Don't forget about Big Pharm. They want everyone to stop smoking so they can get the SMOKER'S money!
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.
Wink! Fart away! We shall never meet so my smoking won't bother you and you can fart to high heaven. Like smelling your own farts do you? heh!
I bet he's the type that farts in bed and pulls the covers up over his head so he can enjoy the aroma. LOL!
Not hardly the kind of man I'd want to be around anyway. haha
Goodness. I live in northern Maine and have a huge wood furnace in the basement along with 9 cords of wood for this season. Dirtiest heat I ever had but still a good warm heat. But it's dirty, believe me. I have been using a wood furnace since moving to northern Maine and I'm still going strong. Even by me smoking........
Don't forget about Big Pharm. They want everyone to stop smoking so they can get the SMOKER'S money!
You're full of chit. I NEVER said that. Do NOT put words into my mouth.
I was replying to Shelion, who is arguing that SMOKING doesn't cause cancer.
You're full of chit. I NEVER said that. Do NOT put words into my mouth.
Ok. How about THESE studies?
Cold air and exercise trigger asthma
Contrary to what the EPA would have us believe, medical researchers are increasingly putting the blame for asthma on our modern day obsession with cleanliness, not on tobacco smoke. For further discussion on this, see "Smoke and the Asthma Epidemic: A Reality Check," by Wanda Hamilton.
Cute guys. You sure they are smoking 'regular' cigarettes here. LOL!
Cold air and exercise trigger asthma
Contrary to what the EPA would have us believe, medical researchers are increasingly putting the blame for asthma on our modern day obsession with cleanliness, not on tobacco smoke. For further discussion on this, see "Smoke and the Asthma Epidemic: A Reality Check," by Wanda Hamilton.
Ok. How about THESE studies?
Cold air and exercise trigger asthma
Contrary to what the EPA would have us believe, medical researchers are increasingly putting the blame for asthma on our modern day obsession with cleanliness, not on tobacco smoke. For further discussion on this, see "Smoke and the Asthma Epidemic: A Reality Check," by Wanda Hamilton.
Eat beans to your heart's content my friend. And thank GOD I don't have to live close to you!
Please! Eat about a dozen of jalapeno peppers to go along with that. heh! Not that I want you to suffer but maybe while those hot peppers are coming back out, you will be leaving the smokers alone. LOL!
Ah. What post are you talking about? I never said anything about a friend that MAY kill me? huh? Show me the post where you think I said that.
Where did I say anything about banning anything?
Apparently.
People are smoking tobacco outside, in the open air that is also being shared by exhaust fumes from numerous sources, only because some people that didn't like the smell were able to get the highly financed junk scientists to convince the corruptible and gullible lawmakers to do it.
Reminds you of "Reefer Madness", doesn't it?
And remember, in many, if not most, public places, you still can't drink alcohol (a legal drug) outside in the open air, even though it emits no unhalable by-product.
So, there is precedent for this ... and nobody seemed to be upset about it. Therefore, this is a natural progression. When they came for the marijuana and alcohol users I didn't speak because I didn't use marijuana or alcohol, etc, etc. I'm sure you know this theory. Eventually your drug of choice is going to come onto the radar. Frankly, i'm surprised it took this long for tobacco.
But heck, I'm a reasonable gal, so I'll go with your idea of "recreational drugs" and suggest that the use of tobacco in an establishment created for the use of alcohol or caffeine shouldn't be a problem, should it? It solves the problem of tobacco use outside, doesn't it?
Of course. No arguement here.
But I'll take it even a step further, let all the business owners make the decision. WOW, that's such a novel idea, isn't it?
Maybe. Some might argue that OSHA regulations should be done away with, and if the workers don't like the conditions they could just quit. Some might argue that if offices aren't wheelchair-accessible, then disabled persons should just find another job. If your boss is sexually harassing you, quit, and find another job. Business should be able to create whatever work environments they want.
I'm not entirely sure I agree with doing away with all workplace regulations.
Now, if the business is specifically designated as a "Place for people to use and enjoy recreational drugs", I agree with you 100%. It should be up to them whether they wish to engage in that business.
I am a considerate smoker. But lately it is a test of my will!
Wink! Fart away! We shall never meet so my smoking won't bother you and you can fart to high heaven. Like smelling your own farts do you? heh!LOLOL!
Good. Then you are aware of the precice mechanism of action and the receptor sites in the brain that tobacco byproducts bind to and are aware that it is actually a polydrug phenomenon.
I wonder how you could know this and still come to the conclusion that is is not addicting? *shrug* Maybe growing up in a smoking household and smoking while pregnant effects the logic circuit of one's synapses. I guess that needs to be further studied.
I still resent you calling tobacco a DRUG.
You resent me calling a drug ... a drug? Would you rather I called it a red crested hummingbird?
Last I heard, drugs are illegal unless a legal prescription is provided.
Well, "last you heard" was wrong. That's not even remotely true. Have you ever been to a drugstore, SheLion? I don't know who you've been talking to. Some drugs are illegal, others are perfectly legal, and some are legal but controlled.
You and you alone are making me WISH I had a few drugs right now. heh!
Run down to the store and pick some up.
How about I get a prescription for Valium and get all la la in the head then get behind the wheel of my big ole SUV. Would you be happy then, Stu baby?
No. Uh, SheLion baby (if we must use pet names for each other).
Listen. You don't have to smoke.
Thank you.
You don't even have to be around smokers.
Actually, unless I never leave the house, I do have to be around them.
God knows, the highly paid anti-smokers have provided places now where you don't even have to BE around SHS.
Some places, yes.
Not that it will hurt you, but God forbid, should you ever SMELL it.
Some people it hurts, some people it doesn't.
I wonder if you can tell when winker farts.
Aw, I preferred it when you called me "baby".
By recreational drugs. Do you mean pot, ecstasy, oxycontin? (I can't spell it never took it).
By recreational drugs, I meant all drugs used for recreational purposes, and not medical, purposes. A comprehensive list would be difficult to publish in one post.
Those Stu, while maybe you classify them as 'recreational' are illegal.
You picked out two drugs that are illegal, and one that is illegal without a prescription. This hardly encompases the list of drugs that are used recreationally. And if the "anti-smokers" accomplish outlawing tobacco, as some suggest that they are ... then I guess you're gonna have to quit. Because then you'd be using an illegal drug instead of a legal drug. And that would be wrong.
Other drugs..........like prescription drugs? Those are legal when a prescription is given by a Doctor when a patient needs these medications.
Yes, thank you for stating the obvious.
Alcohol and tobacco products are not drugs.
To the contrary. They are. The fact that they are legal does not mean that they are not drugs. There are also more closely regulated than other drugs. A 15 year old can legally walk into a store and buy a bottle of aspirin, but not alcohol or cigarettes.
Alcohol is legal, even though it numbs the brain.
Alcohol is only legal when consumed on private property or when used in designated places (usually requiring a permit of some kind). Most people cannot walk down the street drinking alcohol. Hence the "brown bags".
That's because it's a drug. You claim that it "numbs the brain", then go on to say it is not a drug. Your position seems to contradict itself.
Tobacco and smoking cigarettes does not have the 'drug' effect of anything I listed above.
Different drugs have different effects. That's why there is more than one drug.
When I smoke a plain old cigarette, I'm not inclined to start stripping my clothes off and dancing on a table, or grabbing a gun and run outside to shoot at cars.
I think I speak for everyone when I say that I am very glad to hear hat.
Most people who smoke marijuana don't have the above urge either, but likely you still consider it a drug.
It might be noted that Alcohol does indeed cause some of the above behaviour. More alchol-related crimes are committed each year in the U.S. than all other drugs combined.
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