Surgeon General's report on secondhand smoke

And my counterpoint stands. Just because there are other factors at work doesn't mean that we should ignore the health risks of smoking to the users and those around them. These are doctors, people using science making these statements about the dangers of second-hand smoke. I'm tired of people disputing that or making it out to be somebody's agenda because they simply don't like the truth.

And zeke, if I was you, I'd be pissed. Because all that crap you're going through is because the tobacco companies fucked you over for money. Somebody intentionally got you hooked on a highly addictive drug so you would use their product, which will greatly increase your risk of a long list of health problems. How old were you when you started? Underage I bet. Far too young to decide if that was a good idea or not to start, I'm sure.

Knowing somebody intentionally screwed me over like that would be all the motivation I'd need to never put another penny in their pockets. But lucky for me, I never tried it at age 12 like my father did and had to fight that battle my whole life.

Do yourself a favor. Don't wait for an excuse. Quit smoking now.

 

Smoking is an addiction, not a personal failing.

That said, it is a choice that has been made at some point in life. People ultimately choose to start smoking, and they should be responsible for the consequences that come with it, be that the health issues, the taxes, the trouble quitting and the social stigma. They should also get all the help in the world to quit if they want to.

As forthe second-hand smoke issue, there are some people, myself included, who can't go into places where people are smoking because the have one of a variety of lung conditions. Cigarette smoke is a known trigger (and known cause of in children) of asthma and can cause a lot more immediate problems than a raised potential for lung cancer in the future.

What I hope this report would bring is bans on smoking in enclosed public areas. Parks, patios and anywhere outdoors there's enough air to dissipate the smoke into liveable quantities. But in restuarants, theatres, bars and other indoor establishments, the smoke permeates into everything and becomes quite thick and impossible to get away from, no matter how effective the air circulation.

And zeke - people do make a big deal out of air pollution, drinking, McDonald's and abusing perscription drugs. Frankly, I wish they'd make a big deal out of people who bathe in perfume. No one says people have to stop smoking. They just want people to stop smoking around them.

 

OOP --
I agree. It's criminal. But it doesn't mean I want the government fucking me over for even more money — especially when that money doesn't go to smoking prevention, but rather straight into the general fund so some Republican asshole can claim he didn't raise any taxes while tacking an another $2 a pack to cigarettes.

And I really can do without the hate from other people (not you, those folks who look at you like you shit on the carpet when you light up outside). We know it's a bad habit. We want to quit. We'd rather not be made your whipping boy while we still smoke. And

That's all I'm saying.

 

you should have stopped there

 

Ya, it's the Republicans who started the anti-smoking/smoker crusade, and I suppose it's conservatives behind the ridiculous "Truth" TV campaign.

You were making a lot sense , Zeke, and then you had to get political.

 

Part of it is political. The fundies would create limitations or outright restrictions on everything if we ran this country according to the Book of Nahum.

 

I agree mostly with what Zeke said, because I would rather take my chances with some occasional secondhand smoke than a slippery-slope victory for the I-know-what's-good-for-you police, in this case made up primarily of liberals.

Ultimately, though, I don't want this thread to devolve into political sniping. Let's just agree to disagree, again.

 

When I was finding the books of the Bible in that passage, I didn't even know there was a Book of Nahum.

 

And then we can move on to the ad hominem personal attacks!

 

Nahum was just an old guy for whom there was a haunting fear that everyone else was having fun.