Smokers Beware

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I hesitate to comment on this thread to give my viewpoint cuz I know that it can become a heated topic. But.

I'm a non smoker. I drink occasionally. My drinking does not pollute the air around me; nor does it cause ill effects on the health of people around me.

I don't have to take a (smoke ) break multiple times a day while doing my job.

The cost of my health insurance is high partly because I am subsidizing the cost of health care for smokers.

My wife's grandparents were both smokers before they died from it. They always said it was their right. Even after they had to have lots of help from family members cuz they, one by one, lost lung capacity to the point that they were so winded, just walking to the kitchen, they had to sit down and rest before making the trek back to the living room. But "it's my life, no ones gonna tell me how to live". Eventually it killed them both. But not before it took its toll on their family.

No hate here, just stating my experience. And non smokers have rights too.
 
We get UA'd at work now just for nicotine. If we or someone on our policy (spouse, children) smoke or are found to have nicotine in our system it adds $600 dollars/year or $50 dollars per month each to our health insurance premiums.

Weed on the other hand is now legal for recreational use. I have known many people who grow and smoke weed. I have not met anyone who grows tobacco. I think the weed is probably cheaper to smoke and the cigarettes are easier to regulate because no one is growing their own tobacco. Nobody I ever met anyway. My 2 cents: people have the right to regulate themselves. Very few people who use harmful substances (cake) are out of control with it. Most people exercise moderation. And if they don't they live with the consequences.
On the positive, I have not smoked since before Thanksgiving. Now I am bothered by the smell of everyone around me who does smoke: go figure. apparently there is a good chance I was offending others rights to not have to smell it. And food tastes better. that's is probably not what I need at 245 lbs LOL.
 
WA71swinger said:
We get UA'd at work now just for nicotine. If we or someone on our policy (spouse, children) smoke or are found to have nicotine in our system it adds $600 dollars/year or $50 dollars per month each to our health insurance premiums.
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Yes everyone else on the policy has to submit to UA's. Not to mention (biometric testing). I pay increased premiums for my obesity. Plus there is cholesterol, BP, so on and so on.
 
bighammer said:
I hesitate to comment on this thread to give my viewpoint cuz I know that it can become a heated topic. But.

I'm a non smoker. I drink occasionally. My drinking does not pollute the air around me; nor does it cause ill effects on the health of people around me.

I don't have to take a (smoke ) break multiple times a day while doing my job.

The cost of my health insurance is high partly because I am subsidizing the cost of health care for smokers.

My wife's grandparents were both smokers before they died from it. They always said it was their right. Even after they had to have lots of help from family members cuz they, one by one, lost lung capacity to the point that they were so winded, just walking to the kitchen, they had to sit down and rest before making the trek back to the living room. But "it's my life, no ones gonna tell me how to live". Eventually it killed them both. But not before it took its toll on their family.

No hate here, just stating my experience. And non smokers have rights too.
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:thumbup:

Same thing here except I do not drink at all... Never have... I do not care what someone else does as long as it does not have any effect on me.. I don't want to smell it or even care to watch someone do it.. Just me...
 
krazykuda said:
Just FYI: Cigarettes in Cook County, IL are close to $10 per pack now.
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And still yet smokers will piss away their health and wealth
on a habit that has no benefit.
What does it take to get their attention?

Fire on one end and a fool on the other.
 
longarm said:
And still yet smokers will piss away their health and wealth
on a habit that has no benefit.
What does it take to get their attention?

Fire on one end and a fool on the other.
Click to expand...

It goes to show you, that some of them are going to smoke no matter what.


Trying to ban it will just create a black market for it. Just like illegal drugs and when alcohol was banned. They will still do it.... We can't make them stop, only they can stop themselves. And if they don't want or can't stop, then they will keep doing it.
 
krazykuda said:
It goes to show you, that some of them are going to smoke no matter what.


Trying to ban it will just create a black market for it. Just like illegal drugs and when alcohol was banned. They will still do it.... We can't make them stop, only they can stop themselves. And if they don't want or can't stop, then they will keep doing it.
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This is why i stated IF they are going to go beyond their bounds in regulation, they should regulate what goes into them, i.e. the chemicals.

Now if the public was smart and used their power, i.e. money, they would stop buying these products and switch to the "e-cigs". Now the little i know about them there is no toxic chemicals other than the Nicotine, but even that is not "transferred" to the air around them. And you dont have all the chemicals.
 
Personally, I see no need to ban smoking all together. Less and less people are smoking than ever before. The people who are, either will quit or wont. It's something that is a lot less fashionable than it was back in the 50's and 60's and fewer kids are growing up around it now, so they really don't pick up the habit. That is going to continue and the number of smokers will steadily decline. R.J. Reynolds figured this out years ago, that's why they bought Kraft Foods and several other ventures.
My family used to have tobacco base, now we don't bother, can't even sub-let it. A farmer is contracted by the company's and is told how much to grow. It's a set price so, there isn't a risk for the farmer, and no need to over grow, he's not allowed to sell any over the contract amount. At least that's how it's done here in Ohio now. I don't miss messing with tobacco, it was hard work and that was enough to keep me from wanting anything to do with it. We'll never really see the end of smoking or tobacco use, at least not in our lifetimes. But look around, see how much it's dropped since we were kids.
 
Tobacco companies have been marketing in other countries for decades. The Marlboro man still rides on TV across the world.
 
My Daughters are both smokers and most of their friends smoke...it's seems like the 20something crowd thinks it's cool again. My wife and I never smoked around them. Growing up they were against it but then they picked up the habit.
 
The "liberation" arguement, that is, to say "I'll live how I want to live" is no oversight by the social engineers that cigarette companies have working for them.

Camel pays their employees to involve themselves with social scenes, they buy people concert and event tickets, get vouchers for clubs, bars, sports games and represent a "lifestyle". One of my friends used to work for Camel. They aren't allowed to promote cigarettes to people, but they still do tie themselves into subcultures.

Nothing says "I'm a rebel, I'll do what I want" like being addicted to giving money to faceless corporations in exchange for bad health.

Tobacco is not about freedom, or liberty. It's about greed.
 
My wife and I both smoke, and we have been trying for a couple years to quit. We've attempted cold turkey, Chantix, and patches, and nothing works. Something will set my wife off when we're trying to quit and she'll light up and that will start us both back down the slippery slope. We want to quit for our son (we don't smoke around him) but it's proving harder than we thought. I've only smoked for about 11 years, but she has been smoking for over 20. We've got the first step down, we want to quit. But it's easier said than done.
 
I can imagine.

One of the things that I did that helped Amy quit, when I met her, was give her a lot of alternatives. She quit cold, but it wasn't without moral support. It was about 8 months to a year before she said she stopped craving them on a mental level. Physical addiction was over in about 3 months or so. She was smoking for about 7 years.

The only thing that I have witnessed that has actually worked in my circle of friends and family, was half a lung removed in one case, and moral support and alternatives/ goals/ rewards given in 3 other cases. You'd be surprised at how well a reward system can work, without any alternative nicotine. Gum does help.

When you've got a reward set for meeting levels of time without smoking, coupled with moral support and an immediate alternative when you have cravings, it gives you somewhere to go, instead of nowhere.
 
bighammer said:
My drinking does not pollute the air around me; nor does it cause ill effects on the health of people around me.
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I'm just glad smoking is banned indoors virtually everywhere here in CA. I was somewhat young when smoking was first banned in restaurants. Trying to enjoy a nice dinner while the hazy foul stench from the smoking section fills the room is just disgusting. I don't know how you guys put up with it back then.
 
ESP47 said:
I'm just glad smoking is banned indoors virtually everywhere here in CA. I was somewhat young when smoking was first banned in restaurants. Trying to enjoy a nice dinner while the hazy foul stench from the smoking section fills the room is just disgusting. I don't know how you guys put up with it back then.
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Before I smoked, I never noticed it. However, I did respect other people's right to smoke and I never belittled them or made them feel unwanted because they chose to smoke. It was a non-issue with me. And I grew up with asthma.
 
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