To be entirely honest, I don't think anyone is on the moral high-ground as far as polluting other people's environments goes. You could apply exactly the same argument to driving - Taking public transport or cycling degrades your health less and improves your financial stability as well as polluting the air we breath less. Driving is also responsible for a large numbers of injuries, deaths and stress and 'cutting' down would help reduce the problem. I somehow doubt that you'd apply that argument though...
That can be said about anything, though. I could walk into any thread and tell everyone I don't care. I could also walk in and say that I don't think they're going to change my mind, nor anybody else's.
But #1: how would I know?
and #2: isn't holding an opinion like this counter to the purpose of a forum?
That said, Walleye, you're probably holding a double standard. Should we sue McDonalds and makers of Oreos because they have trans fat? Some people say yes. What do you think? Do you eat oreos?
Do you drive a car that emits fumes that cause damage to the environment?
Do you exercise regularly and eat a well-balanced diet, staying away from all forms of junk food?
Do you limit your time in front of the computer so as to not impair your vision or suffer the possible consequence of brain cancer from the radiation emitted from the CRT?
I could go on and on. The point here is that there is a balance between length of life and quality of life. If a personal choice is made to smoke, then why impair that choice if the individual feels that his quality of life is enhanced? Yeah, they might die 10 years sooner, but perhaps that's just 10 years less "vegetable" life.
I rarely, occasionally, and socially smoke. But I'm not a smoker. It's not a lifestyle decision for me because I don't get a whole lot out of it. Heck, I even bought a pack of cigarettes for a guy the other day because I knew he was quitting drugs that are far worse for him... that was a deal he made with me. And I'm going to help him quit those drugs... and maybe after he's done with that we can work on smoking if he considers that a problem.
You're obviously:
A) In college
B) Full of yourself.
Only in high school and college did the kids I know not give a f*ck. And since then, they've created new rules.
It's not a smoker's fault they're addicted.
Try not jerking off for a week. Then talk sh!t.
Top 3 reasons not to smoke:
Financially: Every single person out there that is addicted to smoking affects me and you. One of the reasons why health insurance costs are so high can be directly attributed to smoking. The insurance companies know these smokers will, without a doubt, wind up in the hospital with cancer and many other ailements. Worse yet, are the smokers who are on medicare or medicaid. When they wind up in the hospital, striken with lung cancer and a $70,000 bill, every single one of us help pay that bill. What a crock. I have many friends that are in drug/alcohol recovery programs. They are all, understandibly, unemployed while they recover. Each month, they receive $70 from the govt. as a stipend. ALL of them blow it ALL on cigarettes. Every month, without fail. Each one of us helped pay for those smokes through our tax dollars?!
Aromatically: I have plenty of friends that smoke. THEY ALL STINK!!! The absolute worst is right after they've smoked a few, then we get into a conversation. I kid you not, their breath smells like they just ate a big, steaming pile of dog crap! At this point, I do just about anything I can to finish the conversation from 50 feet away. No...come to think of it, their breath smells like crap every minute of the day - whether they just smoked or not.
Another financial reason: Do you realize how much cigarettes cost?? It totally ticks me off when I see homeless bums on the street or people trying to get back on their feet financially, and they are addicted to smoking. If they are earning any money, tons of it is being consumed by cigarettes. It doesn't take a math genious to figure out how financially devistating smoking can be. Sometimes, I want to grab my friends who are in these situations by the shirt, and shake em around until they understand how idiotic they are being. I want the best for my friends that are recovering drug/alcohol addicts trying to get their life back. They only retard their financial recovery by blowing their money on smokes.
Conclusion: This list could go on and on. People who smoke effect everyone around them. Smoking may not seem like such a big deal, but when you boil it all down, it is huge. There's not ONE good thing about it. Thanks for listening.
Financially: Every single person out there that is addicted to smoking affects me and you. One of the reasons why health insurance costs are so high can be directly attributed to smoking. The insurance companies know these smokers will, without a doubt, wind up in the hospital with cancer and many other ailements. Worse yet, are the smokers who are on medicare or medicaid. When they wind up in the hospital, striken with lung cancer and a $70,000 bill, every single one of us help pay that bill. What a crock. I have many friends that are in drug/alcohol recovery programs. They are all, understandibly, unemployed while they recover. Each month, they receive $70 from the govt. as a stipend. ALL of them blow it ALL on cigarettes. Every month, without fail. Each one of us helped pay for those smokes through our tax dollars?!
Aromatically: I have plenty of friends that smoke. THEY ALL STINK!!! The absolute worst is right after they've smoked a few, then we get into a conversation. I kid you not, their breath smells like they just ate a big, steaming pile of dog crap! At this point, I do just about anything I can to finish the conversation from 50 feet away. No...come to think of it, their breath smells like crap every minute of the day - whether they just smoked or not.
Another financial reason: Do you realize how much cigarettes cost?? It totally ticks me off when I see homeless bums on the street or people trying to get back on their feet financially, and they are addicted to smoking. If they are earning any money, tons of it is being consumed by cigarettes. It doesn't take a math genious to figure out how financially devistating smoking can be. Sometimes, I want to grab my friends who are in these situations by the shirt, and shake em around until they understand how idiotic they are being. I want the best for my friends that are recovering drug/alcohol addicts trying to get their life back. They only retard their financial recovery by blowing their money on smokes.
Conclusion: This list could go on and on. People who smoke effect everyone around them. Smoking may not seem like such a big deal, but when you boil it all down, it is huge. There's not ONE good thing about it. Thanks for listening.
It pisses me off greatly seeing those young idiots begin smoking. The only people at school that think it's cool are THEM. Everyone ELSE at school is LAUGHING AT THEM INSIDE.
Alright, smokers die earlier and don't get paid social security that they paid into. After all the govt. and everyone benefits from the death.
I for one would rather help family members quit.
There's no way anyone benefits from their deaths. Their deaths cost far more than they have ever contributed to social security. Imagine the cost of all those doctor's visits, medicine, cancer treatments, surgeries, hospitalization, ect. It's ENORMOUS!! We all pay for this in one way or another. Whether through higher insurance costs, or straight from our tax dollars to those on govt health care.
I thought his little speech was very comical...oh BTW I smoke and dealing with society that puts a tax paying law abiding citizen on a lower rung then a aids infested hatian prositute really pisses me off...
Ausm
LMAO someone who finally makes sense....reading walleye's makes believe he has callouses that need to be surgically removed
Ausm
Amused
Elite Member
- Apr 14, 2001
- 55,863
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You have no idea how much extended geriatric care costs, do you? A smoker dies at 60 after a 6 month bout with cancer, and an elderly non-smoker dies at 90 after 20 years of geriatric care and 10 years of nursing home costs.
Guess who costs more?
Oh, and the elderly non-smoking person would have more than likely used Medicare to pay for their geriatric care after 65. The 60 year old was more than likely insured privately. Remember that smokers pay more, on average, for private medical insurance than non-smokers.
Finally, this is why socialism is anathema to liberty. When the government pays for you, it gets to control what you do.
kami's complaint was that he shouldnt have to smell people. I dont have to smell good for you or anyone.
Amused
Elite Member
- Apr 14, 2001
- 55,863
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Oh come on. The claims that ETS causes health problems are highly suspect. So much so that the sole report used to pass ETS laws all over the country and published by the EPA was thrown out of court for being so glaringly biased and unscientific it wasn't even funny.
SagaLore
Elite Member
- Dec 18, 2001
- 24,037
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Cigarettes contain 8 to 20 milligrams (mg) of nicotine (depending on the brand), but only approximately 1 mg is actually absorbed by your body when you smoke a cigarette. So there is still nicotine in the second hand smoke.
Within the body:
Nicotine initially causes a rapid release of adrenaline, which tells your body to dump some of its glucose stores into your blood. Nicotine may also increase your basal metabolic rate slightly. Over the long haul, nicotine can increase the level of the "bad" cholesterol, LDL.
Within the brain:
It increases the release of acetylcholine from the neurons, leading to heightened activity in cholinergic pathways throughout your brain. This cholinergic activity calls your body and brain to action, and this is the wake-up call that many smokers use to re-energize themselves throughout the day. Through these pathways, nicotine improves your reaction time and your ability to pay attention, making you feel like you can work better.
It stimulates cholinergic neurons which promotes the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the reward pathways of your brain - This neural circuitry is supposed to reinforce behaviors that are essential to your survival, like eating when you're hungry. Stimulating neurons in these areas of the brain brings on pleasant, happy feelings that encourage you to do these things again and again. When drugs like cocaine or nicotine activate the reward pathways, it reinforces your desire to use them again because you feel so at peace and happy afterwards.
It releases glutamate, a neurotransmitter involved in learning and memory - Glutamate enhances the connections between sets of neurons. These stronger connections may be the physical basis of what we know as memory. When you use nicotine, glutamate may create a memory loop of the good feelings you get and further drive the desire to use nicotine.
Your brain also makes more endorphins (natural pain killers) in response to nicotine.
This information taken from howstuffworks.com.
You might disagree, but you're wrong. Some people smoke because they like smoking - because of the nicotine, regardless of how often. However, the overwhelming majority develop a strong addiction based on the events above. Without the nicotine, those 5 a year smokers wouldn't like it, and wouldn't smoke at all. Nicotine is what makes smoking enjoyable, but also what makes it addicting.
When kids try smoking very young, whether to impress their peers or because they thought it was cool, or the common excuse "I have to try it at least once before I can dis it" - the changes in the brain as listed above immediately initiate an addiction whether or not they thought smoking was disgusting the first time. And in the case of second hand smoke, those parents who smoke have a higher chance of having kids who smoke. In another smoking thread I posted that whenever I get caught downwind of a smoker, I get an adrenaline rush and my heart quickens - one of the replies was that it was just psychosomatic - I completely disagree, there is still nictonine in that smoke and growing up with a smoking mother, my brain/body has already developed a response to it.
There is another element to this, I am going on what I have seen quite a lot, not on what is the case with 100% of people.
non-smoker encounters stress: often just has to deal with it
smoker encounters stress: they have to go outside for a close encounter with their little cancer stick buddy
non-smoker encounters stress: often just has to deal with it
smoker encounters stress: they have to go outside for a close encounter with their little cancer stick buddy
dabuddha
Lifer
- Apr 10, 2000
- 19,579
- 17
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Originally posted by: TheCorm
There is another element to this, I am going on what I have seen quite a lot, not on what is the case with 100% of people.
non-smoker encounters stress: often just has to deal with it
smoker encounters stress: they have to go outside for a close encounter with their little cancer stick buddy
Smoking isn't the only way to deal with stress
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