BlogHer - People Are Really Still Smoking? - Comments

I will never understand

aprilwordwolf — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 07:23:24 -0500

Until the day I die, I will never understand why anyone lights up in the first place. It's simply the most revolting habit anyone could possibly have. There are simply no good points at all. I mean, you get sick and it costs a lot of money too. I could never be attracted to anyone who smokes. And I know that I'm not the only one!

April

People Are Really Still Smoking?

charlierotario — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:19:13 -0600

It might be a late answer to this post but I just needed to post this comment. My wife has managed to quite smoking these days (but she decided to for it a year ago) and struggled hard to succeed, but she did it. She used some acupuncture, so called quit smoking acupuncture by Hoa Soyung, also went to a group of self-help hynotherapy and meditated a lot.

The new 2009 is comming soon a we got a smokeless family now :)
Thanks to all those who are helping others with useful information and good luck to all those who are just starting to think about quitting.

Cheers,
CR

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Regarding Smokers

Liz Rizzo — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 11:53:08 -0500

Hi Ana,

Thank you for your comment.

My post was a rant of my feelings about people who still smoke. It is, of course, a larger addiction issue, and my post was an expression of my exasperation and frustration with the fact that in the face of a changing world, anyone is still smoking.

Which, of course, they are, for a variety of reasons, including addiction. And when it's my friends, it breaks my heart.

Further, I don't believe I said that all smokers "litter with butts, are inconsiderate and blow smoke in the direction of non smokers." And I disagree with your comparison to racial segregation. Someone standing next to me being a different color does not effect my health. They are not taking a questionable action, they are simply being a different color than me. I find your comparison flawed in that regard.

I will also say that use of toothpaste is irrelevant when it comes to kissing. Only a smoker would think minty nicotine breath is an improvement, sorry. I find the smell of smoke pretty much clings to a smoker for at least an hour, depending on the cigarettes.

Thank you again for your comment.

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess and On The Lot.

Mom

Renee3116 — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 16:16:26 -0600

You're right, it's gross! I tried to get my mom to quit from the time I could talk, but she never did. A little over a year ago she was diagnosed with Emphysema and now lives on oxygen; at that time, she was only 64 years old! She carries an oxygen tank everywhere, she's tethered to a 100 ft. cord in the house, she can't really travel and can't even walk through Target without getting winded. I wish it was illegal!

by the way, my above comment

ana2271 — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 06:47:25 -0600

by the way, my above comment is in response to the original post, not the reply above. I have no desire in getting involved in any squabbles

I do take issue with what

ana2271 — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 06:42:17 -0600

I do take issue with what smoking is, and I also take issue with people dictating what other people ought to do, I do get offended when people refer to smokers like they're lepers, and for the latter to be segregated in some way (which I don't see as being any different from racial segregation, it's still has the same features). Yes it's a terrible, life threatening habit, and it's too easy a generalisation to make, to say that all smokers litter with butts, are inconsiderate and blow smoke in the direction of non smokers, and so on.

Nicotine addiction isn't fun, and I know. I've fallen off the wagon countless times, but that doesn't make me a disgusting person to know, nor does it make me inconsiderate. It's not like I sit there waiting for someone to walk by so I can light up and blow smoke in their direction to get my rocks off.

Here's a suggestion, how about you target your disgust at tobacco companies? Try the Altria Group, the corporate umbrella that owns Kraft (foods), and other companies, including Phillip Morris.

I personally think that cigarettes shouldn't be legal products, but if they were illegal, they'd go blackmarket. But they're legal.

All the anti-smoking ranting tends to carry on the notion or insinuation that 'People' who smoke are unnacceptable, filthy, disgusting, when many of them work, pay their taxes, help their fellow human being, and so on.

I am really tired of reading about these types of opinions, usually from those who have never experienced an addiction, but what I've found is that those who sprout off their invective against one group of people, namely smokers, have their own skeletons in their own closets, other addictions: they may gamble, they may eat too much, and on it goes.

I guess all the above comment translates to me being offended by this post because of its other implications as per the following:

"Come on, that is insane behavior at this point. Not to mention, completely unkissable."

In other words smokers are 'insane' or mentally unbalanced, and they're repulsive and/or disgusting, like we've never heard of toothpaste?

Thank you for your 'perceptive' post. I can glean the same information (regarding the health risks) from the Phillip Morris website, and the plethora of books that are out there.

Wow, I thought I was outspoken!

Marcia — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 16:34:18 -0600

As years go by, I find myself becoming less and less tolerant of smokers, I am fed up with having to walk behind them when I'm walking to my local store, I am furious when I see smokers throwing half smoked cigarette ends out of car windows, Why do they do it? If this is not affecting my life in some way or form, what is?
I vote for 1000% increase in taxes on cigarettes so that it prices everybody out of the addiction, then perhaps we can ALL start living healthier lives!!
Marcia
A member of the Dreambodynow team
http://www.dreambodynow.com

My husband smokes

mia3mom — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 08:54:15 -0600

My husband smokes (outside), and he's overweight. He also doesn't exercise a lot.

But don't feel sorry for my kids because of it. He's a LOT healthier than I am. A LOT. I quit smoking while pregnat with my first, and it was hard - very hard, even with that as a motivator. He has quit 3-4 times, and is cutting down now in preparation for another try at quitting.

I'm glad I didn't eliminate him from my dating prospects or divorce him because of it - I'm chronically ill, and he is lovingly supporting me through the horrors of chronic pain & chronic illness.

I like the idea of your message, but I don't agree with the ton.

Rachel - a Gaggle of girls and sites
blog, recipes, and book reviews

it's their choice... and I may choose to date them

annattitude — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 16:39:09 -0600

Yes, I agree we should make smoking socially unacceptable so that fewer and fewer people smoke. It's clearly a nasty, unhealthy habit, and it should be eradicated.

But I'm supposed to add 'smoking' to the list of things that aren't acceptable in a potential mate? Nope. Sorry. Not gonna happen. I'll date a smoker, as long as he/she is respectful of my breathing space and their smoking habits.

Maybe I'm too cynical about the dating scene, but adding one more thing to the list simply makes my dating options shrink. And if I'm ok if they go outside occasionally for a smoke, then so be it.

ann
www.annattitude.com

Spoken like

PegCrossan — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 12:32:52 -0600

a person who's never grappled with the stranglehold that addiction to nicotine can have over your every waking moment...

I appreciate your message, Liz, but the delivery? Not so much. As someone who smoked for over twenty years before I quit (whilst watching my mother die of lung cancer & emphysema), your 'tough-love' approach does more to rile a smoker than a gentler touch.

I'm glad I quit 20+ months ago, for if I hadn't, your post surely would have spurred me to light up--just to spite you.

Peg
Peggy, As She Is...

Suggestions

mama2bna — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 16:10:36 -0600

Denise,
I apologize if I offended you. I was trying to illustrate the conclusions often drawn by non-smokers from my own experience in the smoking seat. I certainly wasn't apathetic in life and in most areas used sound judgement, quitting smoking didn't make me any more passionate or wise. I believe in my own situation, I actively disregarded the health risks and was defensive about anyone who felt it necessary to impress their own views upon me. And, I have found that the way I am viewed personally and professionally has changed based on my not smoking.
That said, there are moments when I pass behind a person walking with a lit cigarette, that catch me by surprise, and I feel envy for people who have your mindset about smoking. But I did not, as you say, have a choice, mine was an addiction and I went through the night sweats quitting to prove it.

Here's the thing about smoking (to me)

Liz Rizzo — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:57:48 -0600

More than anything else you can do, smoking affects and poisons those around you as well as yourself. My point with the lower life form comment - which was harsh, yes - is that it's becoming truly absurd to be a smoker, even an occasional one. I myself have smoked a cigarette before, and I myself can enjoy a cigarette with a beer, but it's just seeming more and more insane to smoke, particularly after the August 2006 report on secondhand smoke.

Denise is right. I don't go around calling smokers lower life forms, and certainly I don't consider Denise a lower life form. I'm going to stand up right here and call "blogger" on myself in the sense that, yes, I am absolutely writing this here, on the Internet, because you can't be stringent with the smokers polluting the air right outside your office building in person without being a freak that everyone hates. And yet, it is starting to feel crazier and crazier to me that I have to walk through poisonous fumes to get to my car. And the fact that friends and acquaintances smoke is becoming more and more disturbing to me, and while I do say something about it, at least once and then let it go, I desperately wish anyone could get through to them. Do we really need to let smoking die off (literally)? Can't we at some point nip it?

And yeah, I agree with Mir - when I consider dating someone I accept that either of us could get in a car accident or come down with a terminal illness, but it's different if they are inhaling poison regularly, thereby virtually guaranteeing this outcome for themselves and others. I mean, I wouldn't start a relationship with a drug addict either.

Thank you, everyone, for sharing their opinions and perceptions!

Denise, I would love it if you would address the addiction angle in a post sometime, because it is definitely something I'd like to learn more about.

Liz Rizzo

I blog at Everyday Goddess, The SexySmart Blog, and On The Lot.

I've dated smokers in the

Zandria — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:44:51 -0600

I've dated smokers in the past, but I'd have to say that I'd be a lot more selective about it now. Such a gross, stinky habit -- and you're right, a person's decision to smoke doesn't just impact that person, it impacts their loved-ones, too.

Personal blog: Keep Up With Me
BlogHer blog: Life - Singles

I know you do, and ditto that

Denise — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:37:41 -0600

Mir, I totally understand where you are coming from when you say that if you see anyone doing things that could significantly shorten their life then you have second thoughts. I get that. Unfortunately people rarely make these types of comments in regards to other people. And, in fact, someone who has an occasional cigarette is just as healthy as someone who drinks a few glasses of wine every single night. Yet nobody bats an eye at the drinkers - just the smoker. ;-)

You or Liz or anyone else can choose to eliminate entire groups of people based on whatever criteria you want. The whole seeing the medical bills just floors me though. If that's what you're going to add as part of your criteria then you're seriously narrowing your options.

Having a cavalier attitude about life makes you sad? Is that what I have simply because I am a happy smoker (though part time smoker now)? Well so be it. As long as I'm not cavalier about YOUR life and I'm certainly not, then I think I'm ok. :-)

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High

People Are Really Still Smoking?

Liz Rizzo — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 22:00:49 -0600

Seriously - It's 2007, and it's getting to the point where smoking is just plain crazy. It's killing you; it's totally disgusting; and it's not OK.

Yes, this is a post about relationships. It's a post about relationships with smokers.

When I see a parent who's still smoking, it makes me so sad, so angry, so frustrated for their children. Because even if you: 1. Never smoke in the house, 2. Never smoke in the car, 3. Never smoke around your children EVER - the fact of the matter is, you are still likely dooming them to a future that involves watching their parent die, before their time, of tobacco-related diseases, which include lung and oral cancer, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema.

I saw my grandmother die of emphysema. Trust me, it was *not* pretty.

And who's still dating smokers? Think about all those things that *aren't* necessarily on the table over a first date drink - marriage, kids, STDs, credit debt, bad family relations, horrible break-ups. Now add what *is* on the table the minute you light up: Hey, if you end up with me, just think of the medical bills, disgusting illness, and premature death!

Attractive.

Put that in your online dating search engine.

Not to mention that if you're dating a smoker, the secondhand smoke is going to be hard to avoid. So add your own horrible premature death to the pro/con sheet. Check out the August 2006 American Lung Association Secondhand Smoke Fact Sheet. It's a chilling read that screams, You Are Inhaling Poison And Sharing It With The World Around You.

Come on, that is insane behavior at this point. Not to mention, completely unkissable.

OK, so maybe smokers just date other smokers. Given the facts about smoking, and the highly effective anti-smoking commercials out there, the problem with this (besides the fact that you're harming other people around you) is that eventually one of you is probably going to want to quit. "Leaving Las Vegas" was a great movie, but how many people really want to poison themselves to death together?

So when one of you makes a commitment to stop smoking, here's hoping it's a team effort. 'Cause if not, it's going to be a major strain on the relationship. It's like one of you left the cult.

I'm guessing that quitting is pretty damn difficult for many people, considering all the products out there to help you quit. (Here's a list of online resources from the American Lung Association.) But Seriously, It's Time. Right Now. Today.

It's passed "Do it because it's good for you," and moved way, WAY down to, "Do it because you are not a lower life form." When you think about everything we know now about how smoking is slowly killing you and those around you, how can you not make quitting a priority? No matter how difficult it is.

It's not impossible. People quit smoking every day.

And honestly, there's *so* many better things you can do with your mouth.

Contributing editor Liz Rizzo also blogs at Everyday Goddess, The SexySmart Blog and On The Lot.