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Geek Culture / Smoking

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Fallout
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Location: Basingstoke, England
Posted: 9th Oct 2006 14:08
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Just out of curiousity, who's a smoker here? Who's 100% against it, who doesn't smoke and doesn't care, who's trying to quit and who's smoking like a chimney? I think I started smoking on an off when I was 16, then picked it up more when I worked for Tesco for 9 months (anything to get through the breaks), carried on in the first couple of years of uni, and been cutting down sinse. Now I'm on and off, not smoking for a few months, and then buying a pack of 10 that lasts me a week, then nothing for a while, then back on again for a few. It's more out of bordem more than anything. I'm all for the total ban on smoking in public places, cos I think it's a pretty filthy habbit, and anything that'll make it impossible for me to smoke while having a drink is ok by me. What about the rest of you?


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spooky
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 14:15 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 14:15
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I have never smoked and find it a disgusting habbit. I like to go to the pub on Friday nights but the smell of your clothes at the end of the night is revolting and all due to passive smoke. Can't wait until ban is in place.

Boo!
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SpyDaniel
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 14:31
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Iam against smoking and drinking, any thing that can crap up my body isnt getting in.

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Richard Davey
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 14:36
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Have never smoked, hate the smell of it, hate the 'taste' of it, and cannot wait until it's banned in pubs, although I see that happening properly sometime around the next ice age. I've nothing against people who smoke, hell it is their lungs afterall, they just can't do it in my house.

"Bite my shiny metal ass" (Futurama)
"Don't ping my cheese with your bandwidth" (Dilbert)
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Lukas W
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 14:42
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I started smoking when i was 14 and have been doing that on and off for the last four years now.

today i only smoke on mondays when i practise with my band. (can you believe a whole pack of 10 dissapear in less than 3 hours).

to me, a band practise is totally wasted if i don't have a cigarette.
there is just something about cigarettes that makes you happy when you're totally wasted, playing a concert, practising with your band, or just hanging out with friends.

i don't like to smoke inside a building, as it makes my throat really dry.

i agree too that the new law is a great addition. if it will be present here in norway.

however i think few will follow it, just as drinking in public :/

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adr
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 14:50 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 14:51
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I don't have anything against smokers really. I sometimes object to being in a smokey atmosphere but it comes with the territory (a pub).

Two things surprise me about smokers:
1. How quickly, as a smoker, you appear become immune to the smell. I can smell someone smoking in the street from 50 yards away, and it's still repulsive. And yet, you've got the source of that smell right infront of your face.

2. Why is there such a thing as a Pro-Smoking lobby group? I don't get why they want to protected their right to smoke, despite it being horrendously anti-social. It's not anti-social in the same way as burping, or in a "oh, how can you do that to your body?" kinda way. It freakin stinks. It's like me sitting next to a smoker and farting loudly, and then defending my right to fart loudly.

[center]
But you see, I have the will of the warrior. Therefore, the battle is already over. The winner? Me!
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El Goorf
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Location: Uni: Manchester, Home: Dunstable
Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:03
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can\\\'t stand smoke. none of my friends or family smoke, hence im not used to it one bit. on a school trip to lisbon i was sat outside surrounded by smokers, as a result i threw up all the way up the street until i found a suitable bin to finish off.

what concerned me was the i\\\'d only been passive smoking, and i was managing to hurl up measurable ammounts of black poop from my lungs, makes me wonder how much poop\\\'s in smoker\\\'s lungs.

some people consider smoking a social habit, they even say \\\"i smoke but only socially\\\"

imo, its the most antisocial thing ever, i dont think it\\\'s been banned enough, i still cant go to a nightclub and enjoy myself 100%.
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Drew Cameron
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:08
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I don't find it repulsive, and I've known alot of smokers.

The only thing I dislike about smoking is the fact smokers get smoke breaks when I have to keep working. I like thinking. Shouldn't I get thinking breaks? No? Why not?

I don't smoke personally but have no qualms with those who do apart from above issue.

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Johny English
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:10 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 15:14
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Bleee Higgins smoking I hate the smokers, because they destroy also our. We must wear gas mask .

EDIT:Is rancid, when smoker in the morning expectorate his own lungz.

SIXOFT - This is not just a game, this is a SIXOFT game.
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:13
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I always liked the smell for some weird reason. Think its because my grandad and my dad smoked. Don't get me wrong I hate the smell once in an ashtray, but as it's smoked I quite like it. Much like people who like the smell of petrol. I would rather drink my own p**s.

Oh, and for me it was Uni. Basically it was almost illegal not to smoke when I was in Uni. Plus you didn't necessarily get into it from the ciggie angle. If you know what I mean.... But it dragged you in. Gave up on my 30th birthday because I always said I would, and no way in hell I would be a hypocrite. Just gave up and really didn't have any problems whatsoever. Every six months or so (it's been 3.5 years) I get a weird dream where I am smoking either 50 ciggies at once or a giant ciggie. Honestly, is almost like a pr0n dream! When I wake up I feel equally guilty as hell and satisfied like never before.

As for the black poop from the lungs, everyone said that would happen when I gave up, but I never ever had it in 12 years of smoking. Not when I started (didn't have any problems, not even coughing when I started), during, or when I gave up. Interestingly I had asthma when I was a kid (till about 15) then it went away. Smoking never effected me (is allergy related for me) and I never had to use an inhaler again. Gave up smoking and within a year I had a pretty good sized attack (never ever had a strong one apart from one time with a horse...) when mowing the lawn. Now have an inhaler again and is about the same as before when I was a kid. Weird eh? Doctor says Asthma can come and go with age.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:15
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Quote: "The only thing I dislike about smoking is the fact smokers get smoke breaks when I have to keep working"
We always had to make it up. It annoyed the hell out of me at the time cos we had to go outside (no nice room) where it was like -5 in the winter. Bet we wouldn't be allowed to sue if half dead because of the cold.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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ESP
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Location: London, England, U.K.
Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:28
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'Kissing a smoker is like licking an ashtray'

Gross habit, but it is said it is harder to give up than Heroin.

Robin
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Lukas W
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:31
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Quote: "Is rancid, when smoker in the morning expectorate his own lungz"

err, rancid is a punk band

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geecee3
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:36 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 15:40
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sorry to be the odd one out, but i love a ciggy. really i do. I know it harms those around me, so i never assume i can light up in other peoples houses and allways ask if i can go outside for a ciggy, I know it smells bad, and people hate the smell of stale smoke. so I do my best to satisfy them and my own craving for nicotine. i would love to stop smoking, but its a form of stress relief that i have found to actually work and there to be no equivelent to.

I wish i had never started amoking now, It's banned in all places of work and public enclosed spaces, even bus shelters (although they did remove most of the panes needed to make them complient with smokers again.(scotland)

At the end of the day to ban ciggies outright would have a disastrous effect on the economy, its a 2 sided argument with valid points on both sides. but non smokers do have the right to fresh air, but then as a smoker i know i will live longer if i dont have to breathe car fumes from single people using inneficcient transport means at the same time as i smoke. So whats the point? If you live in a heavily populated area, the damage from other sources is as bad as smoking. to proove a point, take a white scarf and cover your mouth and nose, now cycle up and down a busy traffic laiden street for half an hour, then check the scarf. hmm, it's killing you, isn't it.

smoking has been around for a long time now and, athsma is seen as a direct rsult of smoking by many people yet is a relitivley new disease, smoking is not a new passtime. Cars are the main source of ill health, putting out masses of fumes so you can 'go shopping'. or have a day out, or go pick up auntie bessie from church. I feel guilt each time i put that little white stick in my mouth, i hope car users feel more guilt for the destruction they cause.

if smokers are bad, then single person car users are the height of EVIL.

each to their own though, thats what i say, you have the right to fresh air, i have the right to at least some personal freedoms. I dont rape the environment with evil car fumes or require vast quantities of hydrocarbons removed from the earths interior to go to the shops, i cycle where possible and feel it inexcusable for people to destroy the environment because they 'have to' use a car for work or whatever. prudent planning and actually caring for the environment would work wonders.

sure smoking causes damage, but there are worse socially accepted evils out there, FIX THEM FIRST!!!!.

PS this smoking ban in pubs is a farce, can you splease stop smoking so i can ingest this cellulose solvent please. ROFL.

Ohd Chinese Ploverb say : Wise Eskimo, not eat yerrow snow.
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APEXnow
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:43
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I stopped smoking in July 2005! Was a rollup smoker. I'm now addicted to chewing gum (mint) Go figure!

Paul.

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El Goorf
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Location: Uni: Manchester, Home: Dunstable
Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:49
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Quote: "if smokers are bad, then single person car users are the height of EVIL."


well i dont use a car so poop to your implying that us non-smokers are being hypocritical

Quote: "PS this smoking ban in pubs is a farce, can you splease stop smoking so i can ingest this cellulose solvent please. ROFL."


nor do i drink
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Megaton Cat
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Location: Toronto, Canada
Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:50 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 15:56
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Am I the only one here's who's tried smoking and thought it was nothing special? I've had a friend who'd give me a sample on several occasions, and it'd really feel just like inhaling smoke...nothing exactly addicting or something that would make me come back.

But nah, I train myself physically far too much to take up something like smoking. It's the same with coffee...people who sit on their ass for most of the day drink coffee. Other's get high from natural endorphins.

Bwahahaha....woaw.
Everything's bluueeee.

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Dave J
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:53
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Don't smoke, probably never will. I hate 'smokers' but not people I know that smoke, if that makes any sense. For instance, I have friends at work who smoke, and have no problems with them (it's their choice, right?). However, smokers in general who stand around the entrances to buildings at Uni (you have to walk through a pack of 3-6 smokers everytime you enter/leave a building) or who exhale smoke in your face as you get off the train (despite smoking on platforms being illegal) shit me up the wall. It's just inconsiderate, and I know not everyones like that, but you can't help but mutter "bloody smokers".


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
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bond1
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 15:58 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 15:59
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Never had the urge to try it even once. People seem so surprised that I've never even tried it. I just never saw the point in trying something that disgusted me.

Dated a girl in high-school that smoked, she was smoking hot (pun intended), but kissing her was DISGUSTING!!

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"Your mom went to college."
My FPSC stuff at http://www.hyrumark.com
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Tinkergirl
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:04
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My parents used to smoke - my dad was a 60 a day type - but my mum stopped and I moved - so now the smell of smoke really does turn my stomach something awful. I understand that people have their reasons for smoking, or even that they have a hell of a trouble stopping, but I too despair of 'running the smokey gauntlet' outside my work where crowds of smokers decide to take up residence in the chokepoints of the carpark. Have to walk past them, end up coughing/holding my breath. It really does stink.

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Fallout
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:31
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I'm not really surprised most people here are anti-smoking. I do consider that a good thing btw. I think you have to have had a rebelious period at some point, or got in with the wrong crowd to start smoking. It's not really something anyone with half a brain would go out of their way to start doing by themselves, without some form of peer pressure. My personal entry was when I started 6th form college. Because we didn't wear a uniform, it was easy to skip lessons, so I discovered underage drinking and smoking.

The Anti-Social Debate
I gotta clear something up though. Those that think smoking is anti-social are missing the point. Smoking IS anti-social between smokers and non-smokers GREATLY, but between smokers it is EXTREMELY social. Smoking is directly responsible for me hooking up with one of my ex-girlfriends (offered her a smoke in a pub and the rest is history) and making 10 times more friends that I would otherwise have done in my last job (because of everyone from different departments communing outside in a designated area for a smoke).

So for non-smokers, it is an anti-social thing, but for smokers, it is extremely social. You gather together to enjoy a small vice, conversation flows because of the "7 minute window" of conversation and because you have something in common instantly, plus something else to do physically while engaging verbally. If I would miss anything about smoking, it would be the social aspect.

As for stinking, yes it's rancid. As someone who smokes very little now, I pick up on it. As a smoker you are totally desensitised to it, although old ash trays still reek. I feel sorry for people who are non-smokers and are subjected to stinky smokers.

As for health implications, I've never coughed up crap, nor really had a smokers cough, except for a concious one I used to do automatically after having a few fags to clear my throat. No morning wretching or anything like that. Mind you, I only ever smoked lights and always less than 10 a day.

Anyways, I normally just have a smoke when I go for a drive in my car. It's good on the morning commute when you're stuck in traffic. Infact, when I used to commute back from Bournemouth to Winchester and I knew I was gonna get stuck in traffic, I would buy ciggies for the journey. This was when I'd properly quit smoking. Purely because, when you're stuck in traffic, having a ciggy is the ultimate in making the time pass.

To sum it up for someone who's never tried ... it's just a little small vice, with a very minimal almost unnoticable hit, that just adds a little bit extra to your arsenal of things to make life go more smoothly. Liken it to a nice drink when you're thirsty, or a choccy bar when you have a sweet tooth. Both things are pointless if you dont need em, but when you do, they just take the edge off and make things just a little nice. The negatives far outweigh the positives though.


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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:31 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 16:31
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Quote: "nothing exactly addicting or something that would make me come back"
It's much more subtle than that. It's not as if smokers really think it tastes like Chocolate or somesuch. After all beer is not exactly the tastiest drink on earth (by a long shot) but people drink it by the bucketload. How people can drink whiskey is totally beyond me. Dark rum and vodka yes....

Oh, and I worked in Dubai for 3 months about 10 years ago. Was a top time, and ciggies cost £2 for a carton (thats 200 smokes). At the time in the UK we paid about £3 for a single pack (20 smokes). We get screwed in the UK for tax. Plus Dubai is a total smoking culture. Essentially we had this tiny office with 3 of us in it and we had about 10 cartons of ciggies in the drawers (2000 smokes). We used to get in about 7am and work till midnight or later normally. The keyboards were all yellow, sometimes it got foggy when we had meetings in there (and the air con could be heard failing a little), and we would fill a seriously large ashtray (one of those huge pub ones) before 6pm when the cleaners emptied it (and it was overflowing by then). By the time we left at midnight we had half filled it for the morning cleaners. Must have been on at least 60 at the time, but because of the culture there no-one gave a s**t. Plus we were stressed as hell trying to write a complete sub-system for this huge (200+ people) project we were involved with. Should have taken years to write... Heh, I read Runaway Jury while I was there which in the book is about seuing the tobaco industry (not guns). Almost gave up from reading the stuff in the book, but not at 25p per pack!!!

Probably would have died if I'd stayed in Dubai like they wanted (replacement is due back at the end of the year - I was there in 1996). Good stuff I got out of there quick smart.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:38
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Quote: "when you're stuck in traffic, having a ciggy is the ultimate in making the time pass"
Absolutely! Now I sort of fake smoking now and again. And to all smokers considering giving up, the age old debate of "what do you do with your hands inbetween drinking your pint at the pub?" is easy. You just sort of lay them at the table. To avoid becoming an alcoholic don't pick up the pint instead. Honest to god it was a viable downside to stop smoking before I quit (what to do with hands).

And that comment about work is totally true. I think my old department structure was totally based around smoking and drinking. Non-smokers and drinkers used to complain about missing out on things to do with the company (we designed the whole job release procedures on fag breaks). This does directly link to how many of your bosses are smokers/ drinkers though, and these days it seems less likely. But I do know that since I gave up smoking (and drinking for a couple of years) I haven't had anywhere near as decent rises as in the years before....

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Mnemonix
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:40
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I only smoke when im on fire.

I cannot believe it was left to me to crack the most obvious, driest joke possible.

WE SHALL BECOME ALL POWERFUL! CRUSH THE LESSER RACES! CONQUER THE GALAXY! UNIMAGINABLE POWER! UNLIMITED RICE PUDDING ! ! ! ETC. ! ! ! ETC.! ! !
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:41
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Oh, and the main thing I regret about giving up smoking is garages. Everyone at a garage smokes. And tyres are the worst as you have to hang around until it's finished. You sorta get the idea they think you are less of a man for not smoking. Nowadays I get a company to change the tyres where I work (call out) but they cost more, so now it costs over £500 for a complete set They are sporty type numbers though (Scooby Turbos need better tyres for the speeds they can do). Nevermind, can avoid the eyes of the real men at the garage....

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:42
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Quote: "I only smoke when im on fire"
Knee burns I take it?

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dave J
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:43
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I might also add that the infinite amount of cigarette buds on the ground and in gardens is incredibly disturbing and very irritating.


"Computers are useless, they can only give you answers."
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SpyDaniel
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:44
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See, johny english is obessed with me, even when I dont comment about him, he was to bring my name into his crappy little sentence, Iam sure hes after me.

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Johny English
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 16:50
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Yes, this is a true.

SIXOFT - This is not just a game, this is a SIXOFT game.
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Cash Curtis II
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 17:05
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Everyone in the military seems to smoke, except for me. However, I'm so used to it that smoke doesn't bother me. It's especially forgivable if its being done by a cute female.

Every now and then I'll have one if I'm drinking socially and everyone decides to go out for a smoke. Otherwise, I'd never do it.


Come see the WIP!
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Mikey P
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 18:11
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I don't smoke. A friend of mine does, he says it's the lightheaded-ness he likes... I've never tried. It doesn't appeal to me to try - what if I like it!? I don't wish to start.

I am however recently addicted to polo mints. Whether it's an addiction to the taste or an obession with fresh breath I don't know. But believe me, when a pack of mints says, "Excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect", you better believe it. >.>

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Peter H
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 18:20
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My grandparents used to smoke a lot (they both got so sick one time about a year ago that they couldn't get within 10 feet of a smoke without coughing. so they ended up quiting "cold turkey" )

so i actually like the smell that smoke leaves on clothes, because as a kid that's what i associated with grandma and grandpa

but when it's actually being smoked i don't care for it.

"We make the worst games in the universe..."
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Jeff Miller
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 18:21
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"It's easy to give up smoking. I've done it a thousand times."
-Mark Twain
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Fallout
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 18:31
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Quote: "But believe me, when a pack of mints says, "Excessive consumption may cause a laxative effect", you better believe it."


haha. I always wondered about that on chewing gum. Thanks for the heads up.

On the subject of giving up, I personally don't think cigarettes are physically very addictive. I think people who say they are are either weak or kidding themselves. I dunno, maybe physically addictions affect people in different ways. I believe though that the addiction is 95% (at least) mental/habbitual and hardly physical. The reason being that when I'd go home for xmas or the summer from uni, I'd stop smoking full stop as my parents don't approve. No side effects, no withdrawal symptoms, no cravings. Because I couldn't smoke there and I didn't associate the environment with smoking, I found it really easy not to smoke. When I tried to quit smoking at uni, in an environment where I did smoke often, it was harder. When I kept myself busy, it was easy, but when I was home alone and bored, it was harder.

So really I dont think nicotine is a very addictive drug. I think patches are a waste of cash, as is nicotine gum. You need to kick the habbit, maybe by chewing normal gum, or having a drink of water, or whatever ... but for me at least it's all habbitual and practically nill physical.


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Raven
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:09
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I got into smoking when I was 16, as really it's almost a done thing in military service. I've been around smokers all of my life, as my dad used to smoke and everyone at school and college did too.

It's something that really seems to be different depending on where you are in the country though. Down near London, everyone I knew smoked... but in Coventry it was only a handful of people. Did quit for a while, until I came up to Derby; we were on a night out and something happened, really got the craving and since then been smoking again at my old pace.

I agree it can be quite an icky habbit, but again this does entirely depend on the type of cigs. For example, I generally only smoke roll-ups and tend only to buy packets if I've ran out in a night-club or pub. (and now most pubs sell baccy from behind the counter)

So while I'm on about 40-50 a day, it's not as bad because it doesn't really stink up the room or fill it as full of smoke as a standard cig. I can (although out of respect don't) smoke a roll-up in-front of my mom without setting off her asthma.

I would like to give up, but right now just not ready to. The only thing that honestly bothers me about it is the overall cost. I spend about £15 per week on baccy and papers, which is cheaper than if I got a packet (as from a 12.5g I can make about 40-50 rolls for £2.50 over a 20-deck which would cost me £5-6) but it's still quite expensive.

And don't believe that smoking is addictive from day 1, because this is very very rarely the case. Right now my gf smokes, but only on nights out.. she only craves when she drinks, much like I'll always want to smoke more when drinking. I'll very rarely let her smoke unless we're on a night out, and even then I'll try and pace myself to smoke much less cause I know she'll want one if I'm smoking.

I honestly don't believe in this whole public place smoking thing.
Sure no smoking in resturants, malls, etc. is fine. However Pubs that don't serve food, bars, even just down the street. Sorry but I'm not going to get anywhere within 30-minutes if I'm not driving and I'll be dying for cig especially if I know that when I get to the shops I can't smoke until I come out of them.

If they're going to add these silly laws about public smoking then there should be special areas in malls and such designated for smokers. I mean I'm sure you've all seen how cranky a highly addicted smoker is after a few hours of not having a ciggy is like, imagine a nation of them. :p

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:15
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Why would people say smoking is so hard to quit? Is it really because it's just the most god damn addictive thing in the world, or maybe because the smoker has holes in his life that make it hard to quit?

People have dropped heroin addictions, and you guys can't just stop buy cigarettes?

As Fallout said, I'm starting to wonder if it really is that hard or if people are just too weak in discipline.

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Roxas
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:21
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Im not against smoking or drinking (drinking is for clever people like me lol ^^) and smoking.. well i kinda lied when im not agains it.. Im against it whenever people smoke when theres other people around who dont like or want to get the smoke in theyr nose.. (bad english)

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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:27
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Quote: "So really I dont think nicotine is a very addictive drug"
Nah, sorry, will have to totally disagree. I may have given up with no problems, but I know plenty of people who have had a much harder time. Personally I believe it depends if you have an addictive nature or not. If you do then you are f*****. This goes for anything. A friend of mine, for example, comes from a part of Wales that is totally povertytastic where heroin is wide spread. He got off it in the end but many of his mates were not so lucky. In his first year at our work he went home 5 times to various funerals (3 were close mates). Essentially I believe it's all genetics. I can give up easily, but someone else really can't. Although interestingly my dad went through hell to give up ciggies.

Quote: "I'm starting to wonder if it really is that hard or if people are just too weak in discipline"
Have you personal experience to back this up?

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:35
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Nope, no I don't. Hence why I asked "Is smoking really that hard to quit?".

I'm pretty confident I could quit, as I've quit many things in my life, and forced myself to do alot of things I'd otherwise wouldn't want to do. And none of that "Don't say it before you're actually addicted" stuff.

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El Goorf
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:41
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Quote: "Im not against smoking or drinking (drinking is for clever people like me lol ^^) and smoking.. well i kinda lied when im not agains it.. Im against it whenever people smoke when theres other people around who dont like or want to get the smoke in theyr nose.. (bad english)"


worst thing is watching women sitting with their kids at a picnic etc, smoking, and to make things worse, their belly suggests they got another on the way.
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Robin
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:46
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I don't smoke or drink...

Smokers are getting fewer and fewer, maybe in 50 years no one will smoke anymore. I honestly don't think smoking is seen as a 'cool' thing to do amongst teens anymore.


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Lukas W
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:49
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in Norway there was a commercial going on TV for a while, which was really stupid and it had no point at all:

"The problem is not to quit smoking, the problem is to start smoking".

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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:52
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Yeah, but look it up. Ciggies are overall seriously hard to give up. Personally I've never had any problems giving up anything really. Then again I know people who would probably kill me if I physically stopped their coffee or chocolate intakes.

Personally I think since they proved that second hand smoke is harmful then the smoking ban in pubs and public places is a good thing. It also reduces the chavs on a friday night On the other hand they should still allow a way for smokers to have a place to smoke of their own. Say allow 2 pubs in a town to be smokers pubs or something. I tell you, persecuted isn't the word for smokers these days. Makes my blood boil and I don't even smoke any more! Especially when the same whiners then go out and get bladdered on alcopops down the local slapper den. 2nd hand smoke? Try 2nd hand drink driving you hypocrital bunch of whining tosspots. Not you guys obviously, just whiners in general.

Heh, anyone see that South Park episode when they all had to go to toleration camp, and they had to learn to respect others cultures, and not critisise their methods etc etc. Basically accept everybody in the world. Then they see a smoker (outside) and basically force him out calling him names etc. Yep, it really does feel quite a lot like that. And I gave up 3 years ago!

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 19:55 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 19:56
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A girl who used to work with us just had a kid. When we asked how she was we were told she had just nipped out for a quick fag before she gave birth (she was in labour). Considering hospitals now don't allow smoking anywhere on hospital land, including outside, she had to hobble to this roundabout to have a sneaky one. Honestly, how f***** up is that?

Actually more f***** up is what I heard on the radio the other day. Apparently teenage pregnant girls are taking up smoking during pregnancy so they can have smaller children so it doesn't mess their figure so much. You gotta love our new chav culture in this country

Cheers

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Jeku
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 20:20
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Never smoked tobacco before, but dated several women who have and it didn't really bother me. But I still remember going to my friend's house when I was in school and eating some of the cookies she had in the cupboard and almost barfing--- they looked perfectly normally but tasted like ash. The smoke gets into *everywhere* when you chainsmoke in the house. Sad when there's kids around, really.

And another thing I can't understand is how people can afford cigarettes. Here it costs almost $8 for 20--- $8! Imagine smoking one or two packs a day--- and when you're a teen who makes minimum wage at McD's or some other hole, a good chunk of your wages goes toward the habit.

I'm just addicted to drinking hot drinks, albeit coffee, tea, hot chocolate, you name it. It's not really the caffeine that gets me, but the act of having a hot drink at work and holding it in my hands. I imagine there's also a degree of that kind of psych with smokers-- having something to do with your hands, bringing it up to your mouth, taking a puff and BS'ing with your buddies about the one that got away etc. etc.


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Raven
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 20:43
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Quote: "Why would people say smoking is so hard to quit? Is it really because it's just the most god damn addictive thing in the world, or maybe because the smoker has holes in his life that make it hard to quit?

People have dropped heroin addictions, and you guys can't just stop buy cigarettes?

As Fallout said, I'm starting to wonder if it really is that hard or if people are just too weak in discipline."


You know the only addictive quality in Heroine is nicotine, right? That aside, giving up any substance is a pain... more so though if you've been doing it for a much longer time.

It isn't so much the physical requirement for it like you get with some of the harder drugs, but more the psychological(sp?) effects more. I mean I know full well that if I gave up smoking I'd get cranky and irritable, but I've had to go without for a week before and it's not even as close to how much of a pain I am to be around if I've had no caffiene for more than 24hrs.

Caffiene's a proven non-addictive substance, but when you have something for a long time and in large enough quantities it can have a serious effect on you no matter what it is.

Most smokers don't give up simply because THEY don't want to. Right now I'm happier smoking than not, probably will give up but for now - sod it.

What possible puts me off quitting the most are people who are constantly trying to get you to quit. They just irritate the hell out of me.. it's like those people who come into the area where we all used to go out for a smoke at work and walk past coughin' as if to say we shouldn't be there DESPITE it being a designated smoking area. I honestly think some people just love to make a fuss about things and smoking right now is the "done" thing to complain about. Give it a few years and it'll have moved to drinking or driving or watching TV over going to the park every night.

Some people are just moaners by nature.

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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 20:59
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Quote: "You know the only addictive quality in Heroine is nicotine, right?"
Sure you have the correct drug there?

Quote: "Caffiene's a proven non-addictive substance"
Really? I thought it was proven to be really addictive. I know that cannabis isn't mentally or physically addictive but most people get addicted because of the nicotine.

Cheers

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Megaton Cat
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 21:03
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To be frank, I don't get annoyed by all smokers, just the ones who biatch about how they are trying to desperatly quit but can't. As Raven said, why not simply say you don't give a dried rat pellet about quitting rather then making it seem like you care, as you buy pack after pack.

If it's not a physical dependence, then you're not gonna die if you stop smoking. At best, you'll mope around all emo for a week.

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soapyfish
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 21:13 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 21:14
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Quote: "what I heard on the radio the other day. Apparently teenage pregnant girls are taking up smoking during pregnancy so they can have smaller children so it doesn't mess their figure so much."


I heard the same thing.

My dad used to smoke a lot (and like other people here have said, I liked the smell of it) but then he got cancer and now there's absolutely nothing that would ever make me even consider starting.

<º))))><.·´¯`·.Here's to the crazy ones¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º>
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Dazzag
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Posted: 9th Oct 2006 21:17 Edited at: 9th Oct 2006 21:19
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Who said it wasn't addictive now? Google it and nicotine seems pretty addictive. Plus I really do know how you can one minute be thinking lying in your bed at night about how you need to give up. Being rather worried about health etc. Then you wake up and automatically light up. It's almost like breathing I tell you. I may have given up when I was 30, but it was mainly because I *always* said I would give up then, and I can be pretty stubburn about such things. But it wasn't as if I didn't think about it inbetween. I knew it wasn't good for me and I basically ignored it most of the time. If you haven't been there then, sorry, but you seriously haven't the foggiest. It doesn't taste nice, there are no real advantages (it used to be cool years ago), it costs a fortune, it's really bad for you and others, and the only possible plus point is it can make you feel slightly light headed and gets you a bit un-stressed. But the massive thing for me was it was a *habit*. Bit like scratching your head. You just do it. Without thinking almost. It is very hard to explain, but it is a very real thing. Hell, I always used to say "I can give up whenever I want". Yeah whatever.

Give up computers and IT stuff forever then we will talk (face to face obviously). You don't even ingest that stuff and there is no way that a single one of you will do that. And there are various studies that suggest it is bad for you (wait a year before it is seriously bad for others too in a 2nd hand gaming sort of way )

Cheers

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