Thread: Anti - anti-smoking rant

I smoked for 14 years. Thank God I quit. All my heros as a kid smoked. all the cool uncles, cousins etc. would always have a pack of smokes and would let me "puff" when I would be out of eye sight of my Mom. I grew to be a smoker (killed my grandfather and broke my Mom's heart to see me smoke). My 2 brothers smoke as well. I enjoyed it till I took that last smoke. Loved every minute of it. Although the bloody coughs and hacking till I threw up was a bit uncool. I still could not stand it while I was eating though. Would always opt to eat in the non smoking section. The wife could never stand it either, and I never lived anywhere where I smoked indoors. Always out side. It is horrible for you, expensive, and annoying to others. They knew all about the dangers of smoking in the 30s, and yet we continue on....

Originally Posted by welshwizard

In the UK, people who smoke are becoming few and far between, hardly anyone smokes nowadays.
Why should a minority dictate terms to the majority of folk who want to enjoy an evening in the pub and don't want to come home with clothes stinking like an ashtray?
Both my parents were smokers, both died prematurely from lung cancer after a long debilitating illness. I sat with my mother as she died, fighting to breathe.
Smoke if you want, just do it in the middle of a field and make sure you don't encourage youngsters to copy you.

Ultimately, society is nothign more than a majority dictating how things are done. That is why even a constitution gets amended from time to time, and why it gets interpreted. I'm sure the slave owners complained about the government trampling over their constitutional rights. It will always be like that. That doesn't mean it is bad though. time will tell.

I do agree with not encouraging children.
Recently there was a tobacco company which filed a request for a new additive which would give the cig smoke an interesting color. They wanted to do this to draw more young people to smoking in an effort to halt the decline in their sales.
So far the chances for approval look slim. But it makes me wonder at what sort of person could steep so low as to actively try to get kids to smoke.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

In the UK, people who smoke are becoming few and far between, hardly anyone smokes nowadays.
Why should a minority dictate terms to the majority of folk who want to enjoy an evening in the pub and don't want to come home with clothes stinking like an ashtray?
Both my parents were smokers, both died prematurely from lung cancer after a long debilitating illness. I sat with my mother as she died, fighting to breathe.
Smoke if you want, just do it in the middle of a field and make sure you don't encourage youngsters to copy you.

+1 don't encourage youngsters.

My Dad was a lifetime smoker and died of cancer. My Mom was a
lifetime smoker and had serious lung problems before the flu turned
into pneumonia over a weekend and stole her final breath.

Nicotine is a serious drug that makes quitting hard if not
impossible. It was the sedative for the masses and
is now being replaced by Xanax, Prozac and a multitude
of new expensive drugs.

If you can quit, good. If you cannot I understand how
difficult it is to quit. The aroma of a good pipe or cigar
still evokes fond memories -- it is hard to temper those
positive memories with the problems that take a lifetime
to surface.

Originally Posted by JohnnyCakeDC

Hear Here! Smoking ciggy's while having drinks go together like shoes and socks, but they're people who want to impose and insist that they have a 'right' to....... wherever they want. I'm sure you already know this, but that mentality is not going to stop at bars. The protectionist mentality has no end because it does not work.
you're not going to get a real answer to that.

The real answer is that public opinion has turned against smoking amid fears of second hand smoke. Politicians that advocate this kind of legislation are rewarded, or else they wouldn't do this.

I grew up in the home of a smoking parent and during a time when the practice was perfectly normal. Personally, I have always thought that smoking didn't affect you one way or another unless you did it yourself.

I don't smoke but have felt for years that smokers have been treated as if they had a disease and need to be quarantined. It makes them feel like second-class citizens.

Here in VA bars can still have a smoking area it just has to have its own ventilation system and there are rules regarding entry ways and the like.
Not every establishment can affors this but it is an option.
One of my favorite places with this is in Fredericksburg. There is an entry way with two doors inside of it. One for smoking. One for not smoking. The not smoking side has a decent sized bar and 5-10 tables. The smoking section has a 30ish foot bar, a lot of tables, a dance floor, and billiards tables.
Both sides, however, serve the same amazing chili.

At 62 and up until 10 years ago a non filter Camel smoker for 36 years, pipes for 20 and still at it ..... I have come to respect the right of non-smokers to enjoy clean air. As one of them once exclaimed to me ..."People are breathing."

OTOH, I grew up in a household where everyone smoked. Parents, grandparents and sibling. I began at age 14. I don't believe in second hand smoke being "all of that" because if it was I'd be dead long ago.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

At 62 and up until 10 years ago a non filter Camel smoker for 36 years, pipes for 20 and still at it ..... I have come to respect the right of non-smokers to enjoy clean air. As one of them once exclaimed to me ..."People are breathing."

OTOH, I grew up in a household where everyone smoked. Parents, grandparents and sibling. I began at age 14. I don't believe in second hand smoke being "all of that" because if it was I'd be dead long ago.

It's all about genes Jimmy. My dad worked his entire life as a painter and sprayer and was exposed to chemicals that now have big cancer warning signs on them. In those days if you got oil based paint on you the only way to clean it off was with benzene or turpentine and my dad practically bathed in the stuff. He always reeked of it. He should have died from cancer a long time ago. The fact is he's 96 and doin just fine. My point is if you have good genes you can smoke 2 packs a day and drink a fifth of whiskey every day and nothing will kill you. The problem is most folks don't have genes like that and though people always point to folks like my dad to tell themselves nothing bad will happen to them the fact is they forget about all the people who die because of their habits or vocations. I guess that's human nature.

For most of us with average genes these lifestyle factors really do affect you and of course if you have bad genes even if you seal yourself in a sealed room all your life you'll probably still die from some cancer or other disease.

As far as the argument that smokers have their rights the answer to that is your rights end when they impact on others in a negative fashion.

Originally Posted by bharner

The not smoking side has a decent sized bar and 5-10 tables. The smoking section has a 30ish foot bar, a lot of tables, a dance floor, and billiards tables.
.

Proof that smokers are better people, they have more fun and are worth the capital expenditure. LOL
BTW I quit not too long ago with the aid of e-cigs, I highly recommend these for those who are having a hard time staying on the wagon.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Proof that smokers are better people, they have more fun and are worth the capital expenditure. LOL
BTW I quit not too long ago with the aid of e-cigs, I highly recommend these for those who are having a hard time staying on the wagon.

I see this a lot. I think there is about a 3 to 1 ratio, smokers outnumbering the non-smokers. I would think all the extra smoke in the room would be an added benefit, you could light up less and still enjoy the smoke from others. On my own I would guess that it would be the other way around, but maybe there is a correlation to bars and smoking. After all, I'm running in the evening.

I really miss pipe smoking though, and the smell of a pipe anywhere in the room is intoxicating.

Virginia happens to be the home to the largest manufacturers of cigarettes, the taxes paid by that company to the state of Virginia are staggering. To me the whole issue boils down to the government telling a business owner how he can run his establishment. There are plenty of regulations that a restaurant or bar owner has to deal with, they certainly don't need this one. If non-smokers don't like that an establishment allows smoking, then go to one that is smoke free. All other things being equal, and non-smokers being in the majority, shouldn't the smoke free establishment be making more money than the smoking establishment? This used to be the land of the free, unfortunately that changed long ago. The loan from the french to finance the Revolutionary War was backed by tobacco. If not for tobacco we would still be an English colony.

Originally Posted by bharner

Here in VA bars can still have a smoking area it just has to have its own ventilation system and there are rules regarding entry ways and the like.
Not every establishment can affors this but it is an option.
One of my favorite places with this is in Fredericksburg. There is an entry way with two doors inside of it. One for smoking. One for not smoking. The not smoking side has a decent sized bar and 5-10 tables. The smoking section has a 30ish foot bar, a lot of tables, a dance floor, and billiards tables.
Both sides, however, serve the same amazing chili.