ‘confidence’ of both the international money markets and speculators and there is now very little confidence about. Hence the decline against the baht, and it will almost certainly get worse before it gets better I’m sure.

Obviously inflation has occurred in Pattaya, the same as anywhere in the world, but with the UK currency in steady decline and the prices of food, goods and services here rising all the time, the outlook is grim.

Speaking from a personal point of view, when I settled in Pattaya four years ago the pound/baht ration was 71. Now it is 46 and still falling. This is really a calamity and has led me to conclude that I will have to up sticks and leave, particularly as the requirements of the retirement visa remain constant at 800,000 baht in the bank or 65,000 baht a month income or a combination that includes both. Add to that the almost zero interest now received on savings and matters only get worse.

The tragedy is that I have my own house, lead a quiet life and could easily live on less than 65,000 baht a month. However, the authorities say that is what I must have. No wonder the Thais still think we are all rich.

I also believe, rather sadly, that the current troubles have also contributed to my decision to go back to the UK. Whilst it is not for me to comment on Thai politics, the way things have unfolded on both sides has left me with a very different view of this country in which I was very happy until recently.

I suspect others are feeling the pain as well and I’m certainly not whinging, just facing up to the realities of a global crash and a country divided, over both of which I have no control.

Sad Ex Pat

Confused in Pattaya

Editor;

Thank you for many interesting and many completely nutty emails. Not sure into what category this one falls. With all the recent events in Bangkok, I wonder why no yellow shirt leaders were arrested for the airport closures in 2008. It seems to be a taboo subject, why?

RW

Today cigarettes, tomorrow sky diving

Editor;

It seems that Lawrence Remington and Dr. M. (May 14 Mailbag), did not understand the point of my letter. My letter of the previous week was regarding government and citizens wishing to control others colluding to create more and more laws, but all they apparently got from it was the smoking issue, which I only used as an example.

I really didn’t want to get into the smoking issue any longer as it would appear that we have hammered that to death. And besides, how can one refute solid facts such as; “smokers take more sick days off than non-smokers to the point that some companies do not hire smokers at all” (Lawrence Remington) or that second hand smoke is “poisoning the air for several hundred meters, depending on the wind conditions”. (Dr. M.)

It’s amazing how movements such as the anti-smoking movement progress. Initially, non-smokers simply wanted to eliminate smoking in enclosed spaces. Now employers are not hiring smokers any longer and second hand smoke has graduated to the level of nuclear fallout.

The point of my letter was to warn people that when they go to public officials to enlist aid in restricting the habits of fellow citizens, they are opening Pandora’s Box. Yesterday it was smoking, today it is sugar and cholesterol and tomorrow it might be hamburgers, milk shakes and sky diving.

John Arnone
Yasothon

Rat problem could be boon to tourism

Dear Editor,

There is a temple in India where rats are fed and held in high esteem. As Pattaya is trying to attract Indian tourists, why not build a rat temple on the beach where these cute furry fellows can be fed and pampered? A rat infestation is not a problem, it is an opportunity! Pattaya needs to look at the bright side of its problems and turn them into positives. Pattaya is constantly trying to create new Guinness Book records. How about something unique like most rats sitting on a sunbathing tourist? Cheer up Pattaya. Rodents can become a vital part of the tourism picture.

Regards,
Bill Turner
California

Eating meat and smoking

Editor;

Loathe as I am to contradict Eric Bahrt for fear of the vituperous replies that will surely come my way, I wonder if he is aware of the latest large study that shows that eating red meat does not in fact increase the risk of heart disease. It is in fact eating processed meat that has now been found to increase your chances of heart disease by up to 40%.

So go out and chow down on that big juicy steak, just stay away from the sausages, bacon and Bologna!

Regards,
Freddie Clark

Meat and cholesterol

Dear Editor,

I always enjoy reading Eric Bahrt’s letters in the Pattaya Mail and Bangkok Post, and usually agree with most of his ideas. However, some of his assertions in the last Pattaya Mail (21 May) are a bit off the mark.

If insurance companies decide to test prospective clients for cholesterol levels and base insurance rates on these findings, that is certainly their right. Certainly their actuaries can show statistics to justify these higher rates.

However, to make a one to one correlation between meat consumption and high cholesterol levels is a bit off the wall. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the subject, but what I have read seems to indicate that eating meat has little to do with it. Some people by nature have high cholesterol levels, others do not. People whom I have known with cholesterol problems have had little success in lowering their levels by reducing meat intake. Other people I have known are big meat eaters and they have acceptable cholesterol levels. I personally eat meat every day, and for years I have eaten at least a dozen eggs a week. Lucky me - my cholesterol level has always been on the low side.

If he has not yet, Eric Bahrt should read the Brunch Section of the Bangkok Post (23 May). In the Health Column, a number of health authorities debunk the old idea that consumption of saturated fats leads to high cholesterol levels, heart disease, and diabetes. They present evidence that the real culprits are refined carbohydrates, namely sugar and white bread.

But, whom is one to believe? It seems that every once in a while some authority comes out with new findings as to what is good for us and what is not. However, once again, the relationship between meat consumption and high cholesterol levels is not all that definite.

R. L. Holt
Chiang Mai

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
are also published here.