Smoking

[Gumdrop]

I know smoking is unhealthy but i think the taxes they put on cigarettes are ridiculous. To me smoking seems like a luxery of the world of old yet society which once surrounded itself around smoking now puts taxes on them and does not let smokers smoke anywhere even in there own apartments in nyc. Wat are your views on smoking and the taxes put on them?

[SavingSelf]

I'm a non-smoker so my views obviously will reflect this. I think it's unfortunate that the taxes are so high because smoking is an addiction, but hopefully it will get some people to quit. Our state has a "quit line" where smokers can call and pretty much get personal attention to help them stop smoking so it's not like the taxes keep getting raised and everybody is forgetting about the smokers.

I hate cigarette smoke and even though I will patronize establishments that permits it, I can't stand coming home and smelling like an ashtray.

I live in a state where smoking in public places has just been outlawed, it will go into effect in six months -- should be interesting to see how it goes.

Karley

In the same vein... I think we should all consider taxing junk food because obesity rates and heart disease are coming up fast as causes of death compared to cigarette smoking.

[Anonymous_Member003]

I am a non smoker.

I have friends that smoke and I appreciate the fact that they have rights. However, they do not have the right to make others sick from their smoke. My little brother can't even breathe sometimes when people smoke around him.

I used to do Highway Cleanup and there were thousands of butts alongside the road. I resent the fact that I can't even go hiking in a STATE PARK without someone puffing cigarette smoke in my face and making me choke. I can't go to the beach without people lighting up in front of me. I can't even eat dinner at a restaurant without someone smoking right behind me and making me feel ill.

We all have rights, but when these rights infringe on the rights of others, we need to reevaluate the situation. Smokers have the right to smoke, but they do not have the right to go out in public places and smoke and make others ill. I have the right to be able to eat dinner in peace without gagging on someone else's secondhand smoke. I do not hate smokers, I just want to enjoy my life without inhaling smoke everywhere I go or smelling like an ash tray.

I think taxes are a great idea. The government should do the same thing with illegal drugs. If people want to kill themselves, that's fine, but they will have to pay through the nose through that privilege, and maybe that will be a deterrent to help them stop.

So many people my age smoke and I feel bad for them. It's expensive and it wrecks your health...

[lovtophish]

I am an occasional smoker, my best friend smokes a lot. The same rights that non-smokers claim they have, smokers do too. They have the right to hike in a state forest and smoke if they want to...some would even say if as a non-smoker you don't like the smoke then move. They have the right to eat their dinner and smoke if they want to, again some would say if you don't like it as a non-smoker than move. I agree that we should have smoking and non-smoking areas in public places, but to say smokers don't have the right to be there isn't fair to them either. Adding taxes to cigarrettes is another way Big Brother is trying to control us. THEY have decided it's unhealthy for us so they will try to force us to quit...while at the same time taking the money tobacco companies give them to stay in business.

Steph

[LucyE]

i think that there shoud k be designated smoking/nonsmoking areas...i smoke (mostly to stop me from eating out of bordom) and currently tryin gto quit...

[PrettyKittie]

Well where I live we do have the ban on smoking pretty much anywhere indoors (or we have in the past I should say). Now if you want to be able to have smoking in your establisment then you have to pay to pretty much have a seperate room that is ventallated on its own merits thats approved to even have smoking in your resturant ect. Now I remember when they did the "no-smoking" anywhere inside a public place and many of the businesses rebelled. They were loosing quite a bit of money. So I still dont feel this is an answer.
Now the taxes are suposed to be an incentive for smokers to quit. Well the taxes were raised yet again a few months ago where I live (putting a twenty-five pack up about another ****-**** dollars to eight bucks a pack). I dont know anyone who has quit since they did this. So I dont feel this is an answer.
Now I do feel resturants should have something better than "smoking/no smoking" areas to sit (unless the smoke can learn to think for itself and stop at the non-smoking section lol).
But many non-smokers dont realize that nicotine is just as addictive as drugs such as cocaine ect. It is not a simple thing to just up and quit one day.

PrettyKittie

[Manic]

Well I am a smoker :smokin and I guess I am lucky coz I live in spain where there are not a lot of taxes put on tabacco,and oyu can smoke anywhere, restaurants, Burger king, bach, hotels, anywhere.
However, I think the taxes in :uk are ridiculous, and ti is strange going back therem and not smoking directly after I ahve eaten etc - top have to go to designates areas.
in spain smoking is the norm, which also is not necessarily a good thing, because if you want to stop, you are pretty much on your own.

[Anonymous_Member003]

Yikes. I rescind what I said yesterday about smoking... I was in a bad mood and lashed out when I saw the topic. I dunno. I spent the weekend at my boyfriend's house and his mom smokes like crazy and I was gagging the entire time...So it's more a personal thing I guess...

[vespertine]

(i think) this joke is cute :


Isn't having a smoking section in a restaurant like having a peeing section in the pool?

:cheesy :winky :cheesy

[Feak]

Hehe I like that! :muhaha

I am a light smoker. I smoke rolling tobacco, purely becasue I can't affost fags. I think that the texes are there for a reason, and I good one at that. To discourage smokers. It really is a stupid habit that benefits no-one, and kills many. God only knows why I still do it! I hate going to reseraunts when people around me are smoking, it puts me right off my food. However, once I eat, am find myself sparking up! I am mad. I hate the smell, I hate the cost, I hate the saw throuts, I hate the caughing. It mings! So why do I still do it? Can someone challenge me to quit? I guess what keeps me at it is that most of my friends smoke. Like I said I hate the smell, I hate sitting there whilst someone smokes. I don't notice it so much if I'm smoking along as well. Stupid ain't it? All that health risk, smell, cost etc, just for that?! Me a crazy :fishy!

[fimbriae]

i've recently quit smoking, and while i think it's lovely that the government has this *policy* of placing high taxes on cigarettes "in order to discourage people from buying them", i'm wondering why, if the government is SO interested in peoples' health, there isn't some kind of government subsidisation of nicotine patches, gum and so on. these are almost as expensive as cigarettes, and subsidising such products might be more of an incentive to quit.

take care.

:love, emma

[Mully]

Hi everyone.

I don't wanna piss anyone off, so sorry if I do. This is my view, though. I live in B.C. Canada, where smoking in public places has been outlawed for years. There are exceptions, but in general, it has to be in a well-ventilated area such as outside. I don't feel that smokers have the right to smoke WHEREVER they want. Sure, they should be able to smoke if they want to, but do they have the right to affect my health? My grandfather is dying of emphysema from smoking, and he is still addicted. If you wanna smoke, I don't think anyone should stop you. Hell, I don't even care if they lower taxes and make them cheaper. But please, don't raise my chances of lung cancer and all of those other diseases.

Jenn
:canada

[floral]

I am a smoker. The cigarette prices in New York City have recently gone up to almost eight dollars a pack, which is absolutely atrocious, but that isn't going to stop me from smoking- there are many places where the prices are lower (around three fifty is what they used to cost).
I don't want to piss anyone off either, but the fact is that cigarettes DO exist, people WILL smoke them, and because they do exist, we we have just as much right to smoke them and "cause people lung cancer" as cars have the right to pollute the air. I think a lot of people think that smoking is this awful thing and causes this huge health risk to the population, but there are a LOT more things that contribute to poor health, such as pollution, diet, contaminated drinking water, etc., etc., etc....

[dreya]

I don't smoke, and it does bother me when people smoke around me, but I do think that the taxes are too high. (Actually, I think taxes in general are too high and the government should cut back on its spending, but that's another story!) It doesn't seem like it really is helping people to quit, it just makes them have less money! And since poor people are more likely to smoke than wealthy people are, it ends up costing the folks who can least afford it.
I don't have a solution. All I can do is hope that smoking becomes less "cool" and fewer people start in the first place, since it appears to be so hard to quit once someone starts.
dreya :pinkfishy

[Feak]

Originally posted by floral
there are a LOT more things that contribute to poor health, such as pollution, diet, contaminated drinking water, etc., etc., etc....

:challengeBut does that mean that we should be adding to those other health risks? :challenge
I am a smoker, but I want to quit. Yes, there are plenty of other health risks around, and those need to be addressed too, but smoking is such a silly thing to do...I mean, what is the point in it really?

[Cris Tina]

it seems to me with the line of logic in outrageous taxes on cigarettes there are so many products that could be subject to the same. i do acknowledge that smoking is unhealthy and big business cigarette companies have been profitable while the farmers struggle to make ends meet (often having to work several jobs!). what's a consumer advocate to do?

[Little Fishy]

I agree with :hugon Mully :hugoff one hundred percent. We all know that smoking is bad for your health. I don't give a damn who smokes, but smoking around me affects my health. If a smoker wants ruin his/her health, then go for it. Just don't expect me to inhale your toxic fumes.

I apologize if this is harsh, but as you can tell, I am very against smoking.

Little Fishy
:notes :singing

[lovtophish]

Smoking around others can affect their health, but since there are places that are completely non-smoking...why can't the non-smokers remove themselves from the situation? No one is forcing you to sit next to a smoker. I don't promote smoking, but to say that they should lose all their rights because someone is a non-smoker is not the way to handle it.

Steph

[Mully]

Thanks :hugon Little Fishy :hugoff. I appreciate the back-up! :yay

I think one thing we tend to forget in society is that yes, we have rights, but so does everyone else. As a non-smoker, my actions aren't hurting anyone else. If you want to smoke, I'm not saying anyone should stop you. However, my right to health is more important than your right to smoke whereever you want. I don't ask people not to smoke when I'm at an open place- such as a bus stop, even though I'm inhaling the fumes at least it's somewhat ventilated and you're right- I can move. However, if I have to be in a closed building, such as a school, or government building, I shouldn't have to smell your fumes at all. I'm not trying to piss anyone off, but like I said- my non-smoking is not affecting anyone, but if you smoke around others, you're affecting their health. It's been proven. You don't have a RIGHT to harm others. I don't think you are losing your rights by respecting others.
Sorry again if this seems harsh.

[floral]

In response, :hugon Mully :hugoff, you are right, we all have rights, and your right to health is important, and does take precedence over my right to smoke. However, you said you shouldn't have to inhale our fumes when you're inside of a building. That's true too, but, I don't know about other smokers, but I personally don't smoke indoors in areas where the smoke will get to other people. I rarely smoke indoors. Like :hugon Steph :hugoff said, you can always move. Nobody is asking you to go into the smoking section of a restaurant and inhale the fumes. You have a right to sit far away in the non-smoking section, but smokers also have the right to take advantage of a restaurant's freedom to smoke.

:flower Flora :flower

[lovtophish]

:hugon Mully :hugoff

I don't think you are trying to piss anyone off, just stating your opinion. I do agree that places such as schools and government buildings should be smoke free or at least have smoking lounges, most of these places are desingned that way and have been (my dad has worked in gov't builings all my life, and they've been non-smoking for as long as I can remember). The places I disagree with are restaurants, bars, and other voluntary entertainment places. Here in Indiana, any restaurant/bar built after ninety-nine(?) is required to be non-smoking. That I disagree with, you choose to go into a bar and/or restaurant...no one is making you. If you don't want to be around smoke in that situation, you don't have to be.

Steph

[angelgirl]

Okay, where do I start? I should probably begin by saying I'm a non-smoker, and adding that I have asthma. Not just a little bit of asthma, but full out asthma attacks send me to the hospital, I have a neubilizer at home asthma.
It's been said that I, as a non-smoker, could sit in the non-smoking section. Well, that would work, but in my experience the wall of air between the smoking and non-smoking sections doesn't tend to keep that toxic smoke from my lungs and I end up having a very difficult time breathing.
I have nothing against smoking. It's your choice, but I shouldn't suffer because of your choice. If I want to enjoy a restaurant/bar don't I have that right. I can't if it has smoke floating throughout it.
A lot of people have difficulty breathing in smoke filled environments. I don't think anyone has the right to affect my health. If you want to give yourself any number of lung diseases go for it. But don't send me to the hospital for a severe asthma attack just because I wanted to enjoy a restaurant.

Sorry for being harsh, but this topic really annoys me. I can't even live with my mom or visit her because she smokes, and I spent more of my childhood at doctors and hospitals then with her. I don't think the taxes are far, but I don't believe smoking should be so widely accepted.

:love
angelgirl

[seniorpride]

I don't think there is such a thing as "smoking" and "non-smoking" sections in a restaurant or other such place. There's really no way to keep the smoke from the "smoking" section from filtering into the "non-smoking" section unless there's a wall between the two! My co-workers and I (at a banquet hall) used to joke about this whenever people requested that half a room be smoking and half be non-smoking. There just is no such thing. Either it's all smoking or it's all not.

Just my two cents. (By the way, I'm a non-smoker, and I have my "things" about smoking, but I won't go into them for your sake. :sarcasm)

[Feak]

This thread really got me thinking...and...

:fishjump
I've decided to quit smoking!!!
:fishjump

[Mully]

:hugon Feak :hugoff

Good for you! :yay It'll be tough at times, but you can do it! I send you all the willpower in the world... stay strong and take care!

[Stephy]

Just being the devil's advocate here....there has been mention of asthma and people's health being affected by smoke and while I agree that it's a concern keep somethings in mind...
If every public place (or wherever, bars, beaches, etc) was made to be smoke-free then there would be many people breathing easier and not having their health affected...
:bullet but while we're at it, we may as well ban perfume in public areas because many people are sensitive and allergic to perfumes
:bullet let's ban dog-walking and bringing dogs to parks because there may be someone there who is severely allergic
:bullet there are many people who have severe reactions to nuts (peanuts especially) and peanuts/nuts are a very commong ingredient in many foods...why don't we stop using ANY nuts in ANY food (bye bye peanut butter) lest someone with a nut allergy inadvertantly comes across that product...
I know I am being extreme and drastic but I am just trying to point out that when you have a controversial subject, there is very rarely a way for the solution to be win-win. And also, this was meant to point out that some things are not reasonable and logical to do. There are too many smokers out there to make such drastic changes and laws. How would they be enforced? Where would the money come from for police officers and by-law officers to monitor smoke-free areas such as parks and beaches? And from a business sense...restaurants, bars, clubs, pool halls, bowling alleys, everywhere, etc etc etc would very likely lose a lot of business if converted to completely non-smoking. Again, with so many smokers out there, a large number would not choose to quit, they would just choose different locations to go to and different establishments to visit...

yes, I am a smoker :smokin

[Feak]

Again, I'll ask :challengeSo does that mean that we should be adding to those other health risks?:challenge

I don't beleive personally that it does. Excusing bad things by pointing out the other bad things does not work. It is a very nihilistic veiwpoint. I could not live without that. To me, that is giving up, there is no hope for change. I can't live with that!

Thanks :hugonMully:hugoff! Doing ok so far, bit stressy, but I had a cup of coffee and gave my mum a cuddle and felt better. (I'm sixteen and it's only lately we've been having a nice relationship. The secrecy of the ED and other behavious pretty much screwed up our relationship. Now it's ok again, I am happy!)

[*Lissa*]

I used to smoke, but stopped over eight years ago, because I no longer liked doing it. Last year, I started smoking occasionally, at parties etc, but have once again stopped. I hate the stench of smoke in my clothes and hair after a night out, and smoking makes my gastritis worse, so for physiological reasons, I should never smoke again. I will be overjoyed when there is finally a ban on free smoking in pubs, clubs, cafés and restaurants; when the smokers are confined to a limited area, and the rest of us can breathe fresher air. I wouldn't put a total ban on smoking, because I'm all for "live and let live", but that doesn't give smokers the right to subject everyone else to passive smoking.

As far as taxes go, I think they ought to be so high as to cover the medical costs incurred by smoking. That the smoking industry, and smokers, should carry their own costs. I think that's so natural, it shouldn't even have to be discussed.

[Anonymous_Member004]

i smoke. if you come into my home you are welcome to light up! just don't burn the place down:sarcasm. in florida the taxes are high. i resent these taxes only because it is unfair. they refer to it as a "sin tax". cigarettes and alcohol are heavily taxed so as to avoid a state income tax. i would be fine with that IF they would simply be fair. they continue to raise the tax and to push smokers further into hiding. i just want them to stop the laws, or reinstate the state income tax and let the naysayers pay their share. i don't smoke in public places where it is not allowed, nor in a person's home. i just want the state to be more fair if they continue to levey taxes onto smokers without rights to go with it. :smokin:kitty

[Rayneonthemoon]

I :smokin about three-quarters to a pack a day, and I am going to quit. I have been smoking now for seven years, and I am quitting for not only health reasons, but for the fact that cigarettes are SO expensive now.
I used to be able to buy them for two or three dollars a pack, and now they are up to five. It's insanity!

I dont think that taxes should have been raised on cigarettes. People are going to :smokin that is their choice. Although I think that the concept of raising taxes in order to deter people from smoking was a good IDEA, I don't think that it will work. Because smoking IS an addiction, and if people want to continue supporting the addiction, they will. Nomatter what the cost (financially and health-wise).

Brightest Blessings,

[lilsweetie]

I HATE when nonsmokers rant on and on about how they hate smokers' smoke and fumes in their faces.
I think it is so their choice to be around smoke or not. Just like us smokers can move away, so can non smokers. I think the whole holier than thou attitude is sickening!
sorry if im offending anyone. I'm just sick of the whole thing. I know smoking is bad for you, but non smokers dont have to act all disgusted around smokers.

[Anonymous_Member005]

I wanted to say I smoke every once in awhile but i have friends who smoke all the time and they even prefer to sit in the nonsmoking section when we go out to eat...and will not smoke in their home b/c they dont like the smell of place that is caked with smoke...but I think their should be a smoking/nonsmoking section everywhere....

:love amanda :stars

[floral]

:hugon :stars lilsweetie :stars :hugoff

HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:flower Flora :flower

[Mully]

Just as non smokers can move, smokers can have RESPECT for those people as well and move. You think that non-smokers have a holier than thou attitude? I think some smokers have one-like their rights are the only ones that are important. I'm sorry, but smokers are not the only ones in the world, so just as non-smokers can move, so can smokers. And lilsweetie- you did offend me, although it wasn't intentional. You watch someone addicted to smoking die right in front of your face, make choices so that the same thing doesn't happen to you, and then do your part in staying away from smokers in wide public places, and then have some inconsiderate person smoke in an enclosed space without at least telling you that they are going to do it- and then come back and lecture me on a holier-than-thou attitude. I don't think I am any better than you AT ALL, but I do feel like my right to health is more important than your right to smoke wherever the hell you want. I don't think smokers themselves are disgusting, I realize most of you are addicted, but don't impose your actions on anyone else. I try to respect all people, and make sure my actions don't affect others. I just think others should do the same.

P.S. For those smokers who are respectful- sorry for the rant, it's not meant for you.

[snookums]

Smokers give me job security (click on my profile), though that fact doesn't make me happy at all.

If there was a magic wand I could wave to make everyone the world over want (and be able) to quit smoking, I'd wave that wand in second.

[LostEarthAngel]

This is a very touchy topic I am sure.

I am a sometime smoker. I smoke sometimes. I usually smoke when my ed gets bad, so yes, right now I am smoking.

A pack of ciggys right now, well the cheap brand in Mass are almost four dollars. I would rather smoke the cheapies then give the tobacco companies more of my money. Although I give them it anyway. The "sin tax" is supposedly already "up" but will be going up another dollar. I am sure it won't really deter anyone but the people who are extremely poor.

But then the drug companies have you by the short hairs if you cannot quit cold turkey. The patches and gum at my local CVS are kept under lock and key becuz of thier high price/likey to be shoplifted.