News, If smoking is so bad for you, who still does it? (treat, death)

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by italianbluesboy

I quit smoking 7 years ago because it has a white trash/redneck stigma, and most middle and upper class people have quit smoking. I felt guilty blowing smoke on other people, and my friends and familiy told me I smelled bad.

But why is it that it has become a poor people's habit? How can they afford it? When you see a fast food worker on a smoke break behind the restaurant, I wonder how can they afford a 40 dollar a carton habit?

The smokers really do look like fools huddled up in terrible weather smoking outside, because they can't smoke indoors, spending big bucks on such a silly habit, with bad smells radiating off of them. I know - I was once one of those fools.

What's most silly about it is that they/we allowed ourselves to be herded outside without so much sniffle. Why nobody was willing to fight back is beyond me.

[Aptor hours]

Originally Posted by stillkit

What's most silly about it is that they/we allowed ourselves to be herded outside without so much sniffle. Why nobody was willing to fight back is beyond me.

Lets think about that one for a little bit Hmmmmm.....Hmmmm.....Hmmmm

[italianbluesboy]

Originally Posted by stillkit

What's most silly about it is that they/we allowed ourselves to be herded outside without so much sniffle. Why nobody was willing to fight back is beyond me.

I didn't feel like fighting about it because, even when I smoked, I knew I had no right to blow stinky cigarette or cigar smoke on other people. I knew it wasn't my right to fill up public indoor places with bad smelling smoke. So I sheepishly went outside.

[tijlover]

The Economist recently had an article about the greatest danger to the world: the aging population worldwide. And here we are trying to get people to live longer!

And to avert this upcoming tragedy, I can see it coming, one reversal after another:

--cartons of cigarettes handed out free to anyone over 40
--stiff fines for seniors using their seatbelts
--fines for those over 50 jogging or bicycling around their neighborhoods
--no senior discounts in restaurants unless the food is extremely unhealthy
--Mandatory death counseling

Back at the turn of the last century, the average lifespan of someone in the U.S. was 47. I'm now 59, 12 years into greed. There are insects who only live 24 hours. Imagine what they think, during those 24 hours, of seeing someone at 40, 50, or 60 years of age! They must have a good, hearty laugh at the end of their short lives! Why! Why! Why!

Americans are never happier when they're on a witch-hunt. Just look at all the witch-hunts that have been carried out over the years in this country?
Think of all the disrupted lives during the Mccarthy Pinko/Commie witchhunt period of the 40's and 50's. And the smokers, deadbeat dads, sex offenders, and, the witchhunt has already started on obesity and poor eating habits.

And there is no stopping the zealots when they step on the gas, not even after hearing ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead!

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by Charles22

Just don't do it anywhere I can smell it.

Just stop and think when the nuclear holocaust arrives. Just think of some of the wonderful smells you'll be subjected to that will make cigarette smoke smell like perfume:

--Burning hair and flesh
--Decomposing bodies/dead animals
--Ruptured oil & gas lines
--Burning plastic from cars on fire
--Broken sewer lines
--Uncollected trash

At this late stage of the inevitable extinction of the human race, here we go looking at leaves, ignoring the trees and the forest.

It's never too late to shorten your life span. I conduct Start Smoking classes every Tuesday of the month.

[sparksharp]

The anti-smoking Nazi's have taken over! And it's such a paradox for the population at large and our own government as well. The government and the population at large seem to enjoy the tax revenue we smokers provide! As a matter of fact, how would our government replace our valuable tax dollars if smoking was banned altogether? They would indeed have a serious problem on their hands!

Personally...I say we just make smoking completely illegal and let it go black market! That way we can cut the government totally out of the picture with taxes, and smokes would be cheaper on the black market. Let the anti-smoking Nazi's figure out a way to make up for the lost tax revenue! And meanwhile...while they're thinking about it...they can breath the exhaust infiltrated air that abounds from our transportation addictions. SUV anyone?

The other thing that really burns my butt about all these anti-smoking laws that have been passed, is that it takes the decision away from the individual business owner. Shouldn't the person paying the bills on their own business be able to make the rules for their establishment? Why should that be a government decision stripping the individual tax payer and business owner of his rights? Frankly, I see that as an infringement on our freedoms.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by italianbluesboy

I quit smoking 7 years ago because it has a white trash/redneck stigma, and most middle and upper class people have quit smoking. I felt guilty blowing smoke on other people, and my friends and familiy told me I smelled bad.

But why is it that it has become a poor people's habit? How can they afford it? When you see a fast food worker on a smoke break behind the restaurant, I wonder how can they afford a 40 dollar a carton habit?

The smokers really do look like fools huddled up in terrible weather smoking outside, because they can't smoke indoors, spending big bucks on such a silly habit, with bad smells radiating off of them. I know - I was once one of those fools.

Re-read what you just said about smokes costing so much...and then tell me again how people who smoke have no money. Talk about inconsistencies! We smokers are a niche market at this point...and we have money to spend! One might even say we have money to burn!

[sparksharp]

My Mother never smoked...never drank...was a vegetarian from the time she was 50 to the time she died at age 91...and where did it get her in the end? The last 10 years of her life was spent in a nursing home suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She didn't recognize anyone that meant anything to her. She had absolutely no quality of life or even dignity left by the time she died. You see...her body outlived her mind.

I'm sorry...I'd rather drop dead quickly in the street from a heart attack from smoking than to have to endure a slow death the way my Mother did. Quantity of life isn't necessarily a good thing.

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by sparksharp

I'm sorry...I'd rather drop dead quickly in the street from a heart attack from smoking than to have to endure a slow death the way my Mother did. Quantity of life isn't necessarily a good thing.

Yeah, and you can also cause yourself a very slow, painful death because you are smoking. Most smoker do not have a quick heart attack like you claim. I have had many patients who were my clients, and it wasn't pretty.

[sparksharp]

Originally Posted by las vegas drunk

Yeah, and you can also cause yourself a very slow, painful death because you are smoking. Most smoker do not have a quick heart attack like you claim. I have had many patients who were my clients, and it wasn't pretty.

Granted! It's a crap shoot either way! Even for non-smokers.

Being a non smoker isn't gonna grant anyone a guarantee that they won't suffer a very slow, cruel and painful death that Mother Nature decides to dish out.

Smokers make a convenient target for those who feel a need to berate others in order to feel superior about themselves. It's actually an interesting dynamic at work if one thinks about it, and it says more about the non smokers than it does the smokers!