Smoking.

[Sepharius]

Fair enough. My personal hatred of cigarettes comes from the pure fact that they smell so bad when people exhale it.

That coupled with the fact that I'm at university right now; everyone seems to do it here regardless of the rules, and regardless of location. It is REALLY irritating when people smoking inside the incredibly small residential restaurant when signs clearly say that it isn't allowed.

[RoChickita]

really? we're in the 21st century and teens still smoke to look "cool"? In my highschool years and part of the country, smokers we're laughed at for standing in -30C (-22F) outside and looking COLD rather than COOL lol.

[Aaronock]

Mmmm I don't have issues with people smoking, that's definitely a choice.
I just hate when asshats decide its cool to blow it all in my face making me smell like their stench. Same thing would apply to people's car smoke from their dumb pipes in the back of the car (can't remember the name right noooooow). I also have a bad tendency to easily get headaches from second hand smoke, its kind of what turned me off from smoking when I was younger. My dad useta smoke all the time in the car and I'd get headaches afterwards, not a great impression.

But yah if people wanna smoke away from me, and they are of legal age to do so, I can't really stop them.

[Cobbinator92]

really? we're in the 21st century and teens still smoke to look "cool"?

Like aaron said.... Its a choice. People now a days don't do it to be cool. A survey we studied in general psych told us that only 21% of Americans smoked... That doesn't sound like trying to fit in with the others.

[Antimind]

The whole smoking makes you look cool thing originated in the 20's, maybe even prior. You'd be hard pressed to find a good ol fashioned cowboy movie where the hero doesn't smoke. The same could be said for drinking ads. Unlike smoking ads we still see those in magazines and on television. Anyone here remember Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man? I personally find the current beer commercials to be more problematic.

I don't know exactly what all is involved with smoking and drinking education in schools these days. I do however, know what it was like 20+ years ago when I was in elementary. In the 80's the popular take on it was people did it to make them look cool. They taught that people who smoked were bad people and that they would die period. Thinking back on that over the years I would go so far as to compare that line of teaching with that of the nazi party. I'm talking in terms of getting people whipped into a frenzy blindly over an idea without having all of the facts.

I'm not against education. I think it's fine to teach kids smoking is bad for them and that it can kill you. It's fine to teach kids that they shouldn't smoke and that tobacco products are not for the use of children. I don't think it's ok to get kids so worked up they start acting out against adults who make educated decisions. It's one thing to teach children the dangers of something. It's another to teach them to hate blindly.

EDIT: People are more likely to wear something that looks like it should only be worn on halloween or never in public (eww @ current fashions) to look cool than to smoke or drink to look cool. Thank you MTV.

[Nero]

i overall don't mind people smoking at all, but it ticks me off when people intentially blow the smoke AT you which is horrid because alot of people dont like the smell or the feeling of inhaling aswell it can be dangerous for people with health problems like asthma (i have that :O)so its all good untill you puff it into someones face

[Shikari]

I just don't like smoking cause of the smoke + yellow teeth ):

Also a few years back DOCTORS (XD) made commercials for cigs, I always found that a tad hilarious.

I remember a friend of mine who smokes privately just to lose some stress every once in a while.

[mahawirasd]

The whole reason why people get into smoking in the first place is because it makes them look cool. That, coupled with peer pressure, gives those kinds of people even more of an incentive to do it just to "look cool".

And then they get addicted.

Keep in mind it isn't tobacco itself that causes lung cancer and other diseases. It's the additives that are put in cigarettes. You can get "clean" cigarettes that contain little to no additives. BTW they taste like shit but still give you the kick...lol Electronics are ok but they're a bit of a pain.

1. nicotine is an addictive substance. It creates new pathways to your neurons, meaning it causes physical addiction. Furthermore, it is habit forming, so that means it's also physiologically addictive.

2. with or without additives, inhaling tobacco smoke means inhaling carcinogens. Hell inhaling most kinds of smoke is not good for you. Sure in terms of volume vehicle exhaust is worse; but considering the concentration of substances, unless you're standing in the middle of a busy intersection or a badly ventilated parking area (assuming normal dispersion, exhaust at < 1m and height of about 1,5-2m yadda yadda yadda), you're more likely to get cancer from second hand smoke because of the sheer amount of concentrated carcinogens in it...

3. nicotine, as most stuff in the universe, can actually kill you with the right amount and dosage. Studies in toxicity usually result in an LD50 number. A higher LD50 number is always better.


-w-

PS: *conspiracy theory mode: ON* it's BAT's fault. They're the ones who bought the feds to outlaw hemp even though as a plant hemp has so many other uses compared to tobacco. Oh and did i mention how THC is not physically addictive and that it's LD50 number is like more than 10 times that of nicotine?

[Silk]

This was supposed to be a humor thread. =[

[Cobbinator92]

3. nicotine, as most stuff in the universe, can actually kill you with the right amount and dosage. Studies in toxicity usually result in an LD50 number. A higher LD50 number is always better.

I actually read about this in the Anarchist Cook Book. They said if you take a can of Dip wrap it up and boil it in water for a bit and then take it out and if you squeeze the wrap of tobacco the sludge that you get from it is so concentrated that if you put it in some one's coffee they will die. Dunno if its true but it does make sense.