ATTN: Smokers, I Have A Question.

I don't "Smoke" in the conventional sense, but I did do it out of sheer curiosity. Why do people smoke? Why not try it myself and see if I can figure it out?

I picked up a pipe and some flavored tobacco. While not the same, a safer equivalent, at least to me. I sat outside on a rather crisp winter evening and tried it out. It took a few puffs, but I felt really relaxed. So much so, that I ignored how cold it was (I didn't have a coat) and just looked at the sky.

Needless to say, it was the most relaxed I'd been in a while. In some aspect, I get why someone would do it to relax, or even in a social setting. Of course, I'm still at a loss for the addiction part.

Then again, we have sex addicts, food addicts, game addicts, forum addicts, etc etc. So I guess, to each their own.

While I would love for ppl to read this and agree with you, I do have to make a correction. Tobacco, and nicotine in particular, is a stimulant, not a relaxant. So while you were feeling relaxed, your body was undergoing faster heart rate and higher blood pressure. I do feel tho, that the physical act of smoking, inhaling and exhaling, can have a way of psychologically calming an individual...it again, is a stimulant.

And yes, I do smoke cigarettes.

That's just it. Some people smoke because of the deep breathing involved, which calms them down. It isn't the actual smoke inhalation or anything like that. It's also something to do with your hands. As someone stated in an earlier post, if some people don't smoke for a while, they start fidgeting and whatnot. So they have a smoke so their hands are occupied.

I will agree it's an addiction, and as a smoker, one that I should break. I do not plan to smoke forever. Neither do a lot of smokers. But for the time being, I'm going to enjoy my tea with my cigarette. I'm going to enjoy the smoke after a meal, or with a drink.

Myself and a lot of smokers (at least the ones I know) are generally courteous when it comes to non-smokers. We stay away from people because we know they don't like it. We ask if it's okay to have a cigarette. We don't just walk around, all self-important, thinking we have the right to smoke anytime and anywhere we please.

What hypocrisy would that be? Pot is prescribed in some medical situations. I am unaware of a situation where smoking has been prescribed to treat anything (outside of 1 House episode). Furthermore, his exposure was so minimal compared to people who smoke cigarettes for years that I wonder why you would bring it up in the first place. I don't blame people for their mistakes, but I do expect them to learn from them.

Beyond your reasons for laying the charge, I'm not sure you understand the quote. Here is a longer version to give you more context:

"....No man is an island, entire of itself...any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind"

Just because I may not be directly harming anyone by smoking, doesn't mean that my choice doesn't impact others.

I fidget alot and need to keep my hands busy... I used to just fidget and annoy people or look at my watch alot. Then I started having to drink more water. Go running track in cali. So turned that fidgetting into something useful. Granted still annoys some people to watch me take a sip twist cap back on over and over ever min or 2 lol. But I've cut back. Either way own your faults and turn them into something useful

I'm aware that we need to own our faults. However, like I said, I don't plan to smoke forever. Right now, though, I'm going to enjoy my cigarettes. I've cut back a LOT recently, trying to eventually break the habit. I went from two packs a day to one pack lasting me about a week.

Everyone has vices, smoking is ours. I'm not going to get self-righteous, but I will defend my right to do something that I enjoy, be it constructive or self-destructive.

Hey, at least I'm not shooting up.

See, yeah, we need people like that in South Carolina. It is utterly disgusting to walk around on my school's campus; people congregate around the gazebos and you can smell the smoke from 100+ feet away. People smoke in places where it is clearly marked "NO SMOKING."

To make it all lulzy, there are "Breathe Easy!" posters on every door saying that smoking is banned everywhere except inside the gazebos. And the school does nothing to enforce it.

Of all the postings on the forums this is the lamest of all.

Only thing I will say is I USED to smoke just to make stupid people ask questions.

I've worked in a grocery store for years and years and I cannot tell you how many times I've seen people young and old put back food, sometimes food obviously meant for children, in order to buy cigarettes. That to me reveals a personal crisis in decision making on peoples part. Realize that it does effect people in more ways than you can know, and it clearly reveals that people are making dangerous choices because of addiction.

That being said, I wanted to play the devil's advocate and point out another crisis in decision making and bad choices I've seen a lot of you ignore or agree with. I hate smoking, had family do it, seen it kill people, but who are all of you and your government to decide who smokes and where? Why should anyone tell my business it can't sell cigarettes to people foolish enough to buy them (as long as they are of a sensible age to make that choice)? Or, to tell a restaurant, or business they can't allow it in their establishment?

They came for you and your cigarettes and I was silent, I wasn't a smoker; they came for you and your booze and I was silent, I wasn't a lush; then they came for my large pizza with everything and there was no one to aid me, they had taken you all away!

I can only assume this explains why I was comfortable in a cold setting. Admittedly, I wasn't paying conscious attention to my HR and BP :p



This was probably what was most prominent in my relaxation. Granted, it was probably due to my focus on -not- inhaling that lead to a somewhat meditative state.

No you are the idoit idiot!!!!!

I knew about smoking I know why people do it and always knew. My knowledge on this subject is as high as anyone else's old or new. I even knew when I was a kid in the damn late 80's to early 90's that i was bad. Oh unlike you I was raised in a strict family loving and caring maybe even sheltered per say and NONE OF MY family SMOKES! PER pressure even. I have never smoked a freaking joint or anything I am as clean as i whistle! I have never used a needle either. If your parents and grand parents smoked No wonder jesus holy moley christ you had a bad influence.

Bs if you did not know it was bad lmao lmao lmao. chain smoke you are lucky you do not have cancer of any sort other people were unfortunate. You were the "uninformed crew that did it" So tell me since I have relatives in thier 30's and near towards 40's whom were around your age probably when they started school or were in high school .... why is it that none of them smoked.......? oh my family is close knit also even with relatives I grew around most of my family distant or not. lived with them breathe etc and I have never heard something as ridiculous as what you are saying.

{please do not lump little kid who does not know ***to what ever please do not}

1. You fail
2 you fail again
3. congrats on quiting grab a cig again and i'll karma slap you
4. smart IT IS CANCER you can die FROM IT NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAID YOU CAN DIE PEOPLE WHO SMOKE NOW ARE NOT IDOITS BUT IT IS STUPID WHY??????????? WHY YOU SAY???????? IT CAN KILL YOU MY NEPHEW WAS SEEING PEOPLE SMOKE AND ASKED IF HE COULD DO IT HE GO HIS *** WHIPPED WHEN HE GOT HOME!. ARE YOU HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE? YES MAYBE YOU ARE A RETARD.
5. i am not a little kid since I was born in the early 80's dumb ***.
6. My parents were not born in this country maybe it is because of this fact and their strict ethic's and morals that they were raised that I did not turn into a smoker or drug user.
6. you my friend had a bad influence
7. I laugh lol lol lol lol lol!

/end rant

Then QQing when they are on their death bed crying :

" I do not want to die"

then going and creating a audio tape and book about it "cliche".

This is more of a personal pet peeve, but I really hate it when a person mysteriously afk's in a party or event, and then come back and say "sorry was having a smoke". It's either that, or "afk smoke break" every 10 minutes.

Probably exaggerating, but it does seem like every other person I meet on Fairy smokes.

its even worse when it's the WHM >.> and i don't know... I know some ppl who need to Breath Cigs just to function

I don't normally take the time to reply to such things, but it's 100% absurd that someone would seriously consider my statements about the consequences of cigarette smoking "propaganda". Here's some references to back up what I'm "flailing". And before you bother trying to attempt to discredit the references, please know that one could easily produce dozens more sources with similar content.

"Smoking: The most important modifiable risk factor.
Cigarette smoking accelerates the process of arterial thickening (adding the equivalent of 10 years of aging to one's arteries), increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Smoking-related illnesses cost the U.S. about $50 billion annually in medical care.
And most important; when people stop smoking, their risk rapidly declines. Three years after quitting a pack per day or less, one's risk for heart disease is similar to that of non-smokers."
http://www.asu.edu/courses/css335/Risk%20factors.html

"It is estimated that approximately 80% of lung cancer deaths in men and 75% of lung cancer deaths in women are related to tobacco smoking. The more cigarettes that a person smokes each day and the younger he or she began smoking, the greater the lung cancer risk. People who quit smoking can reduce their risk for developing lung cancer. Ten to fifteen years after quitting, the risk approaches the risk of nonsmokers."
http://www.oncologychannel.com/lungcancer/causes.shtml

"Quitting smoking can significantly reduce your stroke risk. Smoking is often the only identifiable risk factor in people who have suffered a stroke. Understand that living with a stroke is a lot more difficult than living without cigarettes."
http://stroke.about.com/od/strokestatistics/a/SevenThings.htm

"Young women who smoke are twice as likely to have a stroke as their nonsmoking peers, according to a new study. And the more cigarettes a woman smokes per day, the bigger her risk."
http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/news/20080814/smoking-ups-stroke-risk-for-young-women?src=RSS_PUBLIC

"The new lost productivity estimate when combined with smoking-related health care costs, which was reported at $75.5 billion in 1998, exceeds $167 billion per year in the United States."
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/medicalnews/a/smokingcosts.htm

Smoking cigarettes is NOT similar to skinning one's knee, nor is it similar to more serious injuries. It is very simply the most selfish and short-sighted lifestyle choice a young person in the USA can make. When you chose to smoke, you are choosing to expose your loved ones to your smoking's toxins and carcinogens. When you smoke, you are choosing to burden the healthcare system with preventable chronic disease processes. When you smoke, you are choosing to burden your family with your pain and suffering, your disability and decline.

There are SO many ways to quit smoking now, and so many reasons to quit. There are dozens of other means to manage stress. There are dozens of other means to "escape" and relax. There are dozens of other "things" one can "do with their hands" to remain occupied.
Stop. Smoking. Today. Seriously. Now.
Having trouble getting started? Here's the websites you need. No excuses.

http://makesmokinghistory.org/en_US/quitting/reasons-to-quit-smoking.html

http://smokingcessationleadership.ucsf.edu/FS_WhatWorks.htm

http://www.quitnet.com/qnhomepage.aspx

http://www.yourlunghealth.org/stop_smoking/process

http://www2.philipmorrisusa.com/en/quitassist/index_flash.asp

^...... this.

Why would you care if someone smokes or not, if they make an attempt to be courteous about it? And those who are having issues with those who don't care that it smells bad, and is generally rude to force it upon others, think for a second. Do you really think the smoking is the only problem with that person? If they don't care about how they're inconveniencing others in the first place, that's their issue. They're too self-absorbed to care about anyone else. Smoking didn't do that to them, so the blame has nothing to do with their addiction.

And yeah, I smoke. I've known plenty of people who are courteous with it, and hate to inconvenience others with the scent. I try to follow that as well, because why should someone else be forced to smell it if they chose not to do it in the first place? However, I've known plenty of people (customers in fact, seeing as I work in a casino) who are completely oblivious as to what's going on around them, and they'll proceed to just blow their smoke in my face, let ashes fall everywhere, and be generally disgusting. They're also rude, and don't care for the most part. I'm not the type to let them just get by doing that kinda ***, so I'll usually point out the fact that they're forcing their choice upon others who would rather not deal with it, and a great percentage of the time they'll apologize and try to keep it away from others as best they can.

However, it's all about how you say things, and not what you say specifically. If you attempt to be all high and mighty about how you don't smoke, and that they're lesser people for having such a crutch, of course nobody's going to respect your opinion. On the other hand, if you're polite about it, and ask nicely, they'll probably be very apologetic. Most of the time they just don't realize, and everyone's guilty of it at points in time.

As for why people smoke, who really cares? If you don't want to, don't. If you want to, go for it. I don't think less of anyone either way, and neither should any of you. Always remember the quote "Judge not lest ye be judged." Came from some famous book I've never read.

heh Yea >.> I snaped at my friends Feoncie who's about 7 months along, and she's smokeing allmost a pack a *** day, saying "Oh it wont hurt the baby" >.> and then she freaks out when shes hungry and says how much the babys' going to die if she doesn't get Mc'donalds or some ***lol

in 9 weeks we'll just see how much it (Didn't hurt the baby)

enough said^.

did not post rest of it because it was:

TL;DR

Of the seven times my mother was pregnant, she smoked during five of those pregnancies.

My mother's had five miscarriages.

Even if you are "only hurting yourself" You are passing off the cost of your slow suicide onto others. So to truly not hurt others smokers should have increased health care cost to cover what they are costing HMOs which would get passed onto everyone including non-smokers. Your chosing to do that to yourself then you chose to pay for it financially and physically.

That's her own HELP I AM TRAPPED IN 2006 PLEASE SEND A TIME MACHINE fault. Sorry for being insensitive, but if my wife smoked while being pregnant, I'd flip. I'd even quit myself without a second thought.

And stan, if you can't read the rest of my post, don't reply to it. You clearly had nothing intelligent to reply with, keeping your mouth shut would have been a better idea. In b4 "QQ"

Wouldn't be suprised. Theres studies that link caffiene to increased chance of miscarriages

*pre-disclaimer: I read virtually none of the preceding thread. [TLDR]

My personal opinion is that anyone that denies they started smoking either to be cool, to fit in, or to rebel against some form of authority is a damn dirty liar. I will freely admit I started smoking in Jr. High to 'fit in' with my 'cool' friends, and it was absolutely terrible for the first week or so. I can't think of any decent reason someone would start.

Fun anecdote #1: I stopped smoking about midway through high school as a combination of smoking falling out of fashion in my neck of the woods, and having very badly broken my leg and being unable to sneak out and smoke for a few months. :P

Fun anecdote #2: Most of those 'cool' people I was trying to fit in with at the time are either in prison, or are doing their best to be in there. [not drawing any conclusions, that's just where they ended up xD]

All that said, I do still enjoy an occasional cigar or cigarette every few months. There's nothing like a good scotch and a cigar once in awhile. ^^

Seriously, you think smoker's who pay outragious taxes for cigarettes that you do not pay should pay more lol! What your saying goes the same for drinkers too. Saying smoker's should pay more now is pretty lame considering they pay out the *** for EVERYONES stuff that the massive taxes they pay for smoking goes to. Let alone the extra they already pay for on insurances, life, health, ect. already.

I swear to god this country need a "Kentucky Tabbacco Party" in protest like was done with tea so many years ago.

Propaganda: ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause




I rest my case.



There is no difference between smoking and skinning your knee. Or more accurately, riding your bike. I'm at fault for not making the allusion clear... -Anything- you do puts you at risk. Anywhere from smoking, to taking a walk in a city, to even going outside. Driving on the road automatically puts you and anyone else on the road or in your car at risk... But people continue to do it, correct?

Perhaps something more realistic would help? Enter: Pollution

Air Pollution
Water Pollution

This affects more than one's friends and family, yet we do it and, dare I say it, we can't live without it. So once again, going outside is putting you at risk, so you should probably stop doing it. You'd be selfish and short-sighted not to.

(Just for fun: Obesity is also risky)



Fact: I don't smoke, with the exception of having tried a pipe twice.

That being said, I will reiterate my previous point(The one you seemed to overlook because I said "Propaganda"): We have the freedom of choice. You don't have to like it, and you can throw your propaganda around in an attempt to change things... but you're being selfish and short-sighted by insulting and disrespecting the fact that someone made a choice. Especially those that continue to harm themselves by smoking, even knowing the risks. They've made their conscious choice, how about you be selfless enough to respect that?

Yes yes I do. But fine compromise. They pay the same but pay completely out of pocket for smoking related disease. And yes while your at it drinkers people who use drugs and obese people too and any other easily preventable things you can think of.

well.. im rolling a blunt right now, cool? :D

So you don't have to pay for anything? Also, smokers and nonsmokers do not pay the same at all. Example: Life insurance, a smoker will pay more for coverage. Why? Smoker or nonsmoker doesnt matter, ya both gonna die, why does it cost more to bury a smoker than a nonsmoker? Or are nonsmokers not seen as worth as much? ^^

Nope. Your just paying for what you do to yourself.