02-11-2004, 05:02 AM
i wouldn't outlaw smoking, in general, because i think cigar and pipe smoking is fine and the health risks (if smoked properly; primarily meaning not often and not inhaling into the lungs) are quite neglible. plus i feel i should have a right to my own body and i believe in personal responsibility. so, not only do i think it's fine, but i think it can be a rather constructive and pleasurable hobby. most of you wouldn't appreciate the differences and would rather ignorantly bash tobacco use in all it's forms, so i won't go into them.
everyone knows the risks of cig smoking by now, but these messages are delivered poorly. consider the ad with the woman smoking a cig from the hole in her neck. well, yes, that's bad but when kids see smokers out and about smiling, laughing sipping from their coffee....seeminingly having no trachiotomy scars, they put two and two together and get that becomming like the woman in the ad is rare and that these smokers they encounter are unconcerned with the risks probably because the risks are so low as to be akin to being hit by a public bus at noon. i admit that the ad is mainly to target morons like me who have long started (i hope) but still. you know what would of scared me from starting? grabbing a couple of smokers at random off the street and have them come into my middle school health class and have them tallk about how smoking now dominates their life and the decisions they often make now revolve around getting their next fix. being a literal slave to an inanimate substance is far scarier to me than the remote chance of having a lung removed.
still, don't be so militant about it. accept that people are going to either do foolish things or are going to perhaps enjoy something you may not personally like. it's not tobacco, it's about people abusing tobacco. generally, cig smokers and dip chewers abuse tobacco like a binge drinker with a 24-pack of coors light while cigar and pipe smokers appreciate tobacco like a fine wine.
i have a friend who loves cigars. it's his hobby. he spends the money on aquiring primo cigars and likes to smoke one every friday while lounging in his hot tub, sipping a martini listening to talk radio. he's a teacher at an urban high school and that's how he unwinds...and the idea of that becomming illegal is enough to make me fiercely vomit. :huh:
everyone knows the risks of cig smoking by now, but these messages are delivered poorly. consider the ad with the woman smoking a cig from the hole in her neck. well, yes, that's bad but when kids see smokers out and about smiling, laughing sipping from their coffee....seeminingly having no trachiotomy scars, they put two and two together and get that becomming like the woman in the ad is rare and that these smokers they encounter are unconcerned with the risks probably because the risks are so low as to be akin to being hit by a public bus at noon. i admit that the ad is mainly to target morons like me who have long started (i hope) but still. you know what would of scared me from starting? grabbing a couple of smokers at random off the street and have them come into my middle school health class and have them tallk about how smoking now dominates their life and the decisions they often make now revolve around getting their next fix. being a literal slave to an inanimate substance is far scarier to me than the remote chance of having a lung removed.
still, don't be so militant about it. accept that people are going to either do foolish things or are going to perhaps enjoy something you may not personally like. it's not tobacco, it's about people abusing tobacco. generally, cig smokers and dip chewers abuse tobacco like a binge drinker with a 24-pack of coors light while cigar and pipe smokers appreciate tobacco like a fine wine.
i have a friend who loves cigars. it's his hobby. he spends the money on aquiring primo cigars and likes to smoke one every friday while lounging in his hot tub, sipping a martini listening to talk radio. he's a teacher at an urban high school and that's how he unwinds...and the idea of that becomming illegal is enough to make me fiercely vomit. :huh: