Smoking Rate lowest its ever been

[Azure]

Originally Posted by peter12

Viceroys, actually, haha.

Imagine the money you could save over 10 years if you didn't smoke. I realize that a pack per week isn't much, but over a long period of time it adds up.

[Azure]

I must be the only one here who finds smoking vile and sickening, but actually likes the smell.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Azure

I must be the only one here who finds smoking vile and sickening, but actually likes the smell.

I've always loved the smell of second hand smoke. I can't even put into words how much I hate the smell of old stale second hand smoke, be it in a car or on a person/clothes.

[Brewmaster]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

Im going on a limb here, but most people who think that have lungs caked with niccotine. It is F'n bad.

I learned when I was very very young dealing with my parents that you cannot have a logical conversation about a topic, when that topic is something the other person is addicted to.

Then the other guy says smoking is ok because of car pollution? My god, that's like I don't deserve a speeding ticket because one time I saw someone driving faster than me.

I'm glad there is a social stigma attached to smoking. It says you can't be that bright and don't have much self control.

I don't smoke and never have. I think it's great that smoking is banned in indoor public establishments, and I think it's great that less people are smoking now than ever before. But at the end of the day, I think it should be up to the individual whether they want to smoke or not.

Smokers have gotten more than their share of abuse and public policies changed to make their life difficult. Smokers get taxed and ticketed like crazy when compared to other vices that are deemed more acceptable by our society. Drinking alcohol and heating unhealthy food are two examples that get a free pass in comparison.

[Azure]

Well, I'm all for doing whatever the hell you want as long as it doesn't harm the next guy, but smokers are a drain on society because of what it costs to treat their eventual health problems.

So I reserve the right as a tax paying citizen of Canada to bitch about people who smoke.

[Regulator75]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

I'm glad there is a social stigma attached to smoking. It says you can't be that bright and don't have much self control.

CP quote of the day.

[JohnnyB]

I really like that smoking is disappearing in Canada. I wish the same could be true for where I live. When I'm in Canada I like not having to go into restaurants that are filled with clouds of smoke. Still, people need to be able to live with other people and get along despite the fact that what other people do might bother you on occasion. I can't believe that occasional, mild exposure to second hand smoke in outdoor environments is actually going to have any impact upon health, and there's no way the smell is more than just a minor inconvenience. Really, in Canada it's already so easy to go out and enjoy public spaces without having to share the environment with others that it almost just makes me think some of the posters in this thread never learned how to share a public environment with others.

Sorry your lives aren't perfect. Bitching about having the foul stench of someone's cigarette on your clothes because a cloud wafted near you in an outdoor environment is the perfect example of a complaint that deserves a firstworldproblems hashtag. If people don't want to live around other people and put up with other people doing things in public environments that may have minor impacts upon your experience of the environment, the option does exist in Canada to just move out to where there aren't any other people.

I support the legislation that is pushing smoking to the verge of disappearance in Canada and I share sentiments that life is so much nicer when public environments are not filled with clouds of cigarette smoke, but if someone is getting really upset about an occasional waft of smoke or the smell of used butts then I think it is more their own attitude which is causing problems for their quality of life and they should be able to take care of that by themselves.

[Brewmaster]

Originally Posted by Azure

Well, I'm all for doing whatever the hell you want as long as it doesn't harm the next guy, but smokers are a drain on society because of what it costs to treat their eventual health problems.

So I reserve the right as a tax paying citizen of Canada to bitch about people who smoke.

I recently listened to a podcast that brought some new light to that subject:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/...aves-you-money

Basically it presents a study that reveals that the shortened lifespan of smokers actually saves society money. Worth a listen or a read.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

This is exactly the overreacting I'm talking about. The smell of someone's second hand smoke outside is really not as bad as you're making it out to be. It's just a minor inconvenience that is part of living in a society where people are free to make their own choices.
Should we outlaw perfumes and colognes as well because I don't like the way it smells? Maybe dogs should be outlawed because pooping in public is gross.

I would argue that the smell of someone coming in after a smoke is FAR worse that the smell while they are smoking. When I smoked, the worst smell in the world to me was when I was cut off halfway having a smoke and broke it off and put it back in the pack. I can't even imagine what it would smell like now after not having a smoke for 5 years.

[Weiser Wonder]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

Im going on a limb here, but most people who think that have lungs caked with niccotine. It is F'n bad.

I learned when I was very very young dealing with my parents that you cannot have a logical conversation about a topic, when that topic is something the other person is addicted to.

Then the other guy says smoking is ok because of car pollution? My god, that's like I don't deserve a speeding ticket because one time I saw someone driving faster than me.

I'm glad there is a social stigma attached to smoking. It says you can't be that bright and don't have much self control.

I don't care if people smoke outside, and I don't and wouldn't smoke. So you are wrong.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

I don't believe that anyone is getting cancer from someone else's second hand smoke in an outside environment. The only place 2nd hand smoke is still a problem is inside the cars and homes of smokers. I'm not a smoker but I'm sick of people overreacting to others smoking outside in the public.

I'm sick of having to breathe in someone elses smoke. Even worse is the stench of smoke that clings to a smokers clothing. I have a right not breathe that crap and find it annoying that one has to pass through that cloud of stench when entering a building.

In fact the only time I smile is when it's -30 outside and smokers are huddled around the entrance puffing on thier coffin nails.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Dion

I'm sick of having to breathe in someone elses smoke. Even worse is the stench of smoke that clings to a smokers clothing. I have a right not breathe that crap and find it annoying that one has to pass through that cloud of stench when entering a building.

In fact the only time I smile is when it's -30 outside and smokers are huddled around the entrance puffing on thier coffin nails.

Sure same as I have as right not to hear barking dogs, smell disgusting bo or cologne or have to put up with those little gargoyles you call children. Those are all equally infringing on my rights. You might even say they grind my gears.

I have a right not to look at you're ugly kids or listen to your annoying dog bark same as you have the right not to experience smoke.

And before you say "well those gargoyle children or perfume doesn't cause cancer". Neither does the quantity of smoke you're breathing, so really it is exactly the same.

So can we ban all the things I don't like too?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Azure

Well, I'm all for doing whatever the hell you want as long as it doesn't harm the next guy, but smokers are a drain on society because of what it costs to treat their eventual health problems.

So I reserve the right as a tax paying citizen of Canada to bitch about people who smoke.

We've been through this a million times. So does being fat, not wearin your seatbelt and playing dangerous sports.

Then someone says "but those aren't designed to kill you".

Then someone replies "have you eaten at taco bell?".

And so on and so forth.

[V]

I bitch about fat people at Taco Bell too. What else you got?

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Sure same as I have as right not to hear barking dogs, smell disgusting bo or cologne or have to put up with those little gargoyles you call children. Those are all equally infringing on my rights. You might even say they grind my gears.

I have a right not to look at you're ugly kids or listen to your annoying dog bark same as you have the right not to experience smoke.

And before you say "well those gargoyle children or perfume doesn't cause cancer". Neither does the quantity of smoke you're breathing, so really it is exactly the same.

So can we ban all the things I don't like too?

Before I say..... I never said breathing a cloud of smoke while entering a building is going to cause cancer. If a smoker wasn't so self centered he/she would not smoke near entrances to buildings.

[moon]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

heating unhealthy food are two examples that get a free pass in comparison.

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

We've been through this a million times. So does being fat, not wearin your seatbelt and playing dangerous sports.

Then someone says "but those aren't designed to kill you".

Then someone replies "have you eaten at taco bell?".

And so on and so forth.

Please, please, please do not give Azure any more reason to whine about eating habits and health anymore than he already has.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

Should we outlaw perfumes and colognes as well because I don't like the way it smells?

I'd wager we're getting pretty close to this point. Right now, it's getting very hard to wear any sort of perfume or cologne at a workplace without someone screaming about their allergies.

I have a friend who's (government based) office just went perfume/cologne free since a co-worker had a massive allergic reaction to someone's perfume...they think. They can't even pinpoint the source of the reaction, but have "proactively" taken on perfumes and colognes (according to her, anyhow, though I have no reason to assume she's lying to me.)

How about the Calgary Transit issues that aren't that old, with the lady being asked to leave a bus due to a lot of perfume? It seems that "allergy" is the magic word these days. Wave it around, and see what happens. One kid in a school is allergic to peanuts? Watch how fast the entire school becomes a nut free (at least, of the shelled variety...) zone.

Back on topic-ish. My beef with smokers isn't the smell, though I don't like that. It's not that you generally have to wade through/around/over the herd of them at a door entrance, either. It's the fact that not a single one seems to know how to use a freakin' ashcan. Anywhere you go, you can easily tell where the smokers congregate (if they aren't out smoking, that is) by just looking at the ground. THAT is what is disgusting to me.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

We've been through this a million times. So does being fat, not wearin your seatbelt and playing dangerous sports.

Then someone says "but those aren't designed to kill you".

Then someone replies "have you eaten at taco bell?".

And so on and so forth.

I don't think those are legitimate comparisons.

1. In most places, (or at least western nations) not wearing your seatbelt is illegal. So people who don't do it are breaking the law and draining the system when they don't have to. If you want to compare it to smoking then we have every right to say that smokers are purposefully ignoring risks and are a drain on the system as well. Not wearing your seatbelt is not a lifestyle choice and is remarkably easy to solve.

2. Being fat. While I agree, most people could put down the Big Gulp and take a walk every now and then, being fat is reliant on a much more complex set of factors. Furthermore I would agree with your premise and the ideas that have been thrown around recently, that yes, perhaps there should be taxes and stigma attached to not eating healthy.

3. Playing dangerous sports. Well, I guess I would use that argument, 'it isn't designed to kill you'. As well, there is a health benefit from sports anyway, so perhaps it evens out the risk.

I'm sorry, but all this complaining and excuse making just sounds like sour grapes. It is unhealthy. And it's incorrect to say that a small amount isn't still unhealthy. Sure, it's not AS bad, but it doesn't stop being unhealthy. It doesn't stop being a carcinogen.

As for the cologne/perfume example I agree with you there too. Strong smells give me a headache. When I step into an elevator after some frumpy middle aged 'professional' has been in there with her gallon of Wal-Mart perfume my head swims. I hurt, and I want to barf. But two wrongs don't make a right. Smoking is still one of the worst things you can impose on someone else who does not wish to be a party to it.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Originally Posted by Brewmaster

Smokers have gotten more than their share of abuse and public policies changed to make their life difficult. Smokers get taxed and ticketed like crazy when compared to other vices that are deemed more acceptable by our society. Drinking alcohol and heating unhealthy food are two examples that get a free pass in comparison.

You must be American if you think alcohol doesn't get taxed.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Azure

I must be the only one here who finds smoking vile and sickening, but actually likes the smell.

I like the smell of American cigarettes, but agree that smoking is disgusting.