Quit nagging the smokers, will ya?

PhillyBurbs.com ^ | 11-18-04 | J.D. Mullane

[SheLion]

Today is the day we set aside each year to badger, harass and pester that marginalized subculture of Americans, the Doorway People.

You know the Doorway People. They stand in doorways at work or at the mall smoking cigarettes because lighting up in mixed company has become as distasteful as nose-picking.

Yes, today marks the 27th anniversary of the Great American Smokeout, sponsored by the American Cancer Society, where modern incarnates of pinch-mouthed prohibitionists attempt to further ghettoize smokers.

Now, it's not that I think smoking is good. I have friends who smoke. I wish they didn't. On average, they will trade 10 years of their lives to enjoy their habit. But we're all grownups. Smoking is their demon and I have enough of my own demons to wrestle with.

But, unlike anti-smoking zealots, I sympathize with smokers.

That's because I was a smoker. When I quit for good in 1996, I was burning through 2 1/2 packs a day. I ditched the habit because each time I coughed, my lungs rattled as if someone had backed into metal trash cans.

Still, I loved every puff. I still miss it. In fact, I still have nicotine cravings.

So I'm sympathetic to smokers and believe they should be free to enjoy their addiction, which, last I checked, remains legal. Which is why I dislike the anti-smoking scolds. They are trying to criminalize smoking.

From New York City to Dallas, from Toledo, Ohio, to Eugene, Ore., anti-smoking zealots have racked up successful campaigns to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, the last bastion of peace and acceptance for smokers.

Eventually, the anti-smoking "movement" will have won enough smoking bans in enough cities in enough states to introduce national no-smoking legislation, said Zoe Mitchell, co-founder of Ban the Ban, which recently defeated efforts to enact similar no-smoking legislation in Washington, D.C.

"Ultimately, their goal is to make it a national issue based on their success at the local level," she said.

Anti-smokers say they're acting in the best interest of public health.

They say all those smokers burden the healthcare system with their cigarette-related maladies. It costs all of us more in healthcare premiums, they say.

Nonsense. Smokers die sooner than most of us nonsmokers, never collecting a cent from Social Security, which they've paid for decades.

Also, smokers pay outrageous cigarette taxes on each pack of smokes, which pours billions of dollars annually into government coffers.

At best, the money argument is a wash.

When an anti-smoking nut steps into a place like the Puss N' Boots Tavern in Fairless Hills, all they see is the blue-gray cloud of smoke hovering over the patrons crowded around the bar.

When I walk into the Boot, I see it differently.

I see a local cop who's seen more than his fair share of tragedy.

Or an emergency room nurse who was up to her elbows in blood just a few hours before.

Or a construction guy who's sacrificed years of Saturdays to work overtime so he could save for his kid's college tuition.

Or a middle-aged father worried about his son, who's fighting the war.

These are the good people the anti-smoking zealots want to stigmatize as public health leeches.

And if they accomplish their goal, they won't go away.

They will persecute the overweight, stigmatize SUV drivers and haul into court those who don't recycle.

They've got the money and the time and the lawyers.

[Capagrl]

Thank you very much for eloquently putting words to the faces behind the smoke. I have been smoking for 16 years and, while I am not proud of it, I am considerate about it and feel it is for ME to decide when, how and if I quit.

My own children have been brainwashed by the schools with the mantra, "Mommy's going to die if she doesn't stop smoking!" My 10 year old came home from kindergarten 5 years ago crying about it. My response? "I could also step off the sidewalk and be killed by a bus. We are all going to die someday whether we like it or not." Why should my children have the threat of losing a parent preached to them in the name of anti-smoking?

Would I want my kids to smoke? Never. Do I lie to them about the dangers? Nope. I tell them it is my decision, it is a poor decision and I regret having ever started and hope they will never consider it. Yes, it's a do as I say, not as I do message, but my mother, 4 aunts and maternal grandparents were all raging alcoholics - am I? Nope.

We all make choices - good, bad or otherwise. I was 15 when I picked up smoking because a) I could bum smokes off cute guys and, b) I knew smoking helped relieve "stress" - a message from my 3 pack a day step mother. Not a single one of my parents (I have 3 moms, 2 dads thanks to divorce/remarriage) ever expressed their wish to me that I would make a wiser decision. Luckily, all of my parents have quit smoking and I'm the black smoking sheep of the family. I'm fine with that.

Some day, God willing, I will find the strength to just say no to my best friend... my friend who is there no matter what happens. My friend who never passes judgment but just listens. My friend who has been with me in the dead of winter in the blowing snow as I have to be outside to smoke. My friend who MAY someday kill me, but who is my companion none the less. I love my cigarettes for always being there for me - it's more than I can say for all the parents I've had!

[SheLion]

And if there were that many people that REALLY cared about it the businesses would have gone nonsmoking, by themselves with no help from nanny govt, YEARS ago.

Pity that this right wasn't even put on the table for the business owner's. Their rights were yanked right out from under them, Joe.

[SheLion]

Smoking doesn't just harm you, it harms everyone around you.

That hasn't been proven. I'm sorry you fell for the rhetoric of the highly paid Anti-Smoking Zealots.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I think you may have misjudged how the smokers feel about going out front at a bar. I have no problem not smoking where the business owner chose to be smoke free. I either don't smoke or usually go somewhere else. It's his choice to be smoke free and my choice to not do business with him. You should exercise the same choices. I have a huge problem of the nanny state dictating to the business owner.

[SheLion]

Now you can get drunk and not 'reek'. What fun.

[Just another Joe]

Smoking doesn't just harm you, it harms everyone around you.

Better do a little research before you spout off.

I'll gladly help by pointing you to some of the largest studies done to date on ETS.

[JoeSixPack1]

...have the right to decide whether or not to allow smoking on their own property.

umm, no. Current law says there is no personal decision allowed. THAT is the problem.

[Just another Joe]

Well put Capagrl.
I'll have to invite you to the Smokers' Lounge next time it opens.

[SheLion]

Some day, God willing, I will find the strength to just say no to my best friend... my friend who is there no matter what happens. My friend who never passes judgment but just listens. My friend who has been with me in the dead of winter in the blowing snow as I have to be outside to smoke. My friend who MAY someday kill me, but who is my companion none the less. I love my cigarettes for always being there for me - it's more than I can say for all the parents I've had!

Hey! Do you want me to add you to my ping list?

Well, I, too, started smoking when I was 16.  (Peer pressure). I wish I hadn't started, but I did and I can honestly say that I really enjoy it.  When the day comes that I no longer enjoy smoking, I will quit.  But it's mighty hard to give up something when you enjoy it, so I won't even try.  I did quit once for 5 days, and those were the most miserable 5 days of my life.

Others in here that know me have heard this before, but:  My one grandmother smoked three packs of unfiltered Camels a day and lived to be 86.  My other grandmother never smoked, and she died full of cancer at age 42.

[Terpesman]

What's the difference between blowing smoke in someone's face and spitting in someone's face?

If I am a migraine sufferer who's headaches are triggered by cigarette smoke, should I have to talk through a cloud of smoke to get into a restaurant or business?

When someone "accidentally" burns my arm with their cigarette in a bar, am I allowed to punch them in the mouth?

[Mr Ramsbotham]

umm, no. Current law says there is no personal decision allowed. THAT is the problem.

Which is exactly what I meant. That's the issue that ought to be addressed ... not whether any smoker has the right at any time to befoul someone else's space.

[LittleSpotBlog]

So, how did my grandmother get lung cancer if she never smoked? My grandfather smoked for 40 years, and they both fell ill. It's a fact that smoking causes cancer, among many other ailments.

[Conspiracy Guy]

I was being sarcastic. I don't smoke except where it is permitted. I don't even smoke inside my own home. As for the real effects, everyone has a right to an opinion. My father didn't smoke but became very sedentary after retiring and died at 76 from respiratory and heart problems. Both my grandfathers smoked like a brush fire and they and their non smoking wives all lived into their 90's. They were very active.

Attitude, activity levels, eating habits, and genetics play a bigger role in your health that the smoke demon.

[TheForceOfOne]

We are not that far away from the banning of fatty foods and drinks. Liberals claim the existence of these items puts undue strain on the medical insurance industry. At the same time they go around trying to sue places like McDonald's for making them fat. It all sounds silly but they peddle these lawsuits around until they find a judge in a liberal state who will listen and a liberal jury and then extort money from corporations the same way Jesse Jackson does over racism or the threat of the lawsuit which gets back door money in his pocket. Nothing has changed, Liberals believe they know what is best for us and it is usually just the opposite of what we believe.

[Just another Joe]

What's the difference between blowing smoke in someone's face and spitting in someone's face?

There's a big difference between blowing smoke in someone's face and someone entering a business that they KNOW allows smoking and expecting it to cater to THEIR desire for there to be no smoking.

[TheForceOfOne]

If I don't like you am I allowed to punch you in the face?

[Conspiracy Guy]

When someone "accidentally" burns my arm with their cigarette in a bar, am I allowed to punch them in the mouth?

Sure. If you don't mind having your head shoewd through a wall. No problem at all. Why don't you consider not going into places where you are uncomfortable. I don't go to gay bars because I don't choose to associate with gays. Why do you go into smokey bars? To complain? Do you go to church and whine about all that religous talk?

[JoeSixPack1]

If that was what you meant, then why did you harp (in both posts) a lie that smokers want to "befoul" anything? Smoking isn't a political statement. But it's being turned into one.

[ShandaLear]

My father smoked for 50 years. He's currently in the hospital fighting for his life against lung cancer.

No one thinks this can happen to them. Until it happens to you or a family member, you really have no idea the grief and destruction smoking causes.