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The minute I stop paying tax money to take care of the poor health of smokers is the minute I stop complaining about smoking.
Your taxes haven't paid for my health care, and my health problems have never (yet) been related to smoking. I had a cashier at Wal-Mart, of all places, once give me that whole "I don't wanna pay for your healthcare" speech... he had like 3 teeth in his mouth and probably used Medicare/cal, while I'm on an employer health plan which I pay into every month. Not to mention, I'll never be dependent on the state/federal plans, for reasons I don't need to share here. I also pay thousands in annual taxes, contributing WAY more than I've ever spent at the doctor.
But still, people think they have the right to complain about my habits? Meanwhile, folks on welfare (and millions of others) line up at McDonald's for their Big Macs & fries, yet I don't hear anyone campaigning over that! Obesity is killing more people than smoking, so why don't we start there?
Your taxes haven't paid for my health care, and my health problems have never (yet) been related to smoking. I had a cashier at Wal-Mart, of all places, once give me that whole "I don't wanna pay for your healthcare" speech... he had like 3 teeth in his mouth and probably used Medicare/cal, while I'm on an employer health plan which I pay into every month. Not to mention, I'll never be dependent on the state/federal plans, for reasons I don't need to share here.
But still, people think they have the right to complain about my habits? Meanwhile, folks on welfare (and millions of others) line up at McDonald's for their Big Macs & fries, yet I don't hear anyone campaigning over that! Obesity is killing more people than smoking, so why don't we start there?
Don't forget the fact that you're paying in most cases, 100% tax on those cigarettes. In places like New York City, it approaches 300%. Every pack you buy pays your hospital bills. Nobody is paying for anything related to the health of smokers, except smokers.
Don't forget the fact that you're paying in most cases, 100% tax on those cigarettes. In places like New York City, it approaches 300%. Every pack you buy pays your hospital bills. Nobody is paying for anything related to the health of smokers, except smokers.
Yup! We pay our dues, believe me... and if the revenue from those cigarettes disappeared tomorrow, we'd hear a TON of complaints from non-smokers & smokers alike.
Yup! We pay our dues, believe me... and if the revenue from those cigarettes disappeared tomorrow, we'd hear a TON of complaints from non-smokers & smokers alike.
...and yet, for that 300% tax? Can't smoke ANYWHERE. Private business owners can't even allow you to smoke anymore in NYC. Which I think is crap. If you want to allow smoking, you should have that option. Just like the customers. Don't like smoking? Leave. Go somewhere else. The yogurt bar needs business.
I have no prejudice against smokers, I judge them harshly using sound logic. They are addicted fools who are responsible for a majority of the pollution I see. I don't care one iota about their feelings about my obvious derision. They are directly affecting my health and well-being in quantifiable ways. My natural response is to be expected.
I have no prejudice against smokers, I judge them harshly using sound logic. They are addicted fools who are responsible for a majority of the pollution I see.
Haha... do you drive a car? If so, I think YOU'RE responsible for more pollution than a smoker. Seriously.
I have no prejudice against smokers, I judge them harshly using sound logic. They are addicted fools who are responsible for a majority of the pollution I see. I don't care one iota about their feelings about my obvious derision. They are directly affecting my health and well-being in quantifiable ways. My natural response is to be expected.
That's when I blow a nice cloud in your face and say "Bothers ya, don't it?"
...and if you said another word, you'd be carrying my cigarettes home in your colon. Be careful whose feelings you hurt. It might not work out the way you planned.
Oh and by the way? Study the effects of increasing nicotine receptors in the brain. Yes, sad to say, smokers actually think quicker than you do. It's a fact.
Everybody keeps screaming about the "dumbing down of America". Funny how that coincides with the decline in smoking, isn't it?
...and yet, for that 300% tax? Can't smoke ANYWHERE. Private business owners can't even allow you to smoke anymore in NYC. Which I think is crap. If you want to allow smoking, you should have that option. Just like the customers. Don't like smoking? Leave. Go somewhere else. The yogurt bar needs business.
I live in California, where we have the same rules (if not more strict) as NYC... I don't mind not being able to smoke in restaurants, stores, etc, as I'm just used to that by now. But when I really think about it, private business owners should be given the choice - and they can weigh the pros & cons of allowing smoking themselves. As long as tobacco is legal, I just don't see how the harsh restrictions are truly fair.
Haha... do you drive a car? If so, I think YOU'RE responsible for more pollution than a smoker. Seriously.
Precisely why I qualified my remark to be pollution "I see" which was referencing the number one item we see everywhere. Most common item on the beaches and streets of the world: cigarette butts.
Go ahead. Find fault with me. I don't care. I'm not perfect. My derision toward smokers is unaffected and that was the topic of this thread.
Precisely why I qualified my remark to be pollution "I see" which was referencing the number one item we see everywhere. Most common item on the beaches and streets of the world: cigarette butts.
At least around here, there are literally NO public ashtrays in their attempt to "discourage smoking." All that accomplishes is adding to litter, since you can't drop a freshly-stomped cigarette into a trash can (fire hazard). I personally take measures to avoid either, since I hate to litter... so I just keep the old cig in my pack until it's safe to throw away.
I work in a County Library, which shares a parking lot with the Sheriff's Department, County Courthouse, and a few other official buildings. Most of the cops & DAs are smokers (both cigarettes and cigars), so I often join them for breaks in the courtyard next to our buildings... and when public works realized a collection of butts was gathering there, they finally gave us our very own ashtray. Problem solved, as the litter has now disappeared!
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Go ahead. Find fault with me. I don't care. I'm not perfect. My derision toward smokers is unaffected and that was the topic of this thread.
Nobody's perfect, and you have the right to feel however you want... I just get tired of the "high and mighty" attitude some people have towards smokers, when they have bad habits & pollution-creating activities themselves. We're all hypocrites about some things, but this particular hypocrisy seems to be all the rage these days.
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