[That Subliminal Kid]

what's funny is people who are enslaved by a corporation, chained by addiction to a chemical that controls them. Or is it sad and pathetic? I'm not really sure. I'm glad I'm not a corporate slave.

[SheLion]

Or is it sad and pathetic?

Smoker's Creed
I smoke because I like to smoke.
I smoke because I want to smoke.
Smoking pleases me.
My life is better because I smoke.
I accept responsibility for all of my actions.
I want the freedom to choose to smoke.
I can choose how to make myself happy.
I own myself.
Smoking is my choice.

[ijcr]

From the Cato Institute

"Federal and state excise taxes on cigarettes already generate more than $13 billion in annual revenue -- far more than the smoking-related costs paid out of public coffers. Economists who have examined the data have concluded, without exception, that publicly funded health expenditures are less than current excise tax collections. And if we consider pension and geriatric savings due to premature deaths, total social costs are less than half the prevailing tax bite. That may sound ghoulish, but it's the government, not tobacco companies, that laments the financial impact on the public treasury. In calculating that impact, both costs and savings must be considered. In a nutshell, tobacco companies and their customers have more than paid their way."

Smoking is still worthwhile--it keeps stuck up hypocritical pretentious lifestyle control freaks away from me--priceless