ATTN: Smokers, I Have A Question.

Not at all. Just cause you do one or two things unhealthy doesn't mean you can't get angry over someone else doing something against your choice that impacts your health

Try again with logic. Or at the very least something that makes 1 bit of sense

It's awesome, is it not? Reading a HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE response in an argument/discussion for something equally so.

I do believe you and I have a different definition of awesome.

Why did I start smoking? Freshmen in college, and it was actually cheaper than going to the vending machines all night long. (yeah, stupid reason to start). Could get a pack for 1.25 and would last me a day or two and I wouldn't be eating candy bars all day.

Over the years, I have continued to do it out of habit. Get up in the morning? Smoke. After a meal? Smoke. It's just become part of my daily routine and I don't really think about it anymore.

Why don't I quit? Simply, I have no real desire to quit. I have a life view that is basically "whatever happens happens". If I get lung cancer, so be it. Human beings adjust to all sorts of things. I figure I'll just adjust, after being pissed off about it for awhile, then just think that's life. But who knows, if I'm hacking up bloody chunks of lung tissue, I might stop. Might.

On the issue of it harming others, yes I am aware of second-hand smoke. If I am out with non-smokers and light up, I make sure to stand downwind from them and exhale away from them. I think you will find that smokers will be courteous to others about it. However, as soon as somebody starts pulling the fake coughing crap, I start considering how I can piss you off more. Seriously, politely say something and I will do what I can to accomodate you.

You also need to think about what smoker's contribute to the economy. With the taxes on cigarettes always going up (but not pipe or cigars. big suprise that the more 'acceptable' versions are excluded), we are supposedly funding all sorts of things. In Illinois at least, it seems that the cigarette tax goes up twice a year. One for the state, and one for the county. Financial shortfall? Raise tax on cigarettes is like the first answer always. The hide behind that it is save people from themselves and stop kids from starting. I'd like to see the general reaction to this if alcohol tax was constantly raised. It can save peoples health and cut down on kids drinking too. But it is only smoking they are trying to make people stop by hitting them in the wallet.

Finally, for any anti-smoking ex-smokers out there, get off our nuts. You are the most annoying people in the world, lecturing us that it is bad for our health. We know, we are not stupid. So you quit. Good for you. You found a reason to. Maybe someday, we will too. In the meantime, saying you are better than us because you quit does nothing but piss me off. (and don't think I don't notice you breathing a little deeper and that tear in your eye because you miss it) ;)

This is probably ftw out of all of it. I hate when people say "I bet you can't quit" no, no I can't.. because I don't want to. I enjoy a cig after I wake up, or after a nice meal. If you point out to me that smoking causes health problems, you're gunna get a "no ***" coming at you. The worst kind of non-smokers are the one that try to take your cigarettes. There was one guy I knew who would always try to blow out my lighter as I light up. He once stamped on a cigarette I dropped by accident.. Needless to say, I put him down. I don't know why some people have such a problem with smoking, that they have to constantly seek to piss me off, knowing full well it's not gunna end well for them.

Actually, the argument of "Let's ban fast food" IS logical. Overweight people affect others, though in a more indirect way. People who don't take care of themselves force healthcare costs to become sky high. So the people who choose to eat Burger King every night are affecting other people.

Secondly, you have every right not to smoke. You don't, however, have the right to shove your views down other peoples' throats. You've provided nothing but "I don't want to inhale your smoke." Hey, guess what? The government doesn't want you to inhale out smoke either. That's why there's laws now. If you go to a place that allows smoking when there's already laws on the books in your state/city that bans smoking except in certain areas, guess what? You're on OUR turf now. YOU are the one that needs to move, because we've already been forced out of a lot of establishments.

TL;DC version: I'm a smoker. People that smoke are retards!

I'm 29 years old. I've been an avid smoker since I was 17, not counting a year that I quit when was about 20. I started for probably all the wrong reasons as mentioned earlier, like hanging out with the "cool kids" in high school that would gather around to smoke cigarettes (among other things hehe). Short story short, I took the shortbus to school and it still hasn't dropped me off yet.

That being said, I've always been very conscientious of non smokers. I don't smoke in my home so that visitors aren't accosted with the reek of burnt urine soaked cardboard. I chew gum and carry an Axe body spray around with me. Non-smokers deserve that much at least (unless they don't like Axe, and *** them it smells great). And as much as it pissed me off that all the restaurants/bars discontinued their "smoking sections", it makes sense. Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a pool, it's gonna be all over anyway.

I do have to say I strongly disagree with some types of anti-smoking mentality, because they do more harm than good. Here's a couple examples:

1) After Michigan passed laws about indoor businesses being required to be smoke-free, they also mandated that the entrances to those buildings be smoke-free in a 25' radius... which means everyone decided "Hey, people can't smoke near the doors, let's get rid of all the ASHTRAYS!" Well, they didn't stop smoking near the doors lol.. so now cigarette butt litter is on an epic rise.

2) Nearly every state has implemented F.S.C. (Fire Safety Compliant) cigarettes.

Some jackass doing a survey decided that cigarettes were the number one cause of household fires (they finally got the edge over scented candles >_<). So they added small waxy bands to the inside of cigarettes with a fire retardant chemical.. a fire retardant in a cigarette.. No wait, the idiocy doesn't end there lol!

FSC cigarettes utilize both a mechanical and chemical fire retardant agent. The bands cause cigarettes to "go out", that is to extinguish themselves when a person hasn't puffed on them for "approximately 2 minutes" (according to tobacco reps). Except that it's more like 30 seconds than 2 minutes. These bands are coated with a chemical called EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). This is an interesting chemical, for a number of reasons. Because of the frequency at which these "FSC" cigarettes extinguish themselves, the need to re-light them doubles their chance of causing a fire, just from the increased lighter/match use. And as a curious side effect, when re-lighting, the waxy bands cause sparks to fly off the end of the cigarette! And the idiocy STILL doesn't end there!

It's been shown that the self extinguish feature only really works when the cigarette is being HELD. If the cigarette falls onto any type of cloth/wood/flammable surface, it merrily burns itself down to the filter like any old cigarette. And for the kicker:

EVA is a chemical used in paint, drywall, glue, and a number of any other substances that we would never, EVER willingly put into our bodies. It was never intended for human consumption. The M.S.D.S. (Material Safety Data Sheet) for EVA clearly states that it emits toxic fumes when ignited... That's right folks. They not only do not perform the primary function they were designed for (reducing risk of fire), they actually INCREASE it, while doubling or tripling the toxicity of first and second-hand smoke!

I contracted Swine Flu in early October this year. There was a huge outbreak and it was estimated that 90% of all symptomatic illnesses in my area were H1N1. It was a rough illness, but what amazed me was how LONG it lasted. Three weeks bedridden with respiratory issues. It wasn't until someone mentioned Michigan had just switched to FSC (had never heard of FSC before), that I noticed it was the FSC cigarettes that were keeping me deathly ill. I found a carton of non-FSC, the last the store had or would ever have again, bought it and started using those. I was better the next DAY!

Now that all the non-FSC smokes have sold out everywhere, I've switched to the roll-your-own types for the time being. I plan on cutting down and eventually quitting, but meh, they get me through for the time being.

If I had known 12 years ago that I was starting a habit that would become not just "bad for you", but genuinely poisonous.. Well, I probably would have done it anyway. I rode the shortbus in highschool and I wanted to hang out with the cool kids. ^^

By the way, if you're wondering if your smokes are FSC or not.. they are ^^ Every state except North Carolina I believe has implemented this. You can find the FSC lettering above the barcode on the side of the pack, or printed on the bottom in some ascii-ish font. Switch to roll-your-owns, they're cheaper and healthier (until FSC "features" are added to these as well).

I spend 15 minutes a day now rolling out a pack of the damn roll your owns and thinking, "Man, smoking is starting to really SUCK!"

I wonder when I crossed that line where you can look at yourself and think you're behaving rationally, as I'm hunched over my roller machine.

Smokers are retards. They smoke because they need a vice and/or they're easily influenced. Because they're retards.

I hope this answers OP's question.

Folant your logic is so flawed, once again. Just because some people eat unhealthy and do unhealthy things doesn't mean we all do. Some of us actually exercise and eat healthy and dont smoke. We dont need to start.

Your right, it is your choice to smoke, but do it so it doesn't effect others. If your logic was correct that new bill wouldn't have been passed for public smoking. Obviously people higher up than just members of society agree with us.... like idk... doctors that were testifying for the bill to be passed?

Your arguement needs to be up there with the public use of the white man saying the N word. Just cause he thinks he has a right to say it, doesn't mean he should go around shouting it at the top of his lungs. He would be arrested quick. Freedom of speach does not exist, neither does freedom of choice if it effects others way of life or health.

In conclusion: almost every smoker besides the one above, has had a cranky(i need a cig) attitude towards this thread. Go get your fixes, think for a few minutes, then come back and state your opinion. No one needs someone on PMS in this thread. This isn't flamecore. This is opinioncore!

Yuppp... :)

Read my post above. I already said that. There are bills out there that prevent people like us from ruining your good time with our smoke. If you choose to go to an establishment not covered under those bills, then that's your fault. Get out, or deal with it.

The only person who is PMSing right now is you. You're the one calling people HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE and idiots for stating their opinion. This isn't flamecore, really? You had me fooled. This isn't opinioncore, either. It's chatterbox.

Don't backseat mod when you're the one who started throwing poo.

I have a negative view about this thread and I'm a nonsmoker. Really shows who's the idiot when they assume the posters smoke based on what they post.

Yet again I'm bored and find it that all Volume has stated is everyone is idiots with nothing more to back his posts.

Only good valid point stated by the nonsmokers is the healthcare costs associated to smoking related illnesses. Well I mentioned the fatty that eats nothing but fast food. Those same people cost us just as much to treat for something they could resist. Do they get barred from fast food places? Vehicles/Equipment that run off fossil fuel create just as much harmful chemicals that are cancer causing, but would they be considered to be banned? So if my statements are illogical then you need to reread the whole thread because everything discussed is still relevant to the thread and never become void.

Everyone makes choices for themselves. Segregating those people based on their choices does infringe on their civil rights. Crimes are a dull backup to your arguement.

Volume if you want to talk logic then grow up and discuss instead of throwing in "You're an idiot". Just makes you look like a little kid, if you aren't one already.

Keep discussing as you will since this has become childish and cannot be debated/discussed respectfully.

I smoke with my butt.

'P.S Pot doesn't count'

No comment

"It smells awful, stay the hell away from me." is perfectly valid.

"Well I mentioned the fatty that eats nothing but fast food. Those same people cost us just as much to treat for something they could resist."

True statement, but flawed; you cannot be harmed just by standing next to an overweight person. You can, however, be harmed standing next to someone who is smoking.

Because quitting smoking would cause the world's to implode like banning cars would. Sure it's bad for the environment, but this is a very radical analogy that doesn't work.

How? It's not segregation, it's a choice. If you want to smoke, deal with it. More and more people are not liking it. Too bad.

Win.

"HOLY ***DUDE, nph just stole your car."

if you can smoke a cigarette out your ***, you're gonna give new meaning to the term "Ash Breath". At least your mouth won't smell like ***after smoking a ciggy.