Smoking

Personally I don't smoke, and I find it a *major* turn off. I'd like to think that others smoking doesn't bug me too much. Except if they're smoking upwind of me at a bus stop, or in the bus shelter on a rainy day where the signs say "No Smoking"

Where I am, many a year ago there was smoking in coffee shops, restaurants, etc. While I'd like to think it didn't bug me, I find it an awful lot more enjoyable now to go into a coffee shop for a nice social get together without going home smelling like an ashtray. I also enjoy my food more now that it doesn't taste like ashes.

A couple years ago they changed the rules so no smoking in restaurants, and bars can only have smoking areas if they were separately ventilated. A couple months ago it was changed again so there is no smoking allowed at bars at all.

Anyways, the issue with the parents smoking around children isn't just the influence of seeing their parents smoke, but there is significant risks involved in second hand smoking, and the children have no control over that.

Also, while the idea of heavily taxing tobacco seems good on the surface, governments become addicted to the tax, so in a way they'd like people to keep smoking, because it gives them more income. Also, it seems it's the people that can least afford to smoke, are the ones that do smoke.

 

Alright guys.. I am a smoker.. and I have to tell you that I agree with Jerr on this one.. I am of age and it is my decision.. all be it a poor decision.. still it is MY decision to smoke or not.

As far as smoking in my home goes.. I do have a child in my home, but still it is MY HOME.. and frankly no one has the right to tell me what I can do in my home.. I can understand no smoking in restaraunts and such.. but there has to be a line drawn.

If all the risks truly outweighed the benefits to the gov't they would have made it illegal. Bottom line is that they are in it for the money.. Look at Alcohol <--- MOST DANGEROUS DRUG <--- 1 person killed every 30 minutes and 1 person injured every 2 minutes due to alcohol related car accidents in the USA.. LEGAL due to money...

To allow the gov't into our homes on that level would open a "Slippery Slope," very bad idea..

Okay.. that's my 2 cents..

Will

 

well as far as the whole smoking thing goes, i'm fine with it. Like Jerr both of my parents have smoked throughout my life. My father doesn't so much any more but my mother... she's like a chimney and so to an extent i'm not anti-smoking. It's a choice that people can make and if they want to knowingly inhale chemicals then that's their choosing.

It only really bothers me when it encroaches on non-smokers wishes. Say for example a none smoker is in the car when you decide to spark up. This is when I get a little peed that I have to inhale this crap, where the smoker has no consideration. If it was an open space then it's not really a problem, I don't wanna enhale it i'll just move... but if for some reason I have to enhale it then it's not fair.

 

Guys that smoke have horrible breathe. One of my friends who I kissed last week is a smoker. It wasn't as enjoyable as I'd liked it to have been - simply because he tasted like an ash tray.

 

Well exactly - its a personal choice, and as long as it doesnt affect others then its fine.
Health issues aside, the real issue comes from smokers not being considerate of the fact that cigarette smoke can be extremely repulsive for non-smokers.

 

Smoking. Disgusting habit that should be illegalized. The reason it isn't is MONEY- NOT THE GOV'T WATCHING OUT FOR YOU. I lost my father to smoking when I was nine years old, my grandfather died from it, my great-grandfather died from it (both before I was even born). If you have children, a wife, husband, partner, etc, you shouldn't smoke in your home because the secondhand smoke is just as dangerous as the crap you're inhaling. The innocents are forced to suffer the formaldehyde, tar, and rat poison fumes as well. If you want to kill yourself slowly, go right fucking ahead, but don't put those you love at risk. What are you going to think 50 years from now when you're in the hospital, moments away from death because you decided you had to be a smoker? When your partner and children are there, tears in their eyes, because you're too young to die? Because in a way it was your own suicide? I'll tell you this- I have been on the child end, and it is not a fucking tea party. I'll bet my father didn't want to die because of it.
Also, the "choice" is taken away the minute you get addicted to the damn things- which makes the government RICH, also why they DON'T ILLEGALIZE THEM. And don't give anyone that "I could quit tomorrow" bullshit- my father said that for YEARS and it NEVER WORKED and now he's DEAD.
The beauty of America, and other countries with free will, however, is that people have the right to be idiots. Yes, that's right- I called smokers idiots. Because you've got to be dense on some level to even start.
Okay. I'm finished fuming.

 

Okay time for my 2 cents again...

If you don't like a smoker smoking in the car.. FIND ANOTHER RIDE!!! If I am in my space it is still my choice.. I don't know that I am an IDIOT as some have suggested.. but let me tell you I have quit worse things than cigarrettes in my lifetime(you ever wanna chat about that.. let me know)... and frankly in 50 years SMOKING OR NOT.. I will be on death bed with my whole family by my side.. I don't hear you all complaining about the exhaust from your cars and the toxic fumes put out by industry... People who smoke are really not the largest contributors to the air quality problems that some people face.. If you don't like to around smokers- then don't go to there homes, don't ride in their cars, just leave them alone.. THEY WILL BE GLAD THAT YOU DID...

Thats it.. TYVM

 

For what it's worth, here is my views on this:

Smoking killed my father when he was 64. He had smoked all his life since he was about 14, and for many years was on about 40 a day. He was diagnosed with lung cancer when he went to the doctor with a cough that wouldn't clear up after a mild cold, went for tests, was diagnosed and despite the usual attempts of treatment with radiotheropy and chemotheropy he died just 10 months later. His lung cancer was the usual form that smokers get (I don't know the details, but the cause was never in doubt). Had it not been for the smoking I am sure he would still be here.

So maybe I am biased, but whatever.

He smoked in the house when I was a kid. Back then of course people were less aware of the risks of passive smoking, and indeed even of the risks of smoking yourself. However he never smoked in the house when my sister's kids were there (his own decision because the risks were now better known).

Mum had obviously lived with him smoking for the whole time they were married - just over 40 years. She has had a couple of lung tests after he died (she was obviously worried about the effects of passive smoking) and is fine.

When I lived there I never noticed the smell. However having moved away around 18 years ago, and not smoking myself, I did then notice the smell when I visited. It was their home though, and if he wanted to smoke in it than that's his choice. He would generally go into another room to smoke, and left the windows open etc.

I am very pleased that in the UK a ban on smoking in public places is coming into effect later this year. I hate going out to where people are smoking, having the smell in the air and getting into my clothes etc. A lot of places now have smoking and non-smoking areas, and if that is properly organised (some sort of division and an extractor fan for example) it works very well. Some places do it less well and just assume the smoke and smell will not cross some invisible line across the room - but it does.

The majority of smokers are now considerate towards those who don't smoke, even when the non-smoker is in their car or home (places where they are obviously free to do what they like). Some though seem to take delight in blowing their smoke towards those who don't smoke, despite requests not to do so.

A moving car is difficult because even holding the cigarette out of the window doesn't help much as the smoke blows back. The worst is the smoke that the smoker exhales into the car, not the bit that wafts off the end of the held cigarette. Anyway that's my choice - do I accept a lift with a smoker knowing that he will smoke or do I find another way of getting where I need to go. Likewise I choose whether to visit the home of a smoker friend or meet elsewhere.

It is of course more of a problem if your parents smoke, you are living with them, and you want to avoid the smoke as much as possible. The best thing would be to try to come to some arrangement or compromise, such as that they do not smoke in or near your room, they don't smoke in the car except on long journeys, and they don't smoke at meal times until you have finished eating and drinking.

Every year the government in the UK put up tax on cigarettes, claiming it is for health reasons. However they never put it up that much. They know of course that if they put it up a lot people would cut down or stop smoking, which although it would have health benefits, it would aso reduce rather than increase the revenue coming in. So they increase the tax as much as they can get away with but that people will withstand, then they can claim health reasons but the increase is actually just for revenue.

For health reasons, the best thing the governments could do would be to ban smoking or to tax it to the extent that nobody could afford it. But then the revenues they receive in tax would drop drastically, so they won't do that. They bring in other legislation that may save a few dozen lives a year (child car seats, home electrical wiring regulations etc) because these won't affect the revenues significantly. But they will never being in the legislation that would save many thousands of lives a year - banning smoking - because they could not afford to.

 

as has been said though, as anti-smoking as some people on this forum are it is a personal choice and as long as people are well educated then I believe they should be able to take the risks. That's a part of the whole freedom game.

As for the car scenario goes, granted if it's someone elses car then sure i'd get a different ride, but when i'm DRIVING my dad's car and suddenly 2 or 3 family members spark up and I suddenly get a lung full of smoke i wasn't expecting then it's not particularly nice. Another thing is the smell, with two of my sisters (who visit regularly) and my mother all smoking like chimneys then the smell gets everywhere in the house. To the extent that all of my clothes smelled of smoke - not particularly nice. However, to be fair since i've told them to keep smoking to the one room in the house then it's not a problem!!!

It's really just when people smoking gets in the way of the freedoms of the non-smokers that problems occur.

 

Okay, i've been quite silent in this thread because i didn't really think i could be civilized enough to talk about it.

But i have to express my disgust for what you posted. I'm not sure if you're posting this as an invite to be bashed and make the mods job a freakin hell trying to keep the rest of us under control or you're just ignorant enough to assume you can say these things and expect even one person to agree with you.

Are you completely out of your mind, these yellow teeth and "scars" (you say it as if thats not threatening enough) are just your body's warning signs....this is child's play considering what to come. You realize your mother might as well drink ammonia because not only is she killing herself slowly but raising a completely insolent child.

I'm not sure who i hate to hear speaking more....you or a bible preacher. And believe me, congrats because i don't think anyone has ever made me as insulted to be a human as you have. With all respect, please just stop posting about topics such as this and the (RED) campaign because i don't know how much longer before i seriously start breaking rules. Sorry if i've broken them already, i'm quite drunk but this has obviously been quite sobering.

 

Blowing smoke into someone's mouth is not cool unless the recipient has agreed to it. I might kind of like it in the right situation. :lol:

I'm a smoker (half a pack a day) and I'm tired of the government getting too involved with private businesses. I think a business owner should have the right to decide whether to allow smoking in his establishment. There should be reasonable air handling standards that new businesses woud have to conform to (building codes) and existing businesses would have to upgrade to at the next major renovation. People can choose to work at and visit these places or not. Allow the market to dictate whether it's good for business to allow smoking. If one bar allows smoking and customers start going to non-smoking bars and no one wants to work there, then that will drive owners to change to non-smoking. I think I would have this opinion even if I wasn't a smoker due to my feelings regarding liberty.

I really enjoy smoking right now. Maybe I'll regret it someday, maybe I'll quit, or maybe I'll die of something totally unrelated to smoking 50 years from now or tomorrow. I rarely smoke in my house because I don't like the smell lingering everywhere. I don't like the smell on me so I wash my hands and drink something while and after smoking. Several people I worked with for years had no idea that I smoked until they saw me coming in from the smoking patio. When I'm in my car I open the window about an inch and put the fan on high to push the smoke outside. Non-smokers say they can't tell that I smoke in it. I can't imagine smoking in an enclosed car. I think that is gross, but I don't think there should be a law outright banning it. At least allow for the window/fan thing which is very effective. Furthermore, if the fan is pulling in fresh air, the air inside a car is turned over fairly quickly due to its small volume. The smell of smoke is not the same thing as actually breating smoke. I am considerate of others when I smoke and try to stay down-wind and keep it away from others as much as possible.

The government should not be allowed to regulate smoking in our homes. That is too Big Brotherish

If the government really wants to raise money to help pay healthcare costs related to unhealthy choices, how about taxing junk food? I don't think we pay sales tax at all on stuff like potato chips, cookies, candy, etc when bought at a grocery store. These are luxuries, albeit small ones. Tax these types of things at the same rate as tobacco and alcohol or at least at the standard sales tax rate (6.5% here). It seems there are far more overweight people around than smokers, and being overweight is unhealthy, according to doctors. It seems to me that the general population thinks it's ok to target smokers, but not overweight people. Please understand that I'm not talking about people who have medical reasons for their weight, but there are many people whose caloric intake (food and drink) rarely approaches their caloric output (physical work, exercise, etc.).

 

My dad smokes, my mom used to smoke but she quit. I for one, will never smoke because I think it's gross and for me, its a complete turn off when I see a hot guy that smokes.

At the MN state fair maybe 3-5 years ago, they had these car bumper stickers that said something like, "Kissing a smoker is like licking an ash tray."

 

Except an ashtray doesn't call you back