Smokin'!

I was in an elevator today in an old-ass building, and I noticed that the inside of the elevator had a "No Smoking" sign on the side. At this point, it's like "no shit." It was just funny to imagine that smoking in the building was once allowed - just not in the elevator.

It seems that we are slowly eradicating smoking, mostly by banning it in successively more locations under the pretext of "secondhand smoke." Meanwhile, the generation growing up never sees anybody doing it anywhere so they don't try it. It makes me wonder whether, if alcohol prohibition had been tried very gradually over decades instead of all at once, you'd be able to actually make it work.

I don't smoke - never have, probably never will. I have enough vices. Both parents do. Well, one does, one did - the other quit when he got cancer and then died. PROTIP: Cancer sucks. Brother does off and on. My grandmother smoked like a chimney, lived into her late 80s, and died of alcohol dementia rather than anything caused by the smoking. She smoked so much that you can still smell her house from ten feet away. I am not kidding about this.

Personally, I think people should be able to do what they want, and the dangers of secondhand smoke are wildly overblown. Indoors in unventilated space? No smoking, fine. But outside at the bar? On the patio at a restaurant? Whatever.

FOCUS: Smoking! Experiences? Thoughts? Are the laws too draconian? Is the creeping ban on smoking a good thing or a bad thing?

 

I've always found it amazing that smoking was once common on airplanes. I can't imagine how suffocating that would be, given the closed quarters and often lengthy confinements.


I'm an ex-regular-smoker, down to an occasional/while-drunk smoker (maybe 2 a week on average? Possibly less?). One thing I notice is that one of the quickest ways to decrease smoking rates would be to eliminate smoking breaks for the restaurant industry.* Damn near everyone smoked when I waited/bussed tables, and some of us (myself included) partially started because it gave us an excuse to take more breaks.


Personally, smoking bans never particularly bothered me because they're only irksome if your starting position is that you have a god-given right to smoke in said location. Outside of my own home, I see no logical reason for said right, so I regarded it as more of an inconvenience than a personal injustice.

One thing that did bother me, though, was the people who would self-righteously inform me of the health hazards of smoking. It's one thing if the smoke is bothering you, or you are concerned for your own health. My apologies, even. But, as a stranger, going out of your way to lecture me on my own health?

Motherfucker, it's 2011. Do you think I'm not aware that smoking has been linked to cancer? I haven't been living under a rock for my entire life. No one publically harangues me for eating unhealthy food, despite the heart risks. So mind your own fucking business and keep walking.




* I'm not entirely sure whether I'm kidding.

 

Shut your dirty mouth! Don't be giving the do-gooders their next project for when they're done persecuting consumers of this particular legal product. Oh and hey you mouthy, militant non-smokers, I hope you're enjoying all the perks my sin taxes are paying for. Almost $13 for a pack of smokes. I pay my way to stand outside in -30C, at a minimum of 10 ft. from an entrance way. Leave me the hell alone.

I didn't mean to get started on this, but of course it will be brought up that I'll be a burden on the healthcare system later in life. Tell me that while you're mawing down on a fastfood burger and regaling me with stories of the bacon explosion you made over the weekend. If anything, I'll die young and not suck the life out of the system and my family because I live to be 96.

I'm gonna gracefully bow out of this because I am a cranky wench today and have no positive thoughts at all (I just dissed bacon explosion? Shame on me!).

 

I was going to point this out, but you caught it yourself. Congratulations. Now don't ever fucking dis bacon again.

I don't smoke cigarettes at all, but for personal reasons. Most of my friends do and I don't mind at all. The only thing I don't like is when I hang around them one night and my clothes smell like smoke the next day if I decide to re-wear them. How often is this a problem? More often than it should.

I do partake in weed like every 2 months whenever I feel like it. It's fun, but nothing I would ever do more than once every two weeks or so. One of the best experiences of my life was watching Rambo while high, with a cost-co sized bag of Cheez-its and a 2 liter of root-beer. The shit I took the next day was epic.

 

My uncle has smoked a pipe for almost 70 years. Even worse is that his brand is Sir Walter Raleigh tobacco. The shit is so cheap and vile most of Florida stopped carrying it. I have to mail order it from NY for him. The guy at the smoke shop looked offended when I asked if he carried it. I'm convinced if the old man stops, he'll die. His body is so habituated to the layers of carbonized charcoal caking his innards, and his living room walls, that any deviation from his hourly puff would send him into shock. Fucker is literally IMMUNE. I thought he had emphysema a while back. No, it was some hay fever lung butter. As soon as he got better he redoubled his efforts to make up for the smoking he missed out on from the allergies. He shuffles around his yellowed house like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown, except in a cloud of smoke and tar, not dirt.

Ironically, my dad was dead by 56 from cigarettes. Clogged his aorta right up. The other brother never touched the stuff after their Pappy caught him trying to light up. In the best negative reinforcement action ever, gramps sat him down and made him suck down one of those fat Russian cigars the size of a zucchini until the kid turned green.

As for the ban, I don't give a shit what people do as long as I don't have to be trapped in an airplane, car, or restaurant with it. Take it outside. Common courtesy is all anyone should ask or expect. Anyone that thinks it should be banned is a fucking dolt. Just wait until "they" come after something YOU like. Because they will.

Side note: I remember when it was permissible to smoke on planes. It was as wretched as you can imagine. Bonus points for transatlantic flight in what was basically a salmon smoke house.

 

I loathe smokers. But not because of the smoke.

It is because they don't seem to understand that the cigarette butt they just flicked isn't going to magically disappear. It is even worse than the normal littering, because those little fuckers are a pain in the ass to pick up and I really don't want to get close to touching anything that has had someone else's mouth on it.

Sure, not all smokers are complete douchebags and will search out a place to dispose of their shit, but it seems like 9 times out of 10 they just say fuck it and toss it somewhere.

Totalitarianism doesn't have a whole lot going for it, but I might just sign up if it means not having to pick up another cigarette butt.

Personal story that I think is funny, but won't mean shit to you:

Spoiler

My mom just recently quit after 40 years of smoking like a freight train. The worst part about growing up with her habit in my opinion were the car rides. Not smoking wasn't an option of course, so we either could suffer through the smoke or have her crack a window. I hated the smoke, but I also fucking despise the sound of a cracked window going down the highway where it sounds like you are in a wind tunnel. This led to many fights over the years. Mostly because she is also pretty deaf and struggled to hold a conversation without the added barrier, so when the window cracked all you could do was sit there and listen to it.

Cut to when I was 21 and in the hospital for pneumonia. I had just spent 5 days there and they were finally letting me out. The doctor was giving some final instructions that were all pretty basic. At the end almost as an aside he said "Oh, yeah and no being around smoke especially in cars etc." I look at my mom and she has the look of absolute anguish on her face. We lived 30 miles from the hospital, so she was going to suffer. I immediately started laughing so hard that I almost hacked up another piece of my lung. The doctor thought something might be wrong with me and checked my chest again just to be sure. It was by far the sweetest car ride I had ever had with my mother. Nothing but the sweet sounds of silence and her able to completely understand my multiple speeches on how awesome the drive was.

 

Everyone knows smoking is bad for you. So is drinking, riding motorcycles, fast food, unprotected sex, mosh pits, staring at a computer screen for too long, redheads, and UV rays. Anyone who argues that is an idiot. I'm all for doing what you want, and letting others do what they want, until it infringes on others.

The standard we all have to live by now is in a non-smoking environment. That's just how it is. Argue semantics, and personal rights, and blah blah blah...doesn't matter. If you're a smoker, and you feel like it's bullshit you can't smoke at a bar, stay the fuck home or walk outside and light up/shut the fuck up. It's not even about health to me, second smoke isn't the extreme danger it's made out to be, but it is annoying.

I liken it to a dinner out where some asshole at the table next to you is WAAAAY too loud, obnoxious, etc. Sure, he has just as much of a right to have a good time as the next guy, but that doesn't mean he gets a free pass for doing something that most people would find irritating. If you get tired of people giving you dirty looks, either get over it or stop doing it, but complaining about it is pathetic. You made the decision, deal with it.

I worked in a smoking bar for years, a ton of my friends smoke, etc so I've gotten used to it but I'll be goddamned if it's not annoying smelling like a fucking ashtray after spending any time around them or at work. It's embarrassing. If I was a bar owner, I wouldn't allow it based off that fact alone (Guys have money, money follows pussy, pussy doesn't want to go somewhere they'll have to shower the acrid smoke out of there hair ASAP). If you want to smoke, go do it outside. If you ever light a cigar indoors, in public, you're an asshole. That shit absolutely reeks. If you smoke pipe tobacco, well...it's not the best, but at least it smells good.

Smoking bans in public areas, while I can understand why smokers would be pissed off about it, I think are a good thing. I don't know too many people who are proud to be a smoker, and if being herded into a tiny area with other people and being labeled as *gasp* a smoker, is embarrassing, consider it motivation to quit. If you complain that you have a right to do it where you want because you're paying taxes on the cigarettes, shut the fuck up. That's like telling a cop that you pay their salary, it's disingenuous logic at best and completely moronic at worst. If they taxed heroin, does it give junkies the right shoot up wherever they want? They paid their money, fuck everyone else?

Maybe someone who does this can explain it to me, because I'm honestly curious: why would someone ever smoke in their vehicle or house? Do you just not car about NEVER getting that smell out? Do you just not give a fuck?

I think it boils down to common courtesy. You don't have conversations in a movie theater, you don't answer your phone while fucking, you don't wantonly smoke in an area that it would bother people. If you're in a smoking bar, or a smoking restaurant, and it bothers you, get the fuck out. You chose to walk in. Common courtesy for everyone, whether they smell like a fucking ashtray or not.

 

This honestly amazes me. I don't understand how someone can start smoking in this day and age. Are people seriously that stupid or do they just not give a shit (and thus, I guess that would also make them stupid)?*

The lab I work in here at school is a smoking cessation lab. Among other things, we're actually in the clinical phases of a nicotine vaccine right now, which is kinda cool. As a result of where I work, I obviously have a biased view on the whole situation but my opinion on the whole thing really hasn't changed a whole lot since before college/I started working there. I don't really give a shit what people do as long as I don't have to deal with the direct repercussions of it. You wanna smoke and smell like shit? Great, take it outside and away from me.

I do have a problem with people who argue against smoking bans in public buildings with any argument other than an economic one. You say the smoking ban is the government sticking its hand somewhere it doesn't belong? No dumbass, your smoke is wafting somewhere it doesn't belong, which is my nose. Smoking directly impedes whatever the activity that the person next do you is doing. Although once I'm not sober, I have no issue with the smell at all, if I'm sober, I really dislike the smell of cigarette smoke- I don't want to smell it in a public building. The health issues related to second hand smoke have been beaten to death by the media so there's no reason to really go into that other than to say that it's just another reason the ban's a good thing, in my opinion.

*Not calling you out here, Cowbell. It's just something that amazes me and the quote sparked my amazement.

 

I am at a point where I'm really starting to consider myself a non smoker. (It has been 6 days since my last cigarette.) Even so I still feel a lot of hatred towards the non smoking majority. Cigarettes, at least for the moment, are a legal product. Where the fuck does anybody get off telling a business owner they are of only limited importance in determining what happens in their establishment? You want to ban smoking in schools, government buildings, and other places people have to go, then fine. But FUCKING BARS??? What the fuck sort of bullshit is that?!? What the fuck happened to a proprietors rights? If you want a smoke free environment drink at home, drink in most restaurants, or smoke in NON-SMOKING BARS! The fucking witch hunt going on for smokers right now is bullshit. I seriously want to have a sympathy smoke for Queen-Bee right now!

 

The same reason that we eat Big Macs, drive our cars too fast, drink to excess, avoid studying, don't use a condom "just this one time," and perform any number of other hazardous activities. Humans display a remarkable tendency to choose short term pleasures despite looming and momentous long-term harms.


It's not like I'm claiming it's smart. Hell, my father is a cancer survivor. Specifically, throat cancer. I can't even count the number of ways my decision to pick up smoking was retarded. I remember the look of disappointment and pain on his face when he found a pack on cigarettes in the center console of the car we shared. I'm to this day ashamed of myself. Not just angry. Literally ashamed and embarrassed.

But you tell yourself that one cigarette isn't going to give you cancer. And you're right. But it is likely to cause you pick up another cigarette.


No one picks up a smoking habit as such. Or at least very few. They pick up one cigarette. And then the next. And then the next. And then they notice they're bumming a lot of cigarettes, so they buy their own pack for when they go out to bars. Then that pack somehow finds its way from your desk drawer to your pocket, and by golly, you're a smoker now.

We all do this in one way or another; it's a natural human tendency. It's merely a matter of degree and picking your poison. Cigarettes just happen to be a really shitty poison, and it's really easy for the degree to get beyond your control.

I don't just hate my smoking habit. My smoking habit makes me hate me. But have I smoked my last cigarette? Probably not.

 

A "witch hunt"? Come on. Don't act like smokers are fucking martyrs, because y'all aren't. Would it make everything okay if after people walked out of a bar they all personally thanked you guys for taking it outside? Should you guys get discounted meals for not lighting up at the table, because...you know...those goddamn nay-saying piece of shit non smokers don't like it. Fuckin' crybabies. "I'll wait, but not because I want to. But because I'm a good person."

 

At first I was against the smoking ban in bars because I thought it might hurt business, turns out it didn't, and now that I notice the positive effects of it I'm in favor of it. I was Vegas two weeks ago and I got my fair share of second hand smoke. As much as I like Vegas I always know when I'm there because I can feel the second hand smoke in my throat. I think banning smoking in public, indoor spaces isn't inherently bad as most people (I believe) don't want to experience second hand smoke.

But it seems to me that the government is slowly moving to an outright ban of tobacco. It looks like the continued increase taxation, and eliminating the areas people are allowed to smoke, all promote a mindset where people's tolerance of smoking is diminished. Once public tolerance of smoking has diminished enough, an outright ban in certain states/regions may follow.

But I think this won't happen, because it runs against the furthered acceptance of marijuana. it's odd to think that its ok to smoke weed, but not ok to smoke tobacco. Maybe if thats the case, maybe people will reconcile this by allowing people to smoke in their own personal spaces. Who knows.

 

Agreed. The common argument of "no one's forcing you to be there", swings both ways. No one is putting that smoke in your mouth, and a lighter in your hand. You are allowed, by law no less, to do something harmful to yourself and potentially others. That kind of thing carries a couple of rules and expectations with it.

FOCUS: Although most restaurateurs don't much care for the smoking ban in their establishments, I'm all for it. There are a couple reasons. One, the ban includes staff, which carries more than one benefit, those being that cigarette smoke doesn't creep into your kitchen where meals are being prepared[1], and it gives your cooks and servers a quick breath of fresh air, which can really clear your head on a rough night and hit the reset button. Two, smokers have a damaged sense of taste and smell[2] which, although admittedly more a personal issue than anything, doesn't bode well for me when I'm crafting a meal fit for a king.

[1] Some kitchens are surprisingly cramped, with the staff area being right close to the prep areas, or in some cases, a couple tables being located right next to the kitchen entrance.

[2]http://www.coffeechemistry.com/index.php/News/Health/smoking-believed-to-affect-taste-buds.html

As for second-hand smoke, I'm not concerned. My parents smoked while I grew up, and still haven't stopped. I'm in pretty good health, and any maladies are a result of my own negligence. That being said, everyone's experience will be different, so your mileage may vary.

 

I remember when you could smoke in grocery stores. People would throw their butts on the floor and rub them out with their shoe and leave them there. It was disgusting.

My husband remembers going to visit his mother in the hospital when his little sister was born (late 60's) and everyone smoked from the doctors to the nurses. His mom smoked on the gurney while holding his sister and the nurses walked from room to room with a cigarette hanging from their lips.

I quit smoking three years ago with the help of Chantix. I never would have been able to do it otherwise (I'd tried everything) and I appreciate the smoking bans, at least in restaurants.

 

I'm all for personal freedom and the over-regulation and taxation of the alcohol industry sickens me. The same applies for drugs, the government should not have the right to tell me what drugs I can and cannot take.

However I'm willing to make an exception for smoking. I probably smoke around 5-10 fags a week and only when drinking. If smoking was banned tomorrow I would have no problems coming to terms with it.

The reason I support banning smoking and not other drugs is becuase fags have almost no re-deeming features.

Maybe it's just me, but I anticipate a smoke and get the urge for one. However once I'm actually smoking it I don't enjoy it at all, afterwards it makes my head feel a little cloudy. Am I the only one or can anyone say they actually enjoy smoking?

 

I don't know if I'm stating the obvious here, but according to a couple of researches you're right on the mark. Unhealthy people aren't a burden on the healthcare system, but more of a blessing. They tend to die young and fast, so there's enough money left to ensure us healthy people can wither away in our own filth in a nursing home over a thrity-year period. (Disclaimer: This is based on the Dutch healthcare-system, which, as we all know, is a European Commie-Socialist-Soviet-system. I have no idea how much it overlaps with your system.)

As for me, my parents both smoked a lot. Then my dad got a couple of heart-attacks and stopped. My mom went on, but decided a couple of years ago to stop cold turkey. So I was aware of the risks, but of course smoked when I went out when I was around sixteen years old. Just to look cool and shit. Never cared much for it and saw it more as a waste of money than good health.

I work at a bar where people tend to leave their cigarettes and two weeks ago I decided to light one up again. To catch up on some memories or something stupid like that. I threw it away halfway through. The pack has been laying on my desk ever since. Never had the urge to smoke one again, so I guess I passed the no-smoke test.