I absolutly cant stand people who smoke in crowded areas.

What do I mean by crowded? If its indoors don't smoke within 50 feet of me. If its outdoors don't light up unless you are at least 10-15 feet away from others.

I swear, nothing irritates me more then when Im walking down La Salle trying to catch a 5:20 train in a crowd of 300 people and 65% of them are puffing so much my eyes water. ****ing additcs can't even wait 2 minutes.

Its even worse in the morning! I get out of the train and you have to walk down this 3/4 mile long by 15 feet wide outdoor corridor with 2,000 other people and it seems like at least 7 out of 10 people have to light up.

Second hand smoke has been proven worse then the filtered smoke you insist on poisioning yourself with....

So to you people who don't have the respect and maturity to wait 1 or 2 minutes to light up pray your not near me, for I plan to eat nothing but beans for dinner every night.


FYI: This doesnt apply to anyone in california because almost all buildings are smoke-free. It primarily applies to the Chicago-Land region rude ass smokers.

Originally posted by AdamJ
I absolutly cant stand people who smoke in crowded areas.

What do I mean by crowded? If its indoors don't smoke within 50 feet of me. If its outdoors don't light up unless you are at least 10-15 feet away from others.

I swear, nothing irritates me more then when Im walking down La Salle trying to catch a 5:20 train in a crowd of 300 people and 65% of them are puffing so much my eyes water. ****ing additcs can't even wait 2 minutes.

Its even worse in the morning! I get out of the train and you have to walk down this 3/4 mile long by 15 feet wide outdoor corridor with 2,000 other people and it seems like at least 7 out of 10 people have to light up.

Second hand smoke has been proven worse then the filtered smoke you insist on poisioning yourself with....

So to you people who don't have the respect and maturity to wait 1 or 2 minutes to light up pray your not near me, for I plan to eat nothing but beans for dinner every night.


FYI: This doesnt apply to anyone in california because almost all buildings are smoke-free. It primarily applies to the Chicago-Land region rude ass smokers.


yeah, and then all the "smoke free" buildings have hoards of people standing around the exit and entrance doors smoking!!! wtf??? might as well be inside!

and then you got that 5x y/o ******* redneck who thinks he can smoke in McDonalds cause he used to back in 78'. And the chicken shits that work there are too scared to say anything to him!

I was in line at Wally World on time, and this older lady in a moo moo dress lit one up, right in front of me.. I couldn't believe it! The cashier called a manager who came over. She saw him coming and put it out on the floor. The Mgr picked up the butt and asked her why she put trash on his floor and was smoking in a no smoking building.. She was like, "they let me at Kmart" the guy was like "no, it is a city ordinace/fire hazard" she got all pissed. I was like Thanks Mgr Dood, she didn't like that too much.

When I worked at Lowe's, the ollllld men would come in and light up in front of me. I worked in the lawn and garden and we had pool chemicals and pesticides etc. This one dood light one up , and I was "OH MY GOD!!!!!!!" bought gave him a heart attack lol.. he was like "what" I said " we have chemicals in here, you want to blow us up??? I have a video of another store burning down due to that" he appologized and put it out, saying he never heard of that.. we had a good laugh, he was a good sport. hehe

I hate smoking!!!!!!

DOWN WITH SMOKERS.

I am really sick of it. I have friends that smoke, but they don't do it around me. I REALLY hate it when half the peolpe on the floor of an indoor concert are smoking. I always leave smelling like smoke and half choked.

I am REALLY happy LA doesn't let peolpe smoke anywhere except in bars...

yah smoking is so gross..i never realized how spoiled i am by living in cali where you cant smoke anywhere public practically until i went to hawaii.ugh.people smoked everywhere all the time and i was constantly smelling like ciggarette butt.

Originally posted by Calypso
yah smoking is so gross..i never realized how spoiled i am by living in cali where you cant smoke anywhere public practically until i went to hawaii.ugh.people smoked everywhere all the time and i was constantly smelling like ciggarette butt.

I was really surprised when I went to college and saw how many kids from out of state smoke. It really is gross, although I have to admit that if I'm drunk, I suddenly start craving them for some reason.

Same dealy here. I'll only smoke when I'm drunk. It's just too easy to talk myself out of it otherwise.

i thought it was outlawed in bars as well! :)..


not that i care..i don't either..and it makes me sick

I have to say that I was a smoker up until a month ago but I was a considerite one. At concerts, I wouldn't smoke or I would go outside during stage changes and I never did it in a crowd at outdoor shows because I was always scared I would burn someone. I have to walk out of bars periodically now just to get some fresh air because I can't breath. I still get drunk and crave one but after I have one I am OK.

Alright, time to play the role of the jerk, kind of. As the resident smoker on this thread, I gotta defend us a bit. I live in Cali, so I can't smoke in any buildings, and I'm actually kinda glad of that rule. Second hand smoke can get annoying even to me, a smoker. But outside, I figure its game on. Like, I don't try and smoke around people, and I'm considerate enough to blow my smoke up into the air so no one directly gets it in their face, but don't shoot me dirty looks. If people politely ask me to blow my smoke the other direction or even to move away, I will gladly do it, especially if there are children there. But if you tell me to put it out, oh hell no. Hah, I even had someone rude enough to grab a cigarette out of my hands, drop it on the ground, and proceed to stomp it out. Now that pissed me off. I mean, I think a lot of people have the concept that all smokers are jerks. We're not. If you're polite and have a good reason, we'll probably be reasonable. But at the same time, you guys gotta be reasonable too. Like, if someone's smoking next to you outside and its bothering you, move first if you can. If you can't, then say something.

**** you stupid non-smokers. I have no problem with the non's that just shut their mouth and deal with it, but you guys with the hefty cinch sacks that think they're better than us (who are badass)... I wish I could throw you all into a paper shredder and then into a trash compactor. The world needs less of you people, and unfortunately for you, its not humanitarian to put you in chinese food.

For the love of jeebus, somebody close this thread before they multiply.

Yeah, what he said.

Essays on the Anti-SmokingMovement
By Joe Dawson (jdawson@netcom.com)
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995 by Joe Dawson. All rights reserved.
These articles may be copied and redistributed provided that:
a) the article or publication containing it is not sold or otherwise distributed for monetary consideration;
b) any publication containing it or organization which distributes it does not pay its contributors; and
c) the copy includes the copyright message and these conditions.

What Issues?
Secondhand Smoke: The Big Lie
"Social Cost" of Smoking
Addiction
Advertising
Persecution of Smokers
Smokers Rights: What You Can Do

mailto:jdawson@netcom.com Any comments or suggestions to the author?


What Issues?
Imagine for a moment that a sick bigot published an ad insulting blacks, Jews or homosexuals. We might debate the scope and limits of the first amendment and the freedom of individuals to say what they please, so long as they please the lynch mobs.
But what if the government ran it?
Nazi Germany in the thirties? No, America in the nineties. The only difference is that the group out of favor today is smokers. Anyone who dismisses the comparison has not been reading the news. Smokers are banned from universities, libraries, most places of business and the halls of government. They have been denied employment and fired from their jobs for smoking at home. They have been fined and thrown in jail. And the anti-smoking campaign is just getting warmed up: What lies ten years ahead?
There are two fundamental problems here. First, there seems to be a general acceptance that a majority can do anything it likes to a minority. If you are unconcerned or even happy about the present plight of puffers, you should remember that in one respect or another everyone belongs to some minority and that one day, your turn would come.
Second, and more seriously, our government, which was elected to serve (not rule!) us, is now in the business of bashing the politically incorrect. That phrase, once used humorously, is now starting to acquire the sinister tone that it carries in China. Once we allow the state the power to coerce "correct" behavior, it is only a matter of time, given present trends, before we are all clad neck to toe in severe black garments and addressing each other as "thee".
But some states (notably California and Massachusetts, with others sure to follow) have a special indignity reserved for smokers: They must pay for their own persecution. In California, an additional 25 cents per pack tax on cigarettes was passed in 1988 to be used for cancer research, 5%; wetlands (!), 5%; indigent medical care, 40%; and "education" - read anti-smoker campaign -50%. If you have no problem with that, try switching minority groups and see how well it sits. What about 5% for sickle-cell anemia research and 50%for an anti-black campaign, to be funded entirely by taxing blacks?
The argument that this is being done "for smokers' own good" is demeaning: our bodies are not government property. The argument that smokers cost society money is specious: about one third of us considerately die before cashing in on social security. The argument that smoke is harmful to others is nothing but a subterfuge: the risk of second-hand smoke exposure has been so outrageously distorted that it amounts to an outright lie.
For over twenty years I have watched the growing persecution of a minority with discrimination, harassment, demeaning propaganda, unfair taxes and laws that fly in the face of our country's constitution. This has been made possible by smokers who are, by and large, apathetic and apolitical. The time is long overdue for smokers to stand up for their rights: to become aware of the issues, armed with facts and willing to work to restore their freedom, their dignity and their rightful place in society.

Secondhand Smoke: The Big Lie
Anti-smokers have long tried to restrict smoking on the grounds that it was bad for smokers' health. But this sort of paternalism, while it has many adherents is not very effective when it comes to getting laws passed. At least not in this country. In recent years, however, they have made great progress using the theory that smoking is bad for the health of others: that Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) can, in fact, be deadly.
The principal ammunition used in the war on smokers consists of these claims:
The EPA says secondhand smoke causes 3,000 cancer fatalities in Americans each year.
The American Heart Association says "that secondhand smoke causes 50,000 fatal heart attacks in Americans each year".
An unspecified number of Americans are dying each year from "respiratory illnesses" attributable to secondhand smoke.
All of these falsehoods depend for their general acceptance on the credibility of those disseminating them and upon the inability of the typical listener to perform simple sanity checks using common sense and arithmetic. The simplest is this. It takes 20 years or more for damage to manifest itself in a smoker. ETS is hundreds of times more dilute than mainstream smoke. Non smokers would have to live with ETS for upwards of 2,000 years to incur the same damage. Here's another. Smoke from charcoal contains many of the same components, as those most feared in tobacco smoke (carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, carcinogens and so forth). A ten pound bag of charcoal produces as much smoke (and harmful chemicals) as 160 packs of cigarettes. Are you going to quit barbecuing? Probably not. Yet the slightest whiff of tobacco smoke gives many anti-smokers apoplectic fits. Are they being hysterical?

I have the whole article if any of you "smokers" want it.
TH

I wish my state (LA) was like California where you couldn't smoke in restuarants and even bars. I only feel this way since I am a new non smoker (haven't smoked in 5 weeks) and it is hard to quit with all that in your face. You would think the stink would make me want to quit but it makes me crave them...weird I know. I am now finding myself having to go outside for fresh air when I am out at a bar because my eyes start to water and I get headaches when it gets to foggy. I don't make people feel bad about their smoke because I smoked for 6 years but I will move away from a stranger whose smoke is right in my face but if it is a friend I will move or ask them to hold it in the other hand or something.

of all the places I have lived in La., the southeastern part (AKA Cancer Alley) is the only part that has leniet smoking laws. In Monroe, you couldn't smoke in McD's or BK, you can here... the smoking areas in the rest were more secluded, not here.. right up front and by the other ares. etc, etc.

I hate the smell of smoke(except when I'm drunk-what's up w/that?), and it is annoying when I'm walking around and everywhere I turn there are people smoking. I have a really sensitive sense of smell and I can totally choke on it when they're fifteen feet away from me, but that doesn't mean it's because smokers are being deliberatly rude.

Still, you gotta understand it's like if you make the choice to not bathe and reek so bad I can smell you fifteen feet away. It's your perogative, but you can't exactly expect to be popular.

Sounds like that girl who grabbed your cig was just a militant rude bitch, though. Smokers do get a bad rap for being rude about it, when most are reasonable if you are.

I think everyone here should be thankful they don't live in Europe. I spent a lot of time in Germany, France and Czech Republic and what I became aware of immediately is how much people smoke there. Its in peoples homes, work places, offices and resturants. What I mainly remember is all the smells of europe: stale perfume and cigerettes.

thanks for the backup klassykat.

speaking as a fully-qualified European and a non-smoker, I'd have to say that Criminal's being kinda unfair here. There are plenty of no-smoking restaurants and suchlike, and those that allow it generally have no-smoking sections. I also think that while the risk of damage from passive smoking is overstated, it's still bloody annoying to be inhaling some other bugger's smoke.

About the smoking at concerts thing, I really don't see the problem. It's part of the rock n' roll tradition, innit? *** smoke, cheap beer and loud music. Bitching about it just seems....wrong at a gig. Unless it's, I dunno, a Bach recital or summat.

Originally posted by jonnyofthedead
*** smoke

Hehe. He said *** smoke.

Originally posted by jonnyofthedead
speaking as a fully-qualified European and a non-smoker, I'd have to say that Criminal's being kinda unfair here. There are plenty of no-smoking restaurants and suchlike, and those that allow it generally have no-smoking sections. I also think that while the risk of damage from passive smoking is overstated, it's still bloody annoying to be inhaling some other bugger's smoke.

About the smoking at concerts thing, I really don't see the problem. It's part of the rock n' roll tradition, innit? *** smoke, cheap beer and loud music. Bitching about it just seems....wrong at a gig. Unless it's, I dunno, a Bach recital or summat.
Where in Europe are you from? Maybe it was just the people I hung with over there. My ex was Czech and a family reunion at her place was like a smoke-a-thon.

I have no sympathy for people who smoke anywhere where I have to be subjected to the obnoxious smell. I can't stand going to restaurants where they allow people to smoke...do you think I want to come out smelling like that shit? I'd rather have to smell shit in someone's pants than cigarette smoke...at least that isn't suffocating. We'll never be able to go smoke free in VA though...Phillip Morris has too much control over local politics. Know what else I can't stand? Going to a restaurant and they ask "smoking or non?" WTF??!?!?!?!?! Is there a no pissing section in the pool?!!? It doesn't matter where you sit me I've still got to smell that crap and it's still going to be all over my clothes when I come out so I'll have to immediately go home and take a shower and wash those clothes. Another thing I can't stand...mother ****ers who seem to think that the hood of my car is fit to be their ashtray. You've got an ashtray in your car for a reason...use it! Of course, the alternative isn't much better...I work as an auto tech and nothing is worse than getting in a car full of cigarette ashes. It gives me a god awful headache that ruins the rest of my day. So in short...my only consolation for having to put up with that nasty smelling, suffocating, eye irritating shit is to know that the people subjecting me to it are going to die an early, miserable death where they'll either dettoriorate from the inside out or suffocate in their own mucus. How rewarding :D

Since I started this thread, I want to clear a few things up.

First, by second hand smoke, I am not reffering to Mainstream inhaled/exhaled smoke.

In fact, at times (especially when drinking alcohol) I enjoy filtered cigarette smoke. In fact you could blow a puff of smoke at me and it wouldn't bother me THAT much.

My main point was about Sidestream smoke (Unfiltered smoke). Sidestream smoke makes me nauseus, and sick feeling.

In my example I said that I walk off the train and down a corridor with 2000 other people. Its the Sidestream smoke that travels over there shoulder that kills me.

Someone said that the Anti-Smoke effort is a hoax because its not really that bad for you etc etc.. Most of THOSE tests DO NOT include the results of Sidestream smoke.

Granted that most people's sidestream smoke is minimal, especially when standing outside. But when walking behind a group of 15 people, 8 of whom are lit up, its becomes a problem.

Sidestream smoke IS dangerous. The cancerous chemicals in Sidestream smoke consist of: (In order of content in smoke)

Acetaldehyde
Formaldehyde
Benzene
1,3-butadiene
acrylonitrile
crotonaldehyde
quinoline
benzoapyrene
cadmium
chromium
lead
2-aminonaphtalene
nickel
4-aminobiphenyl

Non Cancerous, yet dangerous chemicals:
Nitric Oxide
Isoprene
Acetone
Toluene
Phenol
Acrolein
Pyridine
Hydoquinone
Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Catechol
Propionaldehyde
Creols
Hydrogen Cyanide
Styrene
Butyraldehyde

And about 10 others of negligable content.

What I wish is that they could create a cigarette that didn't let any unfiltered smoke escape. This would solve a lot of the problems in my opinion.

For those of you who are polite smokers, I appreciate it. Its not the smokers I have a problem with, its the Sidestream smoke that is the problem.

Originally posted by ResidentRice
Alright, time to play the role of the jerk, kind of. As the resident smoker on this thread, I gotta defend us a bit. I live in Cali, so I can't smoke in any buildings, and I'm actually kinda glad of that rule. Second hand smoke can get annoying even to me, a smoker. But outside, I figure its game on. Like, I don't try and smoke around people, and I'm considerate enough to blow my smoke up into the air so no one directly gets it in their face, but don't shoot me dirty looks. If people politely ask me to blow my smoke the other direction or even to move away, I will gladly do it, especially if there are children there. But if you tell me to put it out, oh hell no. Hah, I even had someone rude enough to grab a cigarette out of my hands, drop it on the ground, and proceed to stomp it out. Now that pissed me off. I mean, I think a lot of people have the concept that all smokers are jerks. We're not. If you're polite and have a good reason, we'll probably be reasonable. But at the same time, you guys gotta be reasonable too. Like, if someone's smoking next to you outside and its bothering you, move first if you can. If you can't, then say something.


I know this was posted ages ago, but I agree...
I haven't smoked much lately (just one or two when I drink), but I used to a bit - not more than 5 (cigarettes, *not* packs) a day, unless I was *really* drunk. But it's really nice to be able to smoke where I want to and not feel like I'm some sort of criminal for doing it. I'm polite about it, but if I'm outside, I'm not gonna wait till I'm standing in the middle of a field far away from the rest of mankind to light up.

Originally posted by AdamJ
Since I started this thread, I want to clear a few things up.

First, by second hand smoke, I am not reffering to Mainstream inhaled/exhaled smoke.

In fact, at times (especially when drinking alcohol) I enjoy filtered cigarette smoke. In fact you could blow a puff of smoke at me and it wouldn't bother me THAT much.

My main point was about Sidestream smoke (Unfiltered smoke). Sidestream smoke makes me nauseus, and sick feeling.

In my example I said that I walk off the train and down a corridor with 2000 other people. Its the Sidestream smoke that travels over there shoulder that kills me.

Someone said that the Anti-Smoke effort is a hoax because its not really that bad for you etc etc.. Most of THOSE tests DO NOT include the results of Sidestream smoke.

Granted that most people's sidestream smoke is minimal, especially when standing outside. But when walking behind a group of 15 people, 8 of whom are lit up, its becomes a problem.

Sidestream smoke IS dangerous. The cancerous chemicals in Sidestream smoke consist of: (In order of content in smoke)

Acetaldehyde
Formaldehyde
Benzene
1,3-butadiene
acrylonitrile
crotonaldehyde
quinoline
benzoapyrene
cadmium
chromium
lead
2-aminonaphtalene
nickel
4-aminobiphenyl

Non Cancerous, yet dangerous chemicals:
Nitric Oxide
Isoprene
Acetone
Toluene
Phenol
Acrolein
Pyridine
Hydoquinone
Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Catechol
Propionaldehyde
Creols
Hydrogen Cyanide
Styrene
Butyraldehyde

And about 10 others of negligable content.

What I wish is that they could create a cigarette that didn't let any unfiltered smoke escape. This would solve a lot of the problems in my opinion.

For those of you who are polite smokers, I appreciate it. Its not the smokers I have a problem with, its the Sidestream smoke that is the problem.

What are the contents in diesel fumes .... ya know, the smoke from those busses and shit ..... how about from cars ..... how about from your ass after a bowl of bean soup. .... we should outlaw farting in any public place, and have special designated "fart aeras'. :)

Originally posted by 92Notch


What are the contents in diesel fumes .... ya know, the smoke from those busses and shit ..... how about from cars ..... how about from your ass after a bowl of bean soup. .... we should outlaw farting in any public place, and have special designated "fart aeras'. :)

farting is a natural human body function.. smoking is not..

but somepeople it should be outlawed.. LOL

anyways, I use to smoke.. socially a bit.. but I tried to run one day and almost died.. so i quit

I just have a phrase I say to all my smoker friends.."I am going to live longer than you are.."

People who die young, do not get old :) ... it's still better to get old though.

Alright, you might think you're going to live longer than me, but I don't give a rat's ass. And neither should you, is the point. I understand when my good friends tell me I should quit cuz I'm going to have a black lung and cancer, but when random ass people on the street look at me like I'm some punk-ass drippy nose 16 year old rebel who wants to look like James Dean with a cig hanging out of my mouth and feel the motherly instinct to tell me I should quit? That's what upsets me.

my name is 92Notch, and I'm a smoker. I almost want to quit. :)

dude I am not bashing you.. I can actually both sides.. I know smoking is not good for me.. yet I do it.. I don't see the point.. yet I enjoy it.. is there a reason to smoke?? hell no.. is there a reason not to smoke.. not really.. does it matter?? not really.. let people do what they want.. but don't expect me to pay for your oxygen tank.. :)