smoking and dating.... ( a rant )

[Long Duck Dong]

lol i love this one....it gives me a chance to be ignorant and arrogant

WHY ???? cos i'm a smoker.... so stick that in ya pipe and smoke it....

we have all heard the hype about the dangers of smoking and cancer etc etc etc..... yadda yadda yadda..... borrrriiiiinnnnnngggggggggggggg

but how does smoking affect ya chances with a possible partner or sexual experience.....???

well...lol its personal preference....some people scream about kissing a smoker ( it smells and tastes like a ashtray ) yet they have no issues with licking my ass.... and I can tell you now....I would sooner eat a ashtray full of smokes... i know what comes outta my ass...lol

but seriously, the attitude of some anti smokers / reformed smokers / total non smokers.... is nothing short of absolutely disgusting.....and they can't see just how nasty their remarks can affect a person....

don't get me wrong, I am a 36 year old smoker of 29 years..... yeah, my first smoke was at 7 years old..... and I hate the fact i smoke.... its expensive, its messy, it can upset people if i smoke near them...... and it attracts assholes from here to breakfast time, quick to ram their opinion in my face.... which annoys me... cos they come over to me stand in front of me, then moan about me blowing smoke in their face.... and they haven't got the brains to work out that they stood where i am smoking........

but my smoking doesn't truly affect my sex life.... co of the fact i don't have one......lol.....
i am considerate of people around me that don't smoke.....I will never light up in a persons home ...I am happy to walk away from the house and smoke.... I am happy not to smoke around their kids...etc etc etc and so i have many friends that don't smoke, and we don't screw

I am a smoker... i love a good cigar.... and if I die of cancer, its my fault... but i have paid out many $1000's in taxes for the privilege of smoking
( in nz, the 300, 000 odd smokers pay out 1.3 billion a year in taxes on tobacco, no other group comes close to that, yet smokers have no rights )

some people don't like dating smokers... and thats cool..... but it doesn't make smokers bad or wrong...... if people think I am gonna give up smoking just to date them, they are deluded...

lol some of the reasons that people give for not dating smokers are reasonable, so I am gonna respond ....

1) smokers clothes stink of nicotine....... well stop wearing my clothes then

2) kissing a smoker is like kissing a ashtray..... if you kiss ashtrays, i'm outta here

3) a room full of smokers is a room full of smoke, cigarette ash, and its hard to breath, and i come out smelling of smoke.......two things.... use the bloody door.... and a roomful of non smokers is a room full of people bitching and moaning about smokers....

4) smokers are not as good in bed as non smokers......ahhh excuse me....... smoking doesn't make a person useless in bed, its no idea of how to please a person that does it

5) smokers have no consideration or non smokers...... thats true.... bitch at us about smoking long enuf, of course we are gonna ignore you and go out of our way to piss you off...

i need a health warning on my profile.......
* caution look at a smokers profile can give you delusions of getting cancer from reading their profile *

one of the hardest things I find with smoking, is it does limit my options.... a lot of people are opting for the cleaner , greener image of the non smoker... and thats cool.....personal choice......but honestly....you have a choice.... you can date me or not date me......the fact that i smoke is not a major issue....

incredibly, people treat smoking like a profile......they assume what the person is like, not thru meeting them, but using one statement as a guideline.....and draw a conclusion about the person based on that.....

on a number of occasions, people have judged me online without knowing me, cos i am a smoker....then they meet me in r/l...tell me that I am such a nice guy, with a heart of gold.... and the first thing that goes thru my head, is that they called me a selfish ignorant, inconsiderate asshole cos i smoke.....

all i have to say to that... is you don't have to kiss me for us to be friends......and i consider my friends.... and i respect the fact that they don't smoke so I excuse myself and don't smoke in their presence...

and as a final couple of words...

stop bloody blaming cancer on smokers..... I live in new zealand.... my smoking is not giving people cancer in the usa and vice versa....

and

as I say in new zealand.... if all the smokers stopped smoking, the government loses 1.3 billion in taxes.... who is gonna have to cover that ??? the non smokers..... so shut up and be thankful for smokers

[myironlung78]

i've hit it off with people in the past, then they found out i was a smoker and they went running for the hills. it's some b.s. eh?

just wanted to share that, i gotta go back to making out with my ashtray

[ambi53mm]

:::Sigh of relief:::When I first spotted your post coupling Smoking with Bisexuality I gave pause especially when in parentheses you fairly indicated that this was to be(a rant).
My heart sank for a brief moment as I prepared myself for the worst and began listing my reasons and justification for what has become the rallying point of the concerned citizens for health. I’m sure somebody out there has done a study on how smoking is contributing to the global warming problems we now face and that somehow smoking is more toxic to the environment than the exhaust coming of from their SUV.
I gave pause as I reached for a pack of Winston Ultra lights ..carefully removed one from the pack and offered it up to the seven directions the last being myself. When I pray I smoke and as my ritual demands it is a pause for reflection as I ingest into my body and lungs that which comes from Mother Earth and exhale towards Father Sky a bit of myself along with a thought or two to whatever happens to floating around in my heart, mind and soul. The fact that I pray about thirty times a day should be of no concern. We live in a time when prayers are needed. When advised on how horrible and offensive my habitual ritualized smoking is and how I should quit, I politely reply that I do intend to quit. I have in fact a day aside that just happens to coincide with the day I die..
The fact that we are a dying breed, should deserve some consideration if in fact we are to be the victims of our vices. Having worked in Geriatrics during another phase of my life’s journey I’ve seen the effects of a lifetime of smoking and also seen the effects of living and inhabiting a body way too long from those that never knew the pleasure. Neither is necessarily pretty, but it taught me to value quality over quantity. I’m in no hurry to leave this world but would rather have a little bit of a guarantee that it will be sooner than later and the pleasurable memories, that I enjoyed myself while I was here rather than deny myself those things that I enjoy. This body is going to fall apart regardless and everyday is a good day to die when you’re doing what you enjoy.
Respect and consideration are lessons learned and practiced by the wise LDD and I embrace you for who you are and not for what you choose of sound mind and your own freewill.
::::Lights up another one and sends up a prayer for LDD:::: You’re not alone.

Ambi :)

[eeyoresgr1]

I love when people come up to and say "you know smoking is bad for you right?".......

really, hadn't heard that one. I get sick of people judging me for smoking, I live in a very conservative town where everything is evil and God shall smite thee!

Smoking in my choice, it relaxes me, and calms me when I am stressed. I do want to quit but I have other things I am trying to focus on right now (sounds like an excuse but I actually have it outlined with my doctor).

That being said I do have some pet peeves when it comes to smokers. Smoking is MY choice, not the choice of children when you smoke around them, in the car and house with them. This truly bothers me. When I see a parent bring a kid into the smoking section, or an infant coughing from her prents smoking while holding her I want to scream. It is sooooooo bad for their tiny lungs. How hard is it to take it outside?

ok that was my rant. :rolleyes:

[NorthBiEast]

I'm a non-smoker.
Some of my best friends are smokers, and have been kind enough to not pressure me to join them. I choose to go out with them on thier work breaks and they are considerate enough to move downwind, unasked, especially when I was preggo. Likewise, I don't give them flack for thier choice to smoke.

Not everyone is so thoughtful however. I don't appreciate seeing people leaning on the "no smoking" sign that is between me and the door that I have to enter. My husband has asthma, and being around second-hand smoke, even just smoke saturated clothes, can cause him serious breathing problems. I am glad that the town closest to me has made it illegal to smoke in your car with a child (second hand smoke is probably the cause of my hubby's asthma to begin with).

I believe that it is possible for smokers and non-smokers to live in peace together. The trick is that BOTH sides of the argument need to respect each other's choice. You don't try to force me to breath your smoke, I won't try to force you to quit. Deal? :grouphug:

of course, as a species, humans aren't noted for peacful co-existence. :disgust:

[DiamondDog]

I don't mind smokers, especially light smokers 3-5 cigs a day. I used to smoke and I may start again and most of my friends smoke cigarettes.

I just don't like people who smoke cigars/pipes, have a fetish for it, or who are heavy chain smokers of cigarettes.

[FerociousFeline]

As a smoker myself, I felt the need to chime in on this one.

Why is it that people act like burning tobacco is akin to agent orange, but don't have even the slightest problem with the automobile exhaust that ALL of them both create and inhale on a daily basis which is MUCH worse for you?

My message to all violent non smokers is simply this: When you get serious about cleaning the air on the city streets/highways, then I'll take you more seriously about your freaking out about this monkey on my back. Till then, I'm sick of the "SIN" taxes and every OTHER tax you levy upon all these people who would likely quit if they could manage to. The race is on to find a new witch to hunt, as smokers have been pretty much relagated to second class citizens in this country.

stumbling off soap box while trying to light a cigarette.

:bigrin:

[Michael623]

First let me say I respect and love ya Duck. But, as a person with heart disease and who smoked 2 1/2 to 3 packs a day for 32 years. I have to disagree with you. 400,000 people who smoke die each year, which was their choice. But, 40,000 die from "second hand smoke". I don't have the numbers on how many people die directly from eating ass holes or those that die from kissing people who have just eaten an ass hole, but my guess is the numbers are significantly less than that of smokers.

[TorontoGuy2007]

interesting post Mr Duck, you make some valid arguements

i’ve never dated a smoker but i wouldn’t let that stop me. just as long as they don’t light up around me. i hate breathing second hand smoke.. my lungs are already full of enough pollution..

where i do draw the line is drinking. i had a drinking problem in the past and overcame it, therefore i have no desire to date a drinker.. i don’t like to be around alcohol..

[tgqp34]

I smoked 2 packs of Marlboro Reds a day in high school, still do occasionally. I picked up cigars a while back, and have one about once a week. I quit for a while b/c of asthma attacks, but I have more of a "social habit" now than before. I've actually had more sex with people that I met in "smoke breaks" at clubs or parties or work than I haven't. So no complaints here. It does get a little old when people eyeball you when you're smoking OUTSIDE of a restaurant...its like "HELLO, WHERE THE HELL DO YOU WANT ME TO SMOKE NOW? YOU ALREADY GOT ME KICKED OUT THE RESTARAUNT. should i go to my CAR? o wait....can't do that either...resale value will DROP. Guess I should shove this little white stick up my ass and absorb the nicotine enema style!"

[spartca]

I've got a month of no smoking and let me tell you I feel great, my partners are happier, and I've expanded my dating pool considerably. I heartily recommend quitting smoking!!! :)

[Long Duck Dong]

hugs ya michael, and love ya post tgqp

I better post,
lol I will not defend a persons right to smoke.....as its a personal choice... its a stupid habit, expensive and dirty, and yeah i smoke......

and indeed i have fought for the rights of non smokers.... as a smoker.... sound like a hypocrite ??? yeah, maybe.... BUT there is a side to things that people didn't see...

I helped set up one of the only smokers restaurants and bars in new zealand.... 99.99% of places catered for non smokers..... so a place was set up for smokers to enjoy their habit, with staff that smoked etc etc etc..... a group of non smokers decided that it was their rights, and in their best interest to go to this smokers restaurant, and kick up a stink cos there was not a section for them, and why should they have to sit in a area with smokers

they kicked up such a stink with the human rights commission etc, and created so many issues, that the place went broke, putting 32 staff out of work

the non smokers accomplished nothing.....but in a tv interview... they stated that they didn't have any reason for their actions other that they wanted to get on tv

with the new law that came in, the smoking law.... it catered for non smokers.... in workplaces, restaurants, pubs, bars etc....ok, now all the places in nz are smoke free.....now in anybodies eyes, that would be good enuf for them.... you would think so.... but no.....they pushed until cigar shops and tobacconist's shops were put under the law..... 68 people out of work, $18 million dollars in peoples livelihoods, gone......for the simple act of selling tobacco...

now the argument is used in nz, that smoking is killing people... and I agree....
its bad for people.....and its claimed that the cost of treating each person is $50,000... and thats a drain on the health system.... ok valid point.....
but 4000-6000 people are treated for smoking related illnesses.... and smokers singlehandedly pay out 1.3 billlion dollars a year in tax for the right to smoke....thats 400,000 smokers.... massive tax bill we have....

now 47,000 people are treated for alcohol related illnesses and injuries....3.8 billion dollars in insurance, health and compensation costs....and thats not including lost wages, expenses etc.....

what annoys me, is the people that got annoyed with me smoking in a pub.... make up a much greater group of people that injure and kill others...the drinking drivers.....

my smoking is a dirty habit.... but you are safer with me smoking at home... than you are with a drinking driver on the roads....
I may smoke outside the pub once every two weeks and that places a person at risk if they stand near me.... but in a pub of 50 people... and estimating that 25 may drink and drive..... thats 25 chances that somebody may not come home tonight......and thats in a few hours of drinking.....

now my right to smoke in a pub, has been taken away..... your right to drink at the pub, and drive hasn't..........

thats why i ranted..... simply cos a handful of people condemn me for smoking in my own home.... yet they will drink and drive on the roads

[Star Gazer]

I don't smoke, never have, never will. I will not date someone who smokes. I am friends of people who smoke. I will not go places that allow people to smoke.

I will not allow anyone to smoke in my cars, my homes or in my business. I have never hired a tobacco user. At the entrance to the parking lot for my office we have a sign, "This is a smoke free location, tobacco products may not be used anywhere on our campus, inside or out, thank you"


We don't care if people smoke we just don't want to be around it.

We also fight against tax increases on tobacco.

While I enjoy sex with both men and women, we don't do anal sex, that is our choice too.

[tatooedpunk]

I quit smoking 2 years ago after smoking for 15 years didnt want to pass the mantle to my son,
So try to justify smoking all you want it is very harmful (though no proven link to cancer but what about all the rest!)
Think about others you selfish "£$%%^&

[coyotedude]

Let me offer a slightly different perspective.

I am not a recreational smoker - I don't smoke cigarettes or cigars. But in my religion, tobacco is a very sacred gift from the Creator. Its smoke - in a pipe or a smudge - takes our prayers skyward. We offer it in prayer and for sacrifice. We call it "medicine."

I don't smoke "recreationally" because I don't want to abuse the medicine. I've seen what abusing this medicine has done to family, friends, and loved ones - the pain of cancer, emphysema/COPD, and other ills.

At the same time, I refuse to judge people just because they smoke. I've got too many flaws in my own character to start raving about smokers!

Peace

[NorthBiEast]

I will not allow anyone to smoke in my cars, my homes or in my business. I have never hired a tobacco user. At the entrance to the parking lot for my office we have a sign, "This is a smoke free location, tobacco products may not be used anywhere on our campus, inside or out, thank you."

I'm fine with asking people to smoke on your premises, but I do feel that not hiring smokers goes to the point of active discrimination. Granted, I don't know what your line of work is. If it is something where lung capacity, or where heavy smoke on clothes is an issue, that's different. I couldn't not hire someone because they play rugby on the weekends, or because they own a pit bull, or because they do enjoy anal sex. (Legally, maybe I'd get away with it, but ethically, no) I've worked with people that you can smell the smoke across the room, but they do thier job extremely well. I just stand a little further away while they do it. :2cents:
FYI, I'm a lifelong non-smoker too.

[tatooedpunk]

I've taken a little flak for my previous post,
not going to subtract it but maybe explain. I quit smoking 2 years ago as a result of a cancer scare (throat,i was told because i smoke))
I was against the smoking ban in Scotland for 2 reasons,1 making people criminals for smoking,2 forcing smokers to stay home and inflicting smoke on children (did i mention i have a 2 1/2 year old son)
But in my mind to say smoking does not cause health issues is very irrisponsible.

[bijon46uk]

hi all -

im a 20 a day relatively heavy smoker and until recently the love of my life was a smoker also.... new year being new year we both made resolutions to quit... having given up previously she found it uncommonly easy, on the other i have found it impossible - ive now been a smoker for the better part of 30 plus years but know if i dont manage to kick the habit it will cause problems not only to myself health wise (if it already hasnt) but in my personal life - mainly with her........

the dilemma i now have is to continue to smoke on the sly and lie to her or to take the plunge +grab the bull by the horns....... i do want to and when i am smoking around her i am left with a tremendous feeling of guilt at not having made a better fist of putting my words into action....

christ if she ever wants to give up sex - i am fucked - or not as the case may be.....

lol

jay
xxxx :eek:

[FerociousFeline]

the dilemma i now have is to continue to smoke on the sly and lie to her or to take the plunge +grab the bull by the horns....... i do want to and when i am smoking around her i am left with a tremendous feeling of guilt at not having made a better fist of putting my words into action....

xxxx :eek:

In all seriousness. All smokers should quit as soon as they can. CoyoteDude: I'm also NA and I hear ya brother, but that's probably really tobacco you are using and not the chemically treated reconstituted toxic waste dump that all of us who are hooked on boxed cigarettes smoke. With over 167 toxic substances in cigarettes BESIDES nicotine, they are truly awful. By contrast, pure tobacco (which, btw doesn't actually continue to burn by itself without a lot of help) is is mostly just tar and carbon dioxide.

What I was going on about though is how people get on a bandwagon and still do the witchhunt thing, most of them don't even care what it IS anymore, it's just a PC way of hating someone. As far as the taxes go, we currently pay FAR more tax on a pack of smokes than our founding fathers threw the boston tea party over. When you see it in this light, it becomes far more obvious how WRONG these taxes are. Most ALL of the people who are hooked on cigarettes are in the lower income bracket, so what these taxes do, is take the poor and uneducated and hopelessly addicted and make them even poorer. Nothing like societal approval of taking complete advantage of a junkie right? Great job eh?

Regarding quitting: I'm getting ready to undergo the horrible fight with the nicotine monster myself. The biggest problem with the fight is this: If you have ever used ANY tobacco for any substantial length of time, then your body has actually changed. The brain actually develops nero-transmitter receivers FOR the drug nicotine. This is highly unusual in the world of over the counter drugs available for sale. What this means is, the HARDWARE has actually changed and your brain will continue to look for nicotine for many years down the road, maybe forever, I don't know. This is why it's so hard to stay quit.

The grapevine's top scoring methods of quitting for good:
1) The skin of an apple is made up of pectin. Pectin apparently helps fight the urge to smoke. Eat apples.
2) Before you quit, map out where you have your smokes (especially the unconcious ones like at a stoplight) and then have a strategy for dealing with the urges WHEN they are going to happen. (Gum/Celery or bottle of water)
3) Have LOTS of sex. The number one reason people fall back into smoking after quitting is that they are so used to the way that smokes LAG their system, that when they finally get the junk out of their system they tend to have a huge burst of nervous energy which they mistake for withdrawl. BURN the excess energy with excercise.

I hope this helps. I'm going to have to start this program myself very soon. I plan on starting with the patch, switching every third day from the patch to nic gum and then after three weeks I will switch to the lozenges and then to nothing at all.

Good luck to anyone else trying to quit.

FF

[csrakate]

The grapevine's top scoring methods of quitting for good:
1) The skin of an apple is made up of pectin. Pectin apparently helps fight the urge to smoke. Eat apples.
2) Before you quit, map out where you have your smokes (especially the unconcious ones like at a stoplight) and then have a strategy for dealing with the urges WHEN they are going to happen. (Gum/Celery or bottle of water)
3) Have LOTS of sex. The number one reason people fall back into smoking after quitting is that they are so used to the way that smokes LAG their system, that when they finally get the junk out of their system they tend to have a huge burst of nervous energy which they mistake for withdrawl. BURN the excess energy with excercise.

FF

As someone who quit four weeks ago, I really appreciate this advice...but I may have to keep my hubby from seeing hint number three! LOL...He already thinks sex is the number 1 cure for ALL that ails ya!!

Good luck to those who also are trying to quit...and to those who still smoke...bless you for remembering to respect others when you partake!

Hugs,
Kate

[Long Duck Dong]

tattooed punk, i can't help but wonder if you are actually what was posted

if you are referring to what i wrote.... you will actually see me acknowledge in a few places, that smoking causes health issues

what i am questioning, is things like on the nz ASH site,
Smoking causes one in four of all cancer deaths in New Zealand. Cancers other than lung cancer which are linked to smoking include: Bladder cancer, Leukaemia, Liver cancer, Cancer of the kidney, Cancer of the pancreas, cancers of the mouth, lip and throat, lung cancer and stomach cancer

bladder, bone marrow ( leukaemia ), liver, kidney, pancreas and stomach cancers ????? excuse me, but they have not been linked to smoking..... yet the stats are used in relation to smoking RELATED deaths

so again, I am not denying that smoking causes illness and bad health.... but how true and accurate are the stats that the general public are told

[SLIMES]

bladder, bone marrow ( leukaemia ), liver, kidney, pancreas and stomach cancers ????? excuse me, but they have not been linked to smoking..... yet the stats are used in relation to smoking RELATED deaths

Actually they have, as nicotine has serious effects on the way the body works (metabolism etc.). Smoking also creates circulation problems.

Fortunatley in the UK, smoking will be banned in pubs (bars) from July. Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a pissing section in a swimming pool.

As for your tax comment... It doesn't cover half the costs of smoking. Now before you run off and talk about health expenditure being lower than that level, you might like to consider the fact that to support a smoker's habbit an acre of rain forest has to be destroyed. Don't kid yourself that you have paid for that with your taxes because you haven't. No sum of money could cover that.

You aslo make this deluded suggestion that a room full of non-smokers is a room full of people complaing about smokers. (you 've been going to some strange rooms). No that's just when you're there. When there are no smokers around the problem's solved.

As for clothes stinking, are you saying it's fine for someone to sit on a bus stinking of urine? (No not a childish comment because it would actually be more hygenic and the smell of urine doesn't give me a headache)

And as for bed, it can lead to impotence but where you are right is on the issue of assumptions. This doesn't happen to all smokers and it would be wrong to judge someone's profile purely on this basis. Personnaly I'd use it as a tie breaker lol.

[SLIMES]

now my right to smoke in a pub, has been taken away..... your right to drink at the pub, and drive hasn't..........


Is drink-driving legal in NZ? :eek:

[Long Duck Dong]

Actually they have, as nicotine has serious effects on the way the body works (metabolism etc.). Smoking also creates circulation problems.

Fortunatley in the UK, smoking will be banned in pubs (bars) from July. Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a pissing section in a swimming pool.

As for your tax comment... It doesn't cover half the costs of smoking. Now before you run off and talk about health expenditure being lower than that level, you might like to consider the fact that to support a smoker's habbit an acre of rain forest has to be destroyed. Don't kid yourself that you have paid for that with your taxes because you haven't. No sum of money could cover that.

You aslo make this deluded suggestion that a room full of non-smokers is a room full of people complaing about smokers. (you 've been going to some strange rooms). No that's just when you're there. When there are no smokers around the problem's solved.

As for clothes stinking, are you saying it's fine for someone to sit on a bus stinking of urine? (No not a childish comment because it would actually be more hygenic and the smell of urine doesn't give me a headache)

And as for bed, it can lead to impotence but where you are right is on the issue of assumptions. This doesn't happen to all smokers and it would be wrong to judge someone's profile purely on this basis. Personnaly I'd use it as a tie breaker lol.

my comments about the cancers, is based on medical articles.....they are constantly stating that a lot of *smoking related illnesses * are NOT connected with smoking BUT the chemicals found in smokes....the same chemicals are found in pesticides, insecticides etc etc.....to blame smoking directly.... is to deny the people that are suffering the same cancers, but with no history of smoking..... and that is including young children born with cancer,, or getting cancer at a young age, born to families that are totally smoke free
Hence the term * smoking related illness * is being used a lot more, as they have no direct proof that the cause is smoking, but they are including people that can't possibly have got their cancer thru smoking, in order to boost the stats

my comment about the health system is based around the fact that people complain about the the health system in n having to support smokers....IN ZEALAND
the yearly allowance for the health system is 700 million..... smokers by far, cover that and more......a pack of smokes in nz is $2....with a massive $11 in tax, added on

the remark about the room of non smokers, is actually refering to the NZ ASH foundation.... a group that is anti smoking but most of their nz stats, are from the UK.... they state in their website, that the stats used are from the uk, not nz, they don't have any stats for nz, but they claim that 25% of new zealanders smoke.... or 400,000 people..... new zealand have 4 million people, 25% is one million, their stats and fiqures are clearly wrong

as for clothes stinking,....... body odor, spilt alcohol etc etc, are common in pubs and bars.... it have been noticed that since the end of smoking in pubs and bars... that the stench of body odor and stale beer has been making patrons rather nauseous, most of the comments are being made by the bar staff !!!!!! the people that work in the industry

til the day I die, I will not stop asking for the truth to be know.....I know people get ill and die from smoking.... I know its dirty, offensive etc etc
but I would like to see the TRUE stats made available

I have suffered from viral bronchitis, lung infections and a number of smoking related issues....and i was repeatedly told it was cos of smoking......
the city in which i lived, has banned open fires and coal burning fires...cos of the levels of lung infections suffered by smokers and non smokers alike.....so i moved.....
and the same rule applied to the piggery where i worked, I was suffering severe lung infections.... we were recording record levels of ammonia, and other gases given off by stale urine and faeces....so i left there

now, living in a town with a dry heat, no smog, no chemicals etc..... I have not have a single bout of bronchitis or a lung infection in the whole time i have lived here......yet all my lung troubles were attributed to smoking...
at the age of 36, my lung capacity and health is at the level of a fit 20 year old....( medical testing )


all my original post was about, was people judging me for being a smoker......and yet most of them will never meet me..I am a nameless stat on a piece of paper.....but my contribution to society far outweighs the affect smoking is having on my own life.... and I go to great lengths to ensure that the people around me are not suffering for my choice

[Long Duck Dong]

why do people think I am defending smoking ????

I am a smoker, yes.... but that doesn't make my habit ok or right.....

YES it leads to sickness, and ill health .....

but I wish PEOPLE would just stop judging me based around the fact I smoke.... that was all the original post was about

[Star Gazer]

I'm fine with asking people to smoke on your premises, but I do feel that not hiring smokers goes to the point of active discrimination. Granted, I don't know what your line of work is. If it is something where lung capacity, or where heavy smoke on clothes is an issue, that's different. I couldn't not hire someone because they play rugby on the weekends, or because they own a pit bull, or because they do enjoy anal sex. (Legally, maybe I'd get away with it, but ethically, no) I've worked with people that you can smell the smoke across the room, but they do thier job extremely well. I just stand a little further away while they do it. :2cents:
FYI, I'm a lifelong non-smoker too.


We have never had a tobacco user apply for a job. I guess it is because we do not allow the use of tobacco anywhere on our campus or in any of our company owned vehicles.

Our group insurance rate is lower because we do not allow tobacco use.

[NorthBiEast]

We have never had a tobacco user apply for a job. I guess it is because we do not allow the use of tobacco anywhere on our campus or in any of our company owned vehicles.

Our group insurance rate is lower because we do not allow tobacco use.

I guess that's different then. It seemed to me like you purposely hadn't hired smokers.

[CountryLover]

I'm a non-smoker, and have practically carried a water pistol most of my life in protest of those who dare to smoke around me.

Date a smoker? KISS a smoker? BLECH. I had lonnng hair that absorbs smoke like a sponge and I'd end up having to take a shower and wash my hair before going to bed if I'd been around a smoker or my sheets and pillows would stink too.

Well.....I had a conversation with a church friend a year ago or so. She was also a rabid non-smoker - now married to a smoker. She said that she opened her mind and her life and found a real sweetheart in her second husband, except he smokes.

It made me reassess and redefine my dating rules.

Sure enough, I met one straight guy who turned into a wonderful friend and lover and then I met my husband. My sweetie is trying to quit - he's got some health problems that really require that he quit - but regardless, I love him deeply. I'm REALLY glad I expanded my relationship requirements!

[Long Duck Dong]

lol country lover.... you never wanna hear me say what i think of rude and offensive smokers....lol

i have spent time with some non smokers that accept my smoking, and they have been some of the best people i have met, and a few of them are helping me to become a non smoker.... lol down from 5 packs of 25's a day ( chain smoking )....currently smoking about 20-25 smokes a day....and its taken a few years....but every day is a step closer to being a non smoker.....

its not the health issues or anything like that, that is my reason for quiting.... its actually the fact I am tried of smoking and find it highly annoying to do.....
but due to a chemical inbalance in my body, i will need to be a supplementary tablets for the rest of my life...some of the chemicals in smokes are chemicals my body lacks and so smoking became a easy of getting the chemicals into my system

[bigregory]

Ok Im going to quit.
Eat apples and have sex how bad could it be.
I have sent lots of smoke to the gods and I think this forum is a message back from them to quit.
I hate the fact that I smoke.
Wish me luck...

[ambi53mm]

Ok Im going to quit.
Eat apples and have sex how bad could it be.
I have sent lots of smoke to the gods and I think this forum is a message back from them to quit.
I hate the fact that I smoke.
Wish me luck...

LOL ::::Lights up another one and sends up a prayer for Bigregory;'s Success:::: Good Luck Bigregory :) ....but rest assure the message didn't come from the smoking section of heaven. :angel:

Ambi :)

[NorthBiEast]

GOOD LUCK!! :grouphug:

[SLIMES]

why do people think I am defending smoking ????

I am a smoker, yes.... but that doesn't make my habit ok or right.....

YES it leads to sickness, and ill health .....

but I wish PEOPLE would just stop judging me based around the fact I smoke.... that was all the original post was about

I'm gaining the impression that your original article was slightly 'tongue in cheek'. I wouldn't judge someone on their smoking habbit but I'm hoping that most of it will disapaer by the end of the century.

[SLIMES]

I've taken a little flak for my previous post,
not going to subtract it but maybe explain. I quit smoking 2 years ago as a result of a cancer scare (throat,i was told because i smoke))
I was against the smoking ban in Scotland for 2 reasons,1 making people criminals for smoking,2 forcing smokers to stay home and inflicting smoke on children (did i mention i have a 2 1/2 year old son)
But in my mind to say smoking does not cause health issues is very irrisponsible.

2 things here.

1. It only makes smokers crimminals if they break the law.

2. If the ban means that you would put your son's health at risk, then it's time you contacted an adoption agency. (I know that sounds harsh but if a parent can't quit smoking for their children than what can be said for them?)

[SLIMES]

lol country lover.... you never wanna hear me say what i think of rude and offensive smokers....lol

i have spent time with some non smokers that accept my smoking, and they have been some of the best people i have met, and a few of them are helping me to become a non smoker.... lol down from 5 packs of 25's a day ( chain smoking )....currently smoking about 20-25 smokes a day....and its taken a few years....but every day is a step closer to being a non smoker.....

its not the health issues or anything like that, that is my reason for quiting.... its actually the fact I am tried of smoking and find it highly annoying to do.....
but due to a chemical inbalance in my body, i will need to be a supplementary tablets for the rest of my life...some of the chemicals in smokes are chemicals my body lacks and so smoking became a easy of getting the chemicals into my system

Good luck! I know that kind of thing can be hard.

[coyotedude]

CoyoteDude: I'm also NA and I hear ya brother, but that's probably really tobacco you are using and not the chemically treated reconstituted toxic waste dump that all of us who are hooked on boxed cigarettes smoke. With over 167 toxic substances in cigarettes BESIDES nicotine, they are truly awful. By contrast, pure tobacco (which, btw doesn't actually continue to burn by itself without a lot of help) is is mostly just tar and carbon dioxide.

True enough, and point well taken. Another reason I prefer not to smoke for recreation!

Also true - too many folks in Indian country are hooked on nicotine.

It's wild. I know a brother who's fought alcohol and some hard drugs, but who swears up and down that cigarettes are the hardest addiction he's ever had to kick. He's smoked since he was a kid, and he's in his late 50's now. Don't envy him at all....

As for the rest of this thread: well, I prefer compassion to name-calling, myself. (Not that I don't get fired up on occasion!) People make their choices, and they have to live with the consequences, of course. But none of us are perfect, last I checked.

Peace

[kennan]

Yeah, okay, as a smoker I agree with everything that's already been written here......it's bad, etc.......but I want to make a point that hasn't been touched yet about anti-smoking laws......

I'm gonna zero in on a little mom-and-pop beer joint to illustrate the point.......it used to be that laws could only infringe on private property rights when there was a proven "public need and necessity" to protect the public from bad things which they could not protect themselves from........a good example would be a zoning code forcing mom-and-pop to connect their little joint to the public sewer system........and with good reason because if private property owners in a densely developed area used septic tanks they could infiltrate underground water sources which the public could not see.....thus harming the public at large. Another example.......a city noise ordinance on parking lots because excessive outdoor noise in mom-and-pop's parking lot could render harm to the use of nearby private property in a manner the nearby owners could not defend themselves against. And likewise for kitchen sanitation laws.....the eating public cannot "see" germs and bacteria.

But cigarette smoke inside mom-and-pop's place? First of all, nobody has a "public need" to ever go inside the place anyway. There is absolutely no "public necessity" for a citizen to enter that place for a beer. Beer is readily available to the public-----not needed, but available----in many non-smoking properties.

And if an "innocent" citizen (ignorant?) does go into mom-and-pop's, they can instantly see and smell the smoke-----it is readily apparent, it is not like underground seepage or microscopic bacteria. And most of all, each individual of the public has a readily available, convenient, no cost protection--------------just stay the hell out of mom-and-pop's place.

There is a "need" to go into a grocery store. There is a "necessity" to enter a lot of private properties. But a "need" to enter a fucking beer joint? Come on.

It used to be that the Republican Party put private property rights at the top of their list of political religion. Free enterprise was their motto. Particular the Republicans paid homage to the self-made business owners who worked their butts off for the American dream of property ownership.

But no more. The Republicans are just as willing to fuck around mom-and-pop as are the social engineers on the liberal side. It used to be that the Republicans screamed about labor unions fucking over business owners. Yeah, they still scream that about big corporations in which they own stock, but they say fuck mom-and-pop......and fuck all the old bastards who make up a majority of mom-and-pop's two-bit business.

I say fuck all the pseudo-conservatives who are such fucking hypocrites when it comes to private property and free enterprise. Mom and pop and the cigarette-sucking old men who sit at their bar may be the last honest Americans still around!

[spartca]

In all seriousness. All smokers should quit as soon as they can. CoyoteDude: I'm also NA and I hear ya brother, but that's probably really tobacco you are using and not the chemically treated reconstituted toxic waste dump that all of us who are hooked on boxed cigarettes smoke. With over 167 toxic substances in cigarettes BESIDES nicotine, they are truly awful. By contrast, pure tobacco (which, btw doesn't actually continue to burn by itself without a lot of help) is is mostly just tar and carbon dioxide.


Just FYI for anyone out there trying to quit: I was smoking American Spirit Organic (Red Box) when I quit, and I had virtually NO WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS OR CRAVINGS... these smokes are organic, so there are no chemicals added. Be sure to get the organic ones, they sure helped in my case.

[tatooedpunk]

[QUOTE=Long Duck Dong]tattooed punk, i can't help but wonder if you are actually what was posted


Sorry to re activate this post but what do you mean with this?

[Trinity-Fl]

I"ve heard a lot of the word "habit" to mean your addiction. You're a drug addict. It's pretty simple. You have no control over what you euphemistically call an "urge." 'Fess up... it's not an urge. If you could live without injesting a nicotine fix you would.

And relating drinking to smoking is an "apples to oranges" comparison. If you compare alcoholism to smoking you're closer. And if you have a beer you don't poor it all over me and down my throat simply because Im sitting near you.

So don't give me "smoker's rights" messages. Let's get the nicotine in a liquid form so you can just inject it like the rest of the druggies out there.

[carlb]

But cigarette smoke inside mom-and-pop's place? First of all, nobody has a "public need" to ever go inside the place anyway. There is absolutely no "public necessity" for a citizen to enter that place for a beer. Beer is readily available to the public-----not needed, but available----in many non-smoking properties.

And if an "innocent" citizen (ignorant?) does go into mom-and-pop's, they can instantly see and smell the smoke-----it is readily apparent, it is not like underground seepage or microscopic bacteria. And most of all, each individual of the public has a readily available, convenient, no cost protection--------------just stay the hell out of mom-and-pop's place.
That still leaves the problem of employees, suppliers unloading deliveries to the business or any of a number of people that are required to be there not to drink but to do some task.

It should be treated with the same severity as any other unnecessarily unsafe work condition.

[Trinity-Fl]

I"ve heard a lot of the word "habit" to mean your addiction. You're a drug addict. It's pretty simple. You have no control over what you euphemistically call an "urge." 'Fess up... it's not an urge. If you could live without injesting a nicotine fix you would.

And relating drinking to smoking is an "apples to oranges" comparison. If you compare alcoholism to smoking you're closer. And if you have a beer you don't poor it all over me and down my throat simply because Im sitting near you.

So don't give me "smoker's rights" messages. Let's get the nicotine in a liquid form so you can just inject it like the rest of the druggies out there.


The truth only hurts when it's about yourself.

[tatooedpunk]

2 things here.

1. It only makes smokers crimminals if they break the law.

2. If the ban means that you would put your son's health at risk, then it's time you contacted an adoption agency. (I know that sounds harsh but if a parent can't quit smoking for their children than what can be said for them?)
What i meant is smoking is not illegal,you break a council bylaw if you smoke in a building (if the government weren't so afraid of losing tax money they would ban the sale of cigarettes)

As for 2 are you having a laugh! I myself have given up smoking,but i dont think people who smoke are deliberately harming their kids, maybe just ignorant. Only someone stupid or insane would harm a child

[SLIMES]

What i meant is smoking is not illegal,you break a council bylaw if you smoke in a building (if the government weren't so afraid of losing tax money they would ban the sale of cigarettes)

As for 2 are you having a laugh! I myself have given up smoking,but i dont think people who smoke are deliberately harming their kids, maybe just ignorant. Only someone stupid or insane would harm a child

Maybe just ignorant? I thought that the government and every health authority on earth was pressing home the message on smoking.

And the first point is still clear. If we followed the 'this will make crimminals of honest people' line, then we would never outlaw anything.

[Long Duck Dong]

I"ve heard a lot of the word "habit" to mean your addiction. You're a drug addict. It's pretty simple. You have no control over what you euphemistically call an "urge." 'Fess up... it's not an urge. If you could live without injesting a nicotine fix you would.

And relating drinking to smoking is an "apples to oranges" comparison. If you compare alcoholism to smoking you're closer. And if you have a beer you don't poor it all over me and down my throat simply because Im sitting near you.

Know me before you judge me....

there is actually a medical condition that can affect smokers, its a mild form of OCD ( obsessive compulsive disorder, ) the smoker is doing the act of smoking as a obsessive act, no amount of nicotine alternatives, deals with the OCD behievour of some smokers

btw, for your info.... the danger of drinking drivers costs more to the tax payer than smokers do, the costs of insurances, crash site clean up, and the wasted man hours of the traffic cops etc, far outweigh the issues of a cancer patient, and thats not including the aspects of alcohol induced injuries

but that aside.....beer was the single greatest cause of me crashing a car and killing 7 people many, many years ago..... so far I have not managed to achieve that by my smoking

[Solomon]

I love statistics.

in north america

95% of people that die own a refrigerator.
100% of people that have heart disease have hearts.
100% of people that have lung disease have lungs.
4 out of 5 car mechanics use wrenches.
95% of people that have strokes have bought tv's
95% of people that chat online own computers.
70% of people that have bad breath use mints.

the list goes on. I could actually verify these numbers, but what's the point? Oh yes, they can make statistics say any bloody thing they want so I think the real question would be what is it they want?

They want smokers to pay through the bloody nose, and use scare tactics to ENFORCE NOT HELP the addiction to smoking.

Tobacco companies actually use the scare tactics as advertising because it works! lol!

I contend that smokers are actually beaten emotionally INTO smoking by the tobacco company's biggest vested interest, the governments.

And some people think there's a need to conspire for world domination LOL!