March 6, 201214 yr http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-17264442 Like most reformed smokers, I'm strongly opposed to smoking.... nor do I think smoking should be the choice of the individual. 1. Smoking costs enormous sums in medical costs. 2. Smoking affects people in the vicinity. 3. Smokers stink. 4. But Governments derive large revenues from cigarette taxes. Does anybody still think smoking is acceptable?
March 6, 201214 yr I thought that it would go away as it became known how harmful it is, but I still see young people taking it up in large numbers. I think it should be banned completely, but feel sorry for the addicts who took it up when it was encouraged by society.
March 6, 201214 yr I didn't even enjoy smoking when I was a smoker, I was just addicted Freedom of speech and all that, but I just can't see what positives it has to offer.
March 6, 201214 yr I find smoking acceptable. I enjoy a cigarette - worryingly, I enjoy several, but its not something I've really made a serious effort at. We all die of something, and as far as I can tell, smokers tend to be spared the indignities of years of senile dementia. Lest anyone accuse me of self-interest, I believe my last (few) cigarette(s) was January 2011, and prior to that, some months previous. As I say, its not something I've ever really got into. SC
March 6, 201214 yr I have never been able to figure out what the attraction is. The few cigarettes that I tried just made my mouth taste like s*** and my clothes stink and I could find nothing pleasurable about it at all. I have always figured that you had to get addicted first and then it was enjoyable because you had to have it.
March 6, 201214 yr Well I still enjoy the odd smoke. Mind you its becoming less and less socially acceptable so I confine myself to smoking in plane toilets and position myself outside a restaurant so the wind blows the smoke inside. The victories get pettier with each passing year....maybe I'll get bored and quit soon.
March 7, 201214 yr Does anybody still think smoking is acceptable? It's as acceptable as anything else that is a personal choice I guess. I mean I dont smoke ( I have at times though ) I dont drink unless I go somewhere with friends but I would never begrudge the millions of drunken idiots in the world with cirrhosis of the liver or blown kidneys & brain cells the right to put anything they want in their own bodies. Same as many other things that are personal choices So in that spirit I would say I think any personal choice you make of what goes in your body is acceptable & basically none of my business. It is not what goes in a persons mouth that defiles them....It is what comes out.
March 7, 201214 yr Author Does anybody still think smoking is acceptable? It's as acceptable as anything else that is a personal choice I guess. I mean I dont smoke ( I have at times though ) I dont drink unless I go somewhere with friends but I would never begrudge the millions of drunken idiots in the world with cirrhosis of the liver or blown kidneys & brain cells the right to put anything they want in their own bodies. Same as many other things that are personal choices So in that spirit I would say I think any personal choice you make of what goes in your body is acceptable & basically none of my business. It is not what goes in a persons mouth that defiles them....It is what comes out. While I agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence, I also resent the fact that someone's personal choice (smoking or alcoholism etc) may end up costing the community a fortune.
March 7, 201214 yr While I agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence, I also resent the fact that someone's personal choice (smoking or alcoholism etc) may end up costing the community a fortune. But you are content with a convicted murderer costing the community a fortune by housing and feeding him and paying his monthly subscription to Sky ?
March 7, 201214 yr I used to work with a thoracic surgeon...big Man Yoo fan he was...abused the nurses...his patients always bled like buggery...and he'd look up and grin at me wickedly as they bled near to death and take the piss out of our gross manager...or our crap players... Anyway after he cleaned the blood off his specs he would appear at the anaesthetic room door and borrow my pack of smokes and pop outside for a chain smoking session. Bugger bought me a carton of the bloody things when I left. I'm sure he was sizing me up for a cut an shut the b*stard.... More motivation to quit...lol
March 7, 201214 yr People who are long-term smokers have already made a lot of choices about things- generally that their lives will be shorter- and are plainly advertising that to others, who should make decisions about how close they can be (physically and emotionally). One thing I would recommend to smokers, whether or not you might ever intend to quit, and that's roll your own from organic tobacco. The commercial stuff IS radioactive (the fertilisers used draw up polonium naturally present in the soil into the plant) and quite dangerous- on the order of one chest X-ray per pack. Anecdotally I knew a smoker who only smoked his own rolled from organic tobacco, and he lived into his 90s.
March 7, 201214 yr Smokie prefers to roll his own...but that is a tale for the Amsterdam forum I think.
March 7, 201214 yr Well.....I know it is statistically correct to say smokers live shorter lives but....
March 7, 201214 yr My dear old grandmother has 11 years to go until her telegram arrives....whisky and smokes every day. Oh and the odd knitted jersey...
March 7, 201214 yr Smoking reminds me of another habbit that used to be socially acceptable - and that one did not harm anyone but the addict.
March 8, 201214 yr Smoking reminds me of another habit that used to be socially acceptable - and that one did not harm anyone but the addict. Seems like it is still alive & well in the country. When ever I am there most of the old ladies still chew that betel nut with its side effect......black teeth....mmmmmmm
March 8, 201214 yr Author While I agree wholeheartedly with your last sentence, I also resent the fact that someone's personal choice (smoking or alcoholism etc) may end up costing the community a fortune. But you are content with a convicted murderer costing the community a fortune by housing and feeding him and paying his monthly subscription to Sky ? No, I am certainly not content with that! but I don't see the death penalty as a viable alternative. I just don't know what the alternative is.
March 8, 201214 yr From the OP: 2. Smoking affects people in the vicinity. 3. Smokers stink. Other than in an enclosed room full of smokers, any effect passed on to other people is negligible. If you're outside and you catch a whiff of cigarette smoke, the passive smoking effect is virtually non-existent, so the only thing you could argue is that it doesn't smell particularly nice. But, although I don't think cigarette smoke is the most pleasant smell in the world, it's not that offensive - I'd rather walk past someone smoking a ciggie than some of the drains I've walked over in Bangkok, for example. As for smokers themselves, again the smell isn't that bad and it's only noticeable if you get very close to the person, and if they've smoked quite recently. It's not like a smoker reeks the whole room out and is unbearable to be around. Smoking's banned in pubs and other enclosed spaces, and I think that's a good thing, but that's probably as far as it needs to go regarding what is/isn't strictly allowed. Other measures put in place to help discourage or reduce smoking, e.g. warnings on packs, un-branded packs, etc. are also to be encouraged, but I don't think anything more needs to be done to effect when / what / how people smoke if they're old enough to do so.
March 8, 201214 yr Author I can't quantify the effect of passive smoking, so I won't comment further on that aspect. One nice thing about living in Thailand is how well the anti-smoking laws in Thailand are observed. People just don't smoke on buses or in restaurants. Contrast that with, for example, Hong Kong, where people seem to light up wherever they feel like it.
March 8, 201214 yr One nice thing about living in Thailand is how well the anti-smoking laws in Thailand are observed. Anti-smoking laws are observed and respected where they're enforced (e.g. buses, restaurants, etc. as you mention) but the enforcement itself is often lacking, e.g. there are still quite a few pubs around Bangkok which don't enforce what is supposed to be a blanket ban on smoking in pubs. But, if a pub makes it clear it's a non-smoking pub, then this is nearly always observed and respected.
March 9, 201214 yr Smokers stink non-smokers stink more. Only on Klingon Maybe he means they smell more SC
March 9, 201214 yr I'll have to fess up here. I like to have a smoke as I'm walking to work in the morning...yet if I'm not smoking and there is someone walking in front of me doing so then I will cross the street to escape their foul odour. Yes I'm a hypocrite. I suspect most smokers are.
March 9, 201214 yr Yes I'm a hypocrite. I suspect most smokers are. So are most non-smokers Edit:- that I know
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