Posted on 11/19/2004 5:35:36 AM PST by 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.
Exactly, would you go to a gay bar and then start punching men in the face for hitting on you?
You understand.
It was his choice.
I agree.
If I go to a bar, I expect to see people smoking. I was a bouncer/bartender for a lot of years and I never would have complained about people smoking.
It was my choice to work in a place where people smoked and I didn't bitch.
But when I am walking into a non-smoking restaurant and there are 10 people outside the front door smoking and blowing smoke directly into my face as I walk in, I get a little pissed. Smokers want people to respect their right to smoke but they don't want to respect my right not to have to smell it. Does that make sense?
So, it's okay to burn someone with your cigarette just because you are in a smoking area?
Get real.
And your gay bar comment doesn't work either. First of all, I wouldn't go into a gay bar but if I was in a regular bar and a guy grabbed me, I would definitely put an end to it immediately.
Oh, and I've never seen someone get their head "shoewed" through a wall, is it painful?
Welcome to Free Republic.
That's because I was a smoker.
I smoked 2 packs a day for twenty years and I was a stinking(literally)nicotine junkie the whole time as is every tobacco addict.
Smoking is about the filthiest habit you can have IMHO.
People do have a right to this dirty habit its true, but they have no right to impose the stink and secondhand smoke on anybody else.
My Dad was a WW2 vet who fought in Europe. He was a strong man and dominating personalty all of his life until his cigarette addiction gave him the 'gift' of emphysema.
When that living horror finally took hold this strong man that had fought nazis could not walk across his living room without gasping for air like a drowning man. An oxygen bottle became his hold on life until the cancer finally did him in.
It was sad to see the state he was in at death all because of a stupid habit that can be beaten cold turkey in 3 days, with much prayer and the help of God in my case.
But far be it from me to say you can't do it. I did it myself.
I hope you smokers think the costs of this habit are worth it to you and your families.
Are you sure you're not mixing your metaphores?
The business owner/manager can disallow smoking anywhere on the property, not just inside the building. Tell the owner/manager about it and ask them to do something.
C'mon, get real. There's a difference between being someplace you shouldn't be (a gay bar if you are straight) and having someone burn you with a cigarette in a bar.
If you can't see that then there's no reasoning with you.
Oh, and from your earlier post.... you can try if you want. I don't think you'll like the result though.
Thanks. I think I picked an unpopular side to this arguement. I don't care if people smoke, I just think there should be a little more respect for other people in certain situations.
What other ailments are you talking about? Do you think we are all kids here?
Everyone is born with cancer cells. Depending on one's lifestyle and all around immune system is what determines who gets cancer. Smoking alone does not cause cancer. This is junk science.
My previous post about my one grandmother living to be 86 and she smoked 3 packs of unfiltered Camels a day? And my other grandmother never smoked, died at age 42 full of cancer?
And if you complained to the manager of the restaurant are you afraid he would just shrug his shoulders? It's a private business for crying out loud! If the restaurant lets people smoke in the front doorway and it offends you, DON'T GO IN AND SPEND YOUR MONEY!
After reading the above, it is a wonder that anyone would smoke! Oh, I forgot, it's the nicotine ...
Hopefully next we can pass a law that prevents non-smokers from even entering bars. Think of the upside, the outdoor fresh air will makes clothes smell fresh and it's an easy way to meet other people who similarly enjoy restricting people's freedonms.
That business about the non-smoker's having to pay for our health care is a bunch of hooey.
Most of us have our own health insurance coverage. If I get sick, no one pays for me! It's the uninsured smokers who get sick that become the ward of the state, and we ALL have to pay for them. How about the government start rounding up jobs AND health care for these people?
The argument isn't, or at least shouldn't be, about smoking.
The argument is about allowing property owners to allow legal commodities to be used on their property.
Have you ever been to a restaurant where smoking is not permitted? Better yet, have you ever been to a government and seen the employess gathered in front of the building smoking? Have you ever walked through one of these groups to get inside the building?
Do you think it's okay for the smokers (who should be able to smoke if they want, I'm not arguing that) to blow smoke on people who are non-smokers? It doesn't even have to be done purposely.
My whole arguement is that smokers infringe on non-smokers. If you are in a bar where smoking is allowed, you should expect to smell like smoke. If you are walking from your car and going into a restaurant that is non-smoking, you shouldn't have to walk through a gauntlet of smokers who are outside having their cigarettes.
Does that explain where I am coming from?
None.
I'd rather pass a smoker on the highway anyday then a drunk.
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