Your nose must be a mile long.

It's a personal choice. People will continue to do what's not good for them no matter what they are told. What about the long line at the eclair stand filled with people who obviously didn't need one? I saw a 12-13 year old who looked like he rolled there. Where do we draw the line? Should we outlaw creampuffs? Overweight people are also a drain on the health care system. P.S. I come from a long line of smokers who all died from things not related to smoking. Everyone's genes are susceptible to different things. It's the chance you take.

It is human nature to imitate what we see. The media makes people into consumers by first making them feel inadequate; fat, short, slow, not enough. The masses, especially teens, are going to try to imitate what they see as part of a "cool" image to try to shore up the differences between themselves and the people they see projected. Teens pretty much wear a uniform based on what they see in the media. How else would we get people to buy so much crap that they don't need?

My Mom smoked Pall Mall, too, Steve. Snazzy red packages, huh‽
. . .
It took about forty years, but finally the stuff killed her. Slow, very expensive suicide.
. . .
Once her lungs passed the point of no return her emphysema took about two years to kill her. Like slowly drowning. Heart had to work overtime to compensate for lungs that could no longer get enough oxygen to the body.
. . .
Did I mention it was like s-l-o-w-l-y drowning? When the air bottle became her constant companion her addiction was such that she’d light up a Pall Mall . . . with the O2 nasal cannula held off to one side. Take a drag. Replace cannula for a breath or two. Take a drag.
. . .
Slow. Expensive. Personal choice. Suicide. We family and her friends tried to intervene. Addiction that CAN be overcome.

Wisconsin minimum wage for adults: $7.25.
. . .
Cost of a pack of “name brand” cigarettes is what, typically six dollars and change?
. . .
Life choice. Personal responsibility, as you say, Steve.
. . .
Then down the road this young fools will complain loud and long about how they struggle to “make ends meet”!

I loved to smoke, that's why I had to quit.

A little off topic, but 2 years into the smoking ban and the bars all seem to still be open. Where are the doom & gloomers now?

Who is to blame? Whatever happened to personal accountable. Oh that's right - we don't have that anymore. Sign of the times.

I don't remember Mr Murrays story. He did pass away not to long ago.
I smoked a few in high school. I don't believe I ever inhaled. I do have a few a day now. I have some medical issues it seems to help a bit with. Hubby smokes a pack a day - the few I take from his pack everyday.
I figure the 3 a day wont add a lot to the second hand smoke I take in daily.
Weird to know that Camel was a referrance to "sex sells" yuk if you ask me. Mens privates to seel cigs. What stupid guy came up with this?
to WATCH sports- sigma- sports bar.
If I had to uess my other health issue will likk me first if not one way it would be another way. I heard Pot would really help but just don't like it!

Gazette fan, If it makes you feel better, I will admit that I am a twelve year old fat smoker.

mgcarguy started it.

Wow! Really people? can't we comment without being so mean?

Steve, I too have seen an increase in teen smoking. My first question is how in the heck the can afford it!??!!

I also agree that removing cartoons, t.v. ads and "Play" smokes is a good thing. Funny story - got some "candy sticks" at Halloween (we called them Candy Cigarettes) and my neighbor girls immediately "smoked" them, but went outside!

At least that is a lesson that's being learned.

Correct. I don't respect your opinions, because they fail every requirement for clear reasoning.

mgcarguy, I agree wholeheartedly with your comments on this topic. I suspect that gaz-fan is pretty self-centered and doesn't respect your (or my) opinions. I do.

Hello, bibledude and st2011.., Hey, what part of the bible could Creflo Dollar cite to justify strangling his daughter?

mgcarguy, I suspect that you think you're better than me.

I regret answering this blog. I should have kept my mouth shut. I really don't care if people smoke or not, I don't care if people are fat or slim. I care when people act as though they are better than others. Other than that, as I have said so many times before, people are just people.

I am a first timer! I got "removed" for using regular language to comment on the fact that morbidly obese humans with Gluteus maximus posteriors are a "larger" health care burden than smokers, yet they have no problem bad mouthing smokers.
Look in the mirror!

That's right stopping by. Where's the collection plate? I could use some more money this month in exchange for your salvation.

True, SuperDave, smokers even use that fact in their crazy defense of smoking.

A study from the Czech Republic:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Fina...
Google "Does the early death of smokers save money on healthcare?" to get more examples. There are probably some that dispute my claim, but I have read this many times over the years.

jv93..."I reserve the right to pass judgment..."

Wow. I didn't realize our lord and savior lives in Janesville, Wisconsin.

SD I'm not sure of any health care savings as end of life care for those with cancer and emphysema is pretty expensive.

EM......, people's fat doesn't invade the bodies of others.

mgcarguy, your thoughts on this subject are a terrible abuse of tolerance. They're more along the lines of anarchy.

This is going to sound harsh, and I know I am generalizing but this is what I think. Combine bad parenting, inexperienced/naïve kids, and glamorization of smoking in the media and you have kids smoking. And it's been going on for many decades. Yes, it's a personal choice, but it's also a bad choice that has implications far beyond the few minutes spent smoking a cigarette. Smoking is gross, and it's the job of Big Tobacco to hook kids on cigs as young as possible. The only good thing (?) that comes out of all that smoking is it actually saves us tons of money on healthcare because smokers as a group die younger than non-smokers.

Oh Please.....

This has been going on for ages, you're just seeing it now Steve?

Best line in the blog, "those pesky redneck racers used Winston as a title sponsor".

Judge not, jv93.........

Yes....a decision that is their choice but I reserve the right to pass judgment as to the wisdom of their decision. One does not have to engage in a stupid behavior in order to determine it is stupid. I just love it when people say "you can't judge because you've never done it". Is that a feel good version of "don't knock till you try it?" I don't have experience shooting heroin because I know better. Perhaps it is people who make bad choices who are misunderstanding instead of being misunderstood?

jv93: Jumping of a cliff might seem stupid to you, but to the person who is jumping, it is his or her choice. Smoking is a personal choice, not your choice. There are many people out there who smoke who are in my opinion making a bad choice. But it is not up to me to pretend I am better than they are. I am not. I smoked because I chose to and I quit because I chose to. Nobody made me start, nobody made me quit.

Mgcarguy, Ive never jumped off of a cliff either but I feel fairly qualified to determine capably that jumping off cliffs is stupid.

I always wondered why most bars are "sports" bars.

Steve, You are the guy who is always walking in the shoes of others. Because you admit, you have never walked in the shoes of a smoker, I don't think you are qualified to judge those who smoke. People smoke for a reason and smoking is legal. There is not a smoker out there who does not know that smoking is bad for them and even before all of the bans on ads smokers knew that smoking was bad for their health. We smoked. Some of us died young, some were in bad health, some were ok. Some of us quit. It was and is a personal choice.

Smoking may help long distance runners. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles...
Bonus point: so may drinking. All those bars are filled with athletes in training ;)

Whos to blame? Lol.... They tell you smoking is bad just like they tell you that murder is illegal. If you kill someone is there someone else to blame? No. If you smoke why is there someone else to blame?
-
I see it as an intelligence indicator. If you see young people smoking (or anyone) it is an indication of how dumb/weak they are. Then the ones that want to quit but cant, that is a sign of pure weakness right there. Let them smoke, we need to weed out the weak... if they want to kill themselves slowly its nobodies fault but their own.

The only smokers I saw at Freedom Fest were the Carnival ride workers. It seemed like the Ferris wheel operators alternated running the ride and hopping the orange fence for a smoke.

"Nascar adding a sub-par cellular service as a title sponsor"?
That was unexpected.