Thread: Cigarettes (Or: "Squares for Squares?")

well a while ago, I saw a very good quote about cigarettes.
it went like this.

A beer reduces your life span by 4 minutes,
A cigarette reduces your life span by 8 minutes,
A day of work reduces your life span by 8 hours,
you do the math.

as for the whole anti tabacco campaigns and all these bans and taxes,
why should the government even try to stop those who wish to smoke?
as I see it, the taxes and levies and such taken from the cost of cigarettes,
help the government keep the country, safe. ETC
and they don't even see this. go figure.

In my opinion...i think those commercial are very good.....especially for the teens and young kids......and they are trying to prevent them from smoking or starting from smoking....
i do not think that it is really necessary for the adults....because they probably do not give a bloke about it......
I know of a relative that started smoking when he was fifteen and he is tough as a nail at an age of sixty-four........it all depends on the person......
I am neutral about smoking..........but if you bring that stuff unto me...then we have a problem......

It's just a side effect of the environmental craze. People are starting to get worried more and more about the climate. Health care and the aging process is also a big thing in the rich countries. Tobacco is an obvious target.

Originally Posted by Astaroth

In my opinion...i think those commercial are very good.....especially for the teens and young kids......and they are trying to prevent them from smoking or starting from smoking....
i do not think that it is really necessary for the adults....because they probably do not give a bloke about it......
I know of a relative that started smoking when he was fifteen and he is tough as a nail at an age of sixty-four........it all depends on the person......
I am neutral about smoking..........but if you bring that stuff unto me...then we have a problem......

I can understand keeping the younglings from smoking, that's not a problem. But when they try to make GROWN ADULTS quit something they CHOSE to do--knowing fully that they accepted the consequences of disease/death--that's crossing the line. I'm 27 years old. I don't need people telling me when I can and can't smoke. I don't appreciate the media telling me stuff I already know about tobacco and telling me I'm going to die. EVERYBODY DIES! It's just sickening how 5/8 of commercials are talking about how everyone should just quit smoking.

Originally Posted by Hassun

It's just a side effect of the environmental craze. People are starting to get worried more and more about the climate. Health care and the aging process is also a big thing in the rich countries. Tobacco is an obvious target.

With that being said, shouldn't they just let the smokers smoke? What ever happened to "survival of the fittest"? Do you know how ridiculous it's getting here in MN? I've seen ads at bus stops saying things like, "Take it outside!" And they're talking about your own home!! I can understand that Denny's got tired of hearing people bitch and whine about smoke in resturaunts, but when they try to tell me I can't smoke in my own home... Ugh... I'm glad I'm quitting on the first.

The assumption here is that those commercials are targetted at grown adults who are perfectly capable of making decisions reguarding their own health... when in reality I'm pretty sure that most PSAs I've seen are shooting for a younger audience or are about public-interest/more obscure issues like second-hand smoke, smoking around babies or young children, or the harmful effects of cigarette smoke on your skin/premature aging, etc.

I'm pretty sure everyone who smokes cigarettes knows it will give them lung cancer. But quite a few need to be seriously guilted to give a crap about the affect they're having on the health of those around them. And how many 15 year olds puffing them "not to get fat" know that they just might make them look like 40 year-olds by the time they're 30? If you don't like them: ignore them. Sort of like the political ads, Latter-Day Saints ads and McDonald's commercials.

Grumble Grumble Grumble

Originally Posted by atomik_sprout

They almost got me last year, but I'm quitting for my own reasons this year. Anywho, what's your opinion about anti-tobacco campaigns? Are they truly necessary? Why when half the nation smokes and knows they'll die sooner, would the other half ridicule us for our own adult decisions? I don't mind that they're tryin' to keep kids from smoking. I was a kid when I started and wouldn't want anyone younger than me to start that young. BUT, if you're gonna go against something, campaign against something worth fighting against. Like coccaine/meth, alchohol abuse, CRIME... You catch my drift.

Let's talk tobacco!

Now this would be true if only smokers suffered the effects of tobacco smoking. But when you consider the issue of both environmental contamination, (as the EPA classifies tobacco product spills as TOXIC WASTE incidents bad enough to require Haz-Mat suits), and the second hand smoke effects on innocent non-smokers, then this becomes a totally different matter...

Right you are Mr. Miyata. Not only is second hand smoke annoying, it's very poisonous too.