Here's my problem with smoking.

A very similar argument could be made for alcohol...spazzx625

I'm not personally going over to Darfur and trying to help survivors of the genocide rebuiold their lives, I'm not going over to Israel and protesting against the seizing of Palestinian settlements, I'm not going over to China or Iran to stand up against police crackdowns against protesters, does that mean I don't care about any of this? No, it means some things are out of my control and I have to accept that there's no earth-shattering thing I can do to change that. You're not all of the sudden going to make smokers quit by telling them smoking is bad. People's personal lives are something that are even more out of your control than international tragedies are out of mine. People in a society can affect change within that society, but sooner or later you are going to have to accept that you cannot control people's lives and make their decisions for them. They know smoking is bad, they've made that choice, and they're going to have to live with that. Meanwhile, their personal decisions don't affect you, so stop trying to make them affect you and get on with your life.

Some people just don't believe in themselves and the power they hold I suppose.

Some people just don't believe in themselves and the power they hold I suppose.

avatar_genius

Besides, if you want to get technical, did I once in this entire thread tell anyone to quit smoking? Yes or no.

Some people just don't believe in themselves and the power they hold I suppose.

avatar_genius

I only have one problem with smoking - that it affects those around the person smoking. If someone wishes to smoke and destroy their own body, more power to them. But if their habit damages those around them, then I have issues with that.

[QUOTE="avatar_genius"]

Some people just don't believe in themselves and the power they hold I suppose.

mfp16

You said that you are a smoker.

Let's assume your lung gives out when you are 60 years old and you need a new one, and they find a match for you, but there's also a perfect match for a person who needs a lung who has cystic fibrosis.

Who is more deserving of the lung, you, or the person with cystic fibrosis?

[QUOTE="avatar_genius"]

Some people just don't believe in themselves and the power they hold I suppose.

thatninja18

Yeah, maybe I made the smarter choice to not do it in the first place.

I only have one problem with smoking - that it affects those around the person smoking. If someone wishes to smoke and destroy their own body, more power to them. But if their habit damages those around them, then I have issues with that.

sonicare

Mmph, smoking is illegal in most public places already.

Now if someone chooses to hang out with smokers, that's their right.

[QUOTE="mfp16"][QUOTE="avatar_genius"]

Some people just don't believe in themselves and the power they hold I suppose.

avatar_genius

You said that you are a smoker.

Let's assume your lung gives out when you are 60 years old and you need a new one, and they find a match for you, but there's also a perfect match for a person who needs a lung who has cystic fibrosis.

Who is more deserving of the lung, you, or the person with cystic fibrosis?

Besides, if you want to get technical, did I once in this entire thread tell anyone to quit smoking? Yes or no.

avatar_genius

So you're saying you're not even trying to get people to quit, you just want to look down your nose at them and make them see how much better of a person you are for not smoking, correct?

TC, you forgot to mention that smoking makes you dumber.

"Smokers performed significantly worse in five different cognitive tests than did both former smokers and those who had never smoked," the British weekly New Scientist reports.

ALSO, for all those smokers that say it relieves stress - it's been proven that smoking only relieves the stress created from nicotine withdrawal.

[QUOTE="mfp16"][QUOTE="avatar_genius"]

Some people just don't believe in themselves and the power they hold I suppose.

avatar_genius

You said that you are a smoker.

Let's assume your lung gives out when you are 60 years old and you need a new one, and they find a match for you, but there's also a perfect match for a person who needs a lung who has cystic fibrosis.

Who is more deserving of the lung, you, or the person with cystic fibrosis?

In that case the lung would most likely go to the person with cystic fibrosis. Hospitals screen for things like drug use that could cause damage to donated organs.

[QUOTE="avatar_genius"]

Besides, if you want to get technical, did I once in this entire thread tell anyone to quit smoking? Yes or no.

theone86

So you're saying you're not even trying to get people to quit, you just want to look down your nose at them and make them see how much better of a person you are for not smoking, correct?

What?

[QUOTE="theone86"]

[QUOTE="avatar_genius"]

Besides, if you want to get technical, did I once in this entire thread tell anyone to quit smoking? Yes or no.

avatar_genius

So you're saying you're not even trying to get people to quit, you just want to look down your nose at them and make them see how much better of a person you are for not smoking, correct?

What?

Smoking is bad for you. No one is going to argue that.

But that's not the point. There's two reasons why people smoke:

1) They have an addiction

2) They enjoy it

In the first case, if you think overcoming addiction only requires a strongminded person then you are greatly mistaken and clearly have never had a chemical dependence.

In the second case, this is none of your business. People are rational actors that can weigh the pros and cons of situations. It's quite possible the enjoyment they get out of smoking is worth the health risks to them. Just like anyone else who engages in unhealthy activities such as diet choices or anything else.

Smoking is bad for you. No one is going to argue that.

But that's not the point. There's two reasons why people smoke:

1) They have an addiction

2) They enjoy it

In the first case, if you think overcoming addiction only requires a strongminded person then you are greatly mistaken and clearly have never had a chemical dependence.

In the second case, this is none of your business. People are rational actors that can weigh the pros and cons of situations. It's quite possible the enjoyment they get out of smoking is worth the health risks to them. Just like anyone else who engages in unhealthy activities such as diet choices or anything else.

_BlueDuck_

Fine, I concede, I give up.

Smoking is the healthiest thing in the world for you, there's nothing wrong with it, what was I thinking hating on such a noble cause?

avatar_genius

We all lie to ourselves. Smokers are not an exception

It sure as hell isn't a nice experience when you first try it.jasperrussell

That's not true at all. It may not have been a nice experience for YOU, but tobacco gets people high. A hell of a lot of people absolutely like it the first time they try it.

We all lie to ourselves. Smokers are not an exception

DrCoCoPiMp

[QUOTE="wildjango64"][QUOTE="avatar_genius"]

You insinuated that what I said was "obvious."

If it's so "obvious" then why do people do it.

If the concept is that simple to understand, people should not have a problem understanding it.

This is what baffles me.

avatar_genius

True.

The nicotene inside a cigarette triggers the brain to crave it.

People who smoke should just muscle up and become stronger than that impulse.

L.O.L.

How about you go and get addicted to smoking and try and "muscle up?"

We all lie to ourselves. Smokers are not an exception

I smoke so I can pay the taxes. I see it as my civic duty now. Obama jacked the fed tax up from 39 cents a pack to $1 a pack so he can pay for poor kids health insurance. How can I stop now that I know Obama and the poor kids are counting on me?

Here is what I want from all you holier-than-thou non-smoking zealots out there: Work to make smoking illegal. I'm sick of being taxed so heavily for my habit, then being treated like a social outcast. I'd rather be giving my money to Vinny the mobster than to the govt. I figure at least Vinny will show me some respect for being a good customer.

[QUOTE="_BlueDuck_"]

Smoking is bad for you. No one is going to argue that.

But that's not the point. There's two reasons why people smoke:

1) They have an addiction

2) They enjoy it

In the first case, if you think overcoming addiction only requires a strongminded person then you are greatly mistaken and clearly have never had a chemical dependence.

In the second case, this is none of your business. People are rational actors that can weigh the pros and cons of situations. It's quite possible the enjoyment they get out of smoking is worth the health risks to them. Just like anyone else who engages in unhealthy activities such as diet choices or anything else.

jasperrussell

Why do anything? Why drive a car when you're polluting the environment and putting your life at risk? Why go outside when you risk contracting mellanoma? Why eat unhealthy foods when it can put you at risk for a number of health problems, including colon cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more?

As for smoking being cool, I don't get that perception. Maybe it's still viewed as rebellious, but the only thing that would change that is to remove the negative stigma surrounding it, not try to increase it. I know it definitely didn't seem as prevalent when I was going to school as my parents make it seem when they were, and it seems even less prevalent in high schoolers since I left. There are no TV ads, cigarette companies can't sponsor events like the Winston Cup, they're less prevalent in TV and movies than ever before, and smoking is prohibited in most public places in cities across the world. What more could you possibly want, how much more can they do to make smoking seem uncool? It seems to me that it's not enough for smoking to be curbed, you NEED it to be stopped outright, you must have everyone else in the world thinking exactly like you because, well, that's the only logical way to think, right?

As for the last part, are you saying adults shouldn't be allowed to make adult decisions? Also, we consider people of age to buy cigarettes responsible enough to make that decision. Whether they are or not is not society's problem, it's their problem and the people who are rasing them. If they can't make complex decisions on their own by the time they are expected to, is it somehow society's problem? No, it's theirs.

[QUOTE="jasperrussell"][QUOTE="_BlueDuck_"]

Smoking is bad for you. No one is going to argue that.

But that's not the point. There's two reasons why people smoke:

1) They have an addiction

2) They enjoy it

In the first case, if you think overcoming addiction only requires a strongminded person then you are greatly mistaken and clearly have never had a chemical dependence.

In the second case, this is none of your business. People are rational actors that can weigh the pros and cons of situations. It's quite possible the enjoyment they get out of smoking is worth the health risks to them. Just like anyone else who engages in unhealthy activities such as diet choices or anything else.

Why do anything? Why drive a car when you're polluting the environment and putting your life at risk? Why go outside when you risk contracting mellanoma? Why eat unhealthy foods when it can put you at risk for a number of health problems, including colon cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and more?

As for smoking being cool, I don't get that perception. Maybe it's still viewed as rebellious, but the only thing that would change that is to remove the negative stigma surrounding it, not try to increase it. I know it definitely didn't seem as prevalent when I was going to school as my parents make it seem when they were, and it seems even less prevalent in high schoolers since I left. There are no TV ads, cigarette companies can't sponsor events like the Winston Cup, they're less prevalent in TV and movies than ever before, and smoking is prohibited in most public places in cities across the world. What more could you possibly want, how much more can they do to make smoking seem uncool? It seems to me that it's not enough for smoking to be curbed, you NEED it to be stopped outright, you must have everyone else in the world thinking exactly like you because, well, that's the only logical way to think, right?

As for the last part, are you saying adults shouldn't be allowed to make adult decisions? Also, we consider people of age to buy cigarettes responsible enough to make that decision. Whether they are or not is not society's problem, it's their problem and the people who are rasing them. If they can't make complex decisions on their own by the time they are expected to, is it somehow society's problem? No, it's theirs.

We all lie to ourselves. Smokers are not an exception

Not picking up the cigarette is easy as well, just don't do it.

Just don't buy cigarettes at the gas station.

Just don't light one up.

Just don't do it.

Problem solved.

avatar_genius

Wow.....

It's addicting dude. You don't know what it's like if you're not a smoker. I've actually been trying really hard to quit and so far I've gone 20 days without smoking.

I think that I don't get what some non-smokers' obsessive compulsion is to tell smokers how bad smoking is for them. Do you really think people can't see all that for themselves, or do you just like making self-righteous speeches that boost your own self-esteem? Why concern yourself with things that don't affect you?

theone86

But it does affect me. I am an asthmatic and when the air is filled with smoke it triggers an asthma attack. For many people with asthma, being around smokers is life threatening.

I smoke, and have for nearly 20 years. I enjoy it, a cigarette is good company when you want to do something without really doing anything.

I don't smoke in other peoples houses unless they invite me too, I don't smoke in public places without going outside. But if someone is in my home and starts ragging on me about smoking, I'll show them to the door.

A very similar argument could be made for alcohol...spazzx625

Why don't you keep it to yourself? It's not going to change someone elses opinion who enjoys smoking.
Same can be said for alcohol.

Not picking up the cigarette is easy as well, just don't do it.

Just don't buy cigarettes at the gas station.

Just don't light one up.

Just don't do it.

Problem solved.

avatar_genius

Dude that is very ignorant for you to say....when people are addicted it is far from easy to just say no, dont do it....if youve never been addicted to anything you wouldnt know...

On the other hand, i do agree that it is the persons fault for trying it in the first place, but everyone makes mistakes right?? I would actually put most of the blame on the cigarette companies for their marketing tactics, the advertisements, the buy one get one free deals they have....all this contributes even more to smoking and increases the chances of being addicted for life...

All this is coming from a smoker for 8 years who recently just quit (about 2 weeks now)

My mother died from lung cancer, most likely from smoking cigarettes for 40 years. But, even seeing this happen to her own mother, my sister is following in her foot steps...she smokes continuously from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night. She gets VERY mean when you try to confront her with her problem. I will never tell her, " i told you so", but i believe its already too late for her.

[QUOTE="spazzx625"]A very similar argument could be made for alcohol...Evil_Saluki

[QUOTE="theone86"]

I think that I don't get what some non-smokers' obsessive compulsion is to tell smokers how bad smoking is for them. Do you really think people can't see all that for themselves, or do you just like making self-righteous speeches that boost your own self-esteem? Why concern yourself with things that don't affect you?

Chargeagles1

But it does affect me. I am an asthmatic and when the air is filled with smoke it triggers an asthma attack. For many people with asthma, being around smokers is life threatening.

When someone pulls out a cig around you, you ask them not to light it up because you might die. You sit in non-smoking sections, you go to non-smoking bars, you stay away from smokers, is that really so hard? Oh, but no, everyone everywhere absolutely has to stop smoking on theoff-chance that you or someone like you might meander into their general area while they're doing so, even though you can plainly see that they're smoking and you know that if you do meander into that area you are putting yourself at risk, not the other way around.

Not picking up the cigarette is easy as well, just don't do it.

Just don't buy cigarettes at the gas station.

Just don't light one up.

Just don't do it.

Problem solved.

avatar_genius

My mother died from lung cancer, most likely from smoking cigarettes for 40 years. But, even seeing this happen to her own mother, my sister is following in her foot steps...she smokes continuously from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night. She gets VERY mean when you try to confront her with her problem. I will never tell her, " i told you so", but i believe its already too late for her.

Videodogg

Wouldn't watching someone die from lung cancer be a deterrant? Seriously, though, this is where personal responsibility comes in. She knows it's not good for her, she has people trying to get her to quit, but she keeps smoking anyways. It's a perfect example of how you just can't control other people's choices. Is it sad that people die from lung cancer? Yes, but they do so of their own volition. No one's saying smoking is good for you, but to personalize the problem and by effect the responsibility is simply ridiculous. There are some choices people make that have to be made by them alone. You may not like the choice or the consequence, but in the end it's not your choice. If someone chooses not to smoke that's fine, and that is making a personal choice.No one's trying to argue that choice is a bad thing or that the person making it doesn't have the right to make it. It seems to me, though, that's exactly what is happening from the people on the other side of this argument.

My mother died from lung cancer, most likely from smoking cigarettes for 40 years. But, even seeing this happen to her own mother, my sister is following in her foot steps...she smokes continuously from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night. She gets VERY mean when you try to confront her with her problem. I will never tell her, " i told you so", but i believe its already too late for her.

Videodogg

My mother died from lung cancer, most likely from smoking cigarettes for 40 years. But, even seeing this happen to her own mother, my sister is following in her foot steps...she smokes continuously from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night. She gets VERY mean when you try to confront her with her problem. I will never tell her, " i told you so", but i believe its already too late for her.

my theory, i only live once. so if i like something then ill do it, like hell if im letting somebody tell me what to do.

I like smoking

It will kill me? Maybe i don't care.

And i'm not quitting because you are making a thread where the only thing you do is whine on smokers.