The intolerance towards cigarette smokers.
Something I noticed is that cigarette smokers get probably the second most cruel things said. Like come on, most of us respect yall and don't smoke around people that dislike it. I mean people get down right cruel. Imagine if youre enjoying a beer and tons of people say you're disgusting for it. Or you're eating a juicy burger and your date gets up and leaves because eating burgers is a horrible habit and their main deal breaker.
Like yeah i get not wanting to be around it, but i'm not a disgusting person just because I smoke, and fyi, its really not that different than vaping or taking meds.
Anyway I think people are just way excessively hateful towards smokers. It's an addiction guys. Just like caffeine or meth, and it's harder to quit cigarettes than heroin and it's just kinda hurtful to be so hated for it
9
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23 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.It's 25 yrs since I gave up and I no longer hate the smell. Doesn't bother me in the least.
MsDemeanour
Level 8
May 10, 2018
5
I smoke. I don’t smoke near people who are eating. I don’t smoke near crowds of people, say at a busy bus stop if I’m waiting there as well. I don’t smoke in my own home, unless the weather’s too bad to go outside, and then, I stand at an open window or door. I give other people plenty of space from my smoke. Needless to say, I don’t smoke anywhere that it’s illegal. In the UK that means all buildings and premises that are open to the public, and all enclosed workplaces.
The only time I make an exception is if I’m in a public open air area, someone sits near me, and then asks me to stop smoking. Sorry, I was there first. I sometimes sense that this is done deliberately to make a point. If I go into such a space, I always sit as far from any seeming non-smokers as possible. If I’m in a particular spot before anyone else, then I’m going nowhere.
And people who try to lecture me about smoking get extremely short shrift. I’m an adult, I know the risks, and I don’t need amateur medics and do-gooders telling me what to do. Piss off! Not going into the details, but I’m taking a well calculated punt based on family histories, both sides. So far I’ve totally lucked out.
KevinTwining
Level 7
May 10, 2018
4
@Lonely It isn’t that I’m unable to fight my ‘weakness’. I’m making a calculated choice. I actually enjoy smoking tobacco. My life, my choice.
I am a smoker trying to quit. I managed to quit for six months last year but picked up again. Not smoking as much as I used to but still smoking. I do not allow smoking in my apt. If I or anyone else wants to smoke, we can go out to my balcony and smoke there.
Yes I feel excessive hate from non smokers, a bit like a holier than thou attitude. I have quit drugs and booze but the cigs are the hardest of them all. The tobacco companies really made a killing out of me and the only way to fight them back is first to quit and stay out of cigarretes.
KashFigueroa
Level 6
May 10, 2018
4
I hate cigarettes because they kill people and cause emphasema, etc. What gives smokers the right to make my air carcenogenic?
A very short time ago it was in every restaurant and workplace and home. Some of the attitude remains from when we were all subjected to it because the tobacco lobby is huge.
The only way cig companies can afford to market to young smokers is because people buy cigarettes. Your money enables them to lure youth, which they need because their product kills their customers.
Good luck with quitting.
CallMeDave
Level 8
May 10, 2018
4
Word!
This is perfect. Thanks for saying it.
Omg the air you breathe, smoker or not is filled with carcinogens. Do you chastise every person who drives a car for polluting your air? You had better otherwise your argument is hypocritical.
And I'm not quitting. Least not because some judgemental people say I'm disgusting.
@LadyAlyxandrea Not disgusting. Your funds do go to spread cigarettes to youths though, through advertising.
@CallMeDave youths make their choices. Advertising or not, no one forces them to light up.
I've been smoking for most of my life, and lived through the transition of people just accepting it without question to people being really negative. The worst thing for me now, is that you can't smoke in bars. I mean drinking and smoking just go together. I can't stay in a bar for long without wanting to smoke. Some of them have outside smoking areas, which is nice, except in the winter.
Tomfoolery33
Level 9
May 10, 2018
4
Ya know I'm not much of a smoker myself but to me part of the experiance of a bar was the hazy atmosphere.
Cant smoke on the balconies of a cruise ship anymore. Not even in first class. Hmmm... that was about 8 grand a year. They can flood the halls with sewage but don't light up.
@BucketlistBob You can smoke on cruise liners, in designated areas. And if your cabin has its own balcony, you can smoke out there.
You need to come to Jacksonville, Fl, as long as the bar doesn't serve food you can smoke in it.
@KevinTwining ....... geeze Kevin... I cruise all the time. You can't smoke on the balcony. They stopped that years ago. Did they just start letting people smoke on a balcony?
Your from the UK....In the USA.... no smoking on balconies.
@BucketlistBob Ah. Last cruise I was on was with Cunard from Southampton, about 5 years ago. Apart from my own balcony, there were plenty of smoking areas dotted around the ship. I’ve heard or seen nothing here that’s stopped it. Mind you, the ship owners can put whatever rules they want in place. I’ll have to check it out.
I used to smoke and you have all my sympathy. Harder to quit then Heroin I've been told.
However I'm really allergic to cigarette smoke. Asthma attack anyone?
If you're the person 15 ft from the door of a hospital entrance I'm going to look annoyed because I don't want to go back in there.
I however am not mean to smokers - I've been there. I have a friend who is still trying to quit and I encourage her and occasionally give her a kick in the pants that she asked for.
I also have a 72 yo friend on oxygen with COPD and lung cancer who didn't quit soon enough. And her husband still smokes (outside now).
I just can't be around it now.
And wonder if I would have had Cancer at age 45 minus the smoking for 15 years?
RavenCT
Level 9
May 10, 2018
3
I have a large history of cancers of all types in my blood. My grandmother has had breast, skin and throat. My great grandmother had lung, my grandfather had liver, my other grandmother had leukemia. My uncle who has never smoked and only does everything healthy and good got throat cancer. Never even hung around smokers. I'm guaranteed cancer at some point, regardless. People get to know me love me but the second they figure out i smoke im disgusting. It is stupid
@LadyAlyxandrea Oh yes you can not smoke and get cancer. I am just left to wonder if it wouldn't have been as soon for me?
I don't dislike people who smoke.
I used to enjoy cigars emmensly.
But I've quit. And second-hand smoke is very unhealthy. I don't dislike YOU. I dislike SMOKE.
bigpawbullets
Level 9
May 10, 2018
2
I Have Smoked For Almost 51yrs.At one time smoking was "The Norm" with advertising on t.v. billboards etc.Now we are treated with distain,even though you can't smoke in bars,cinemas, restaurants, public transport.It's OK to smoke weed,but not tobacco, don't think so.Personal opinion,i don't moan about drinkers,gamblers,gun nuts,religion. Give us a break!
Coldo
Level 8
May 10, 2018
2
I guess your comparison is slightly off target. I would compare a smoker to a farter emitting fumes that are not appreciated by others. I don't insult people for smoking. I am addicted to coffee and if someone dislikes the aroma and requests me to move, I would oblige. Vegans might react to your juicy burger and might remind you the you are consuming the remnants of a dead animal.
I have to admit, I even feel annoyed by people smoking in movies with the exception of Casablanca.
PontifexMarximus
Level 8
May 10, 2018
3
What the hell... your talking psychology of the mind. The topic is about cancer causing from second hand smoke. Hell... people stink for many reasons. Especially vegans. Your cologne, her perfume, my fart.... its a smell.
@BucketlistBob Smoker, unfortunately, hardly ever care about others. A few times I blocked the lift when idiots with lit cigarettes enter. Once one such smokers came into a lift and stood right next to a mother with a baby. I just pushed him out.
Addicts difficult to reason with.
@PontifexMarximus. People like this are crude without smoking.
Second hand smoke makes me nauseous and burns my throat resulting in a sore throat. It has been documented that second hand smoke causes cancer. Vic Damone died of second hand smoke. It's very hard to quit but for your sake and those near you it pays to bite the bullet and do it. So many have. That said you have my sympathy.
think-beyond
Level 7
May 10, 2018
3
And you have mine...
I'd rather just smoke away from you. Honestly
Second hand smoke is annoying, but I know of no good evidence that it causes cancer [forbes.com] My sister died of lung cancer, never smoked, and was not exposed to second-hand smoke.
@LadyAlyxandrea Of course. On the other hand. I have a history with smoke. Way back when I couldn't go for a job where there were smokers. Nobody cared that it affected me. Then there was someone who used it as a weapon against me because she was jealous of my singing. I have had a career as a symphonic soloist, etc. She loved to sabotage me. Then I have seen a student of mine seriously affected by his habit to the point where he couldn't go on with his career. He sang ay the Met. So please understand, I have had a bad time with smokers who don't give a fig for how it affects me and I have seen tragic results. Someone I know died because of it. Please do not think I do not sympathize with your problem, but it might help you to understand us.
@think-beyond. I hear you on way back when....but it ain't now!
@BucketlistBob I now live in a reasonably smoke-free society. However, that student still battles his addiction and his life is spoiled right now. He doesn't have the career he should be having. He is short of breath and will probably have a shorter life than he was supposed to have.
They still allow smoking in public places there? I am sorry but as health care professional, I cannot agree. I don't want to pick up blackened areas of lung you have coughed up or treat people in their 20s for COPD. Smoking is vile, secondhand smoke is too. I understand how addictive it is but honestly don't smoke around me.
Amisja
Level 8
May 10, 2018
1
That's like admonishing people that were in a car wreck for driving because they knew the risks. I also work in healthcare and honestly nothing pisses me off than when a nurse on her 15th monster energy drink is nagging me about my smoking.
@LadyAlyxandrea I do neither. It is important for health care professionals to care for their own health.
I used to smoke. I quit, (twice). The second time was much more difficult than the first. Each time I went cold turkey. The craving lasted for over six months. I didn't try to quit, I quit, all at once, no nicotine patches or therapy. Cigarette smoking is bad for your health. I want to be healthy in addition to not having bad breath and while the smoker may not realize it, the smoke clings to one's body and non smokers can smell it on you. Smell your hands, go ahead do it now.
yuvid1
Level 5
May 10, 2018
2
You aren't telling smokers anything they don't know. But how is that any different than someone who wears too much body spray or perfume? Yeah it's bad for your health but so is the toxic air we breathe in cities, the water, the food we eat covered in pesticides and the meat filled with chemicals.
@LadyAlyxandrea Using your rational you must be a cigarette smoker. Justify it all you want. Body spray and perfume and even the air you breath in the city doesn't even come close to the noxious cigarette particles that smokers fill the air with. I am just stating my two cents in this thread. If you don't like what people are saying here, why are you here? Maybe you want to get some advice on how to quit...go cold turkey.
@yuvid1 yeah the best way to make me want to smoke MORE is to tell me to quit smoking.
@LadyAlyxandrea I'm not telling you or anyone else to quit. Wow, talk about defensiveness. You go ahead and smoke all you want.
Smoke makes my hair & clothing stink, even secondhand, and I understand that even generic cigs cost around $9 a Pack, so my opinion of your intelligence is LOOOOWWWWWW.
Not to mention how you thoughtfully distribute your butts in piles Everywhere. So hygienic& attractive
AnneWimsey
Level 9
May 10, 2018
2
Gee Anne... my heart is breaking on your opinion. You see its people like you that have personal agenda. Shes one of us Anne... grow up!
And the cost of smokes depends on the area.. and really to judge a person based on deciding to smoke kinda makes you a douche.
@BucketlistBob Smokers invade my space with their stink, perhaps endanger my health, and leave piles of unsanitary butts to foull my surroundings...i am supposed to whistle a happy tune?
@AnneWimsey well you invade my space with your judgemental 'holier-than-thou' complaints.
And I should care what someone with your arrogance thinks? I think not.
@Lonely plus which, who started this entire unnecessary, in-your-face thread. But I am arrogant???!
Ever watch episode of South Park where they talk about smoking? Funny and sadly accurate.
josh23452
Level 7
May 10, 2018
2
Put out here... i would like to see it.
Your right... these freaking fragile whimps with their second hand smoke rules. I go out of my way to smoke away from them so I don't have to hear it. I drive my vehicles so I can smoke or I just don't go. I'm still playing by my rules and doing my own thing. I'm going to stay away from them and they can stay away from me. I smoke outside because my wife doesn't smoke. I respect her space and she respects mine.
BucketlistBob
Level 8
May 10, 2018
2
For the record, my father in law smoked for the longest time (my dad smoked from age 6 until he died).
I had no problems with my father in laws smoking. He was always conscientious about the others in the area, always went out to the patio or balcony. Never forced it on anyone. I had zero problems with him smoking around me because he was so very respectful.
My father? My sisters house is a no smoking house. She has a space designated for those visiting to smoke... this included her son who didn't smoke often but did... he adopted a vape and that seemed to be ok (I don't physically react to vape).
My dad? Brought an ash tray into the dinging room and proceeded to chain smoke. Sure, he was next to the door but it was horrible. His wife, a lung cancer survivor, was also chain smoking at the time. Note: this was AFTER her cancer, and after they had quit... he started back up again and they cycled up to lighting the next cigarette off of the current one... that, I had no respect for, as he had no respect for us and our situation.
Oh! We visited his house at one point and he had us in a room downstairs, where they were careful to NEVER smoke... because some relatives didn't like it. My wife was sick after a day in the carefully maintained downstairs because the smoke was so prevalent. He quit, this was after the cancer issue, and called me up to say "son you are right! It REEKS of smoke here!" He couldn't smell how bad it was because he was actively smoking. Once he got it out of his system, he noticed the issue... so, I get why you might not understand ours, here in this thread.
@Gnarloc..... I do understand.... I stay away from non smokers. I do not smoke in my house.
@BucketlistBob and you have my respect for that.
Another bad example: my eldest sister also smoked and she'd blow her smoke in my face... not a good time. Ugh...
@Gnarloc .... a good ...HEY.. GOD DAMN IT. DONT BLOW THAT IN MY FACE. don't use please.
@BucketlistBob trust me, we had words. She was probably the only person more stubborn than my dad and I. 
Despite said words, she'd still do it on occasion... until she moved out, then I moved out. I don't recall her doing it on visits at later dates (the last time, she'd've been about 22 and I would've been about 18).
My 2c worth:
My problem isn't when smokers are in a smoking designated area and doing so. It's that the smokers I seem to get saddled with, will choose a space to smoke in such that I can NOT avoid their smoke. If they chose spaces where it was easy to avoid the smoke, I'd not be so upset.
Note: I don't say anything, unless it is egregious, like literally smoking under a no smoking sign. I just hold my breath (yeah, I am that disgusted, I get headaches from it that badly) and walk by.
Gnarloc
Level 7
May 10, 2018
2
How do you handle smoking meat or bar b q or burning leaves?
@BucketlistBob I don't have a good answer... cigarette smoke is quite specific in its acrid smell. I have burned, mostly maple, leaves and it's a nice earthy smell (in comparison). Same goes for wood smoke, so, charcoal isn't a problem and thus BBQ and Smokers are ok.
That said, I move so that I'm not just sucking down all that smoke constantly... and the wind shifts so that smoke follows me... yeah, I'm that guy, was a standing joke in my family (with my dad at least).
I will submit that maybe it's psychological... oh, and I tolerate pipe smoke better than cigarette smoke... and cigars better than same...I think it's a component of the tobacco being less desiccated. Most pipe tobaccos I have dealt with were sort of moist. Cigars have a natural leaf shell. Cigarettes seem to be so much more dry... but, I don't really know.
AND... maybe it's chemicals?
@BucketlistBob, @Gnarloc smoked meats are completely different. Not even comparable.
@Donto101 ....smoke is smoke.... smell is smell. Which one is killing you? I can't stand some perfumes. It smells worst then tire tube air.
@BucketlistBob my son is allergic to cigarette smoke but not to smoke meats. What is really strange he breaks out hand has trouble breathing as soon as he gets close to cigarette smoke. But about every couple of weeks I enjoy a good cigar. I only smoke them after he goes to bed and I smoke out on my deck in open air. I even take a shower right after and put my clothes in the was as soon as I’m done the brush my teeth and use mouthwash. Because I didn’t want any smoke to bother him. I know this sounds extreme but his reaction to cigarette smoke is extremely bad. He gets sick for days and we have to use Benadryl because he breaks out. One night he wakes up and walks side just as I was blowing out a big poof of smoke and it goes right in his face. So I freak out thinking he is going to have a reaction to it and his mom is going to kill me. He had no reaction at all. Except he coughed one or twice. So there is something they put in cigarette that causes the reaction. But now I wait much longer after he goes to bed and I know for sure he is asleep before I smoke my cigar just to be on the safe side.
@Donto101 You evoked a memory.
One of the chemotherapy's my wife took caused her to have chemically induced pneumanitis. Since that time, she was much more sensitive to smoke of pretty much any kind. We had a surge suppressor pop, which was in her desk, about 2 feet in front of her and a wee bit up (over the monitor basically) and she was down for the count for about 2 weeks... I could barely smell ozone.
Ever since then, we got an air purifier and kept it running in the house for her. It helped, quite a bit (which I still had it for cat smells.. 
). Long and short is that her lungs, once damaged, were much more susceptible to being put out of commission by any smoke or chemical odor... and that includes things she was not sensitive to before.
I'm not excessively hateful towards smokers, only towards INCONSIDERATE smokers. When my eyes smart from their smoke blowing in my direction, for example, I object.
Have you noticed how smokers always hold the cigarette down-wind and well away from their own face when not actually puffing? The smoker probably doesn't even realise it - but others do!!
Petter
Level 9
May 10, 2018
1
Funny I always angle myself away from others so the smoke blows away from them and any business doors.
@LadyAlyxandrea Precisely. YOU are considerate.
In the days when I used to get through 60 fags a day, I too tried to be considerate. What I dislike are the people exhibiting a sort of bravado and deliberately subjecting others to their fumes. Unfortunately, there are a few, of either sex.
Many of us are taught from a young age that it's a "dirty disgusting habit." For me, there's more to it than blind judgement. Two of my best friends in the world smoke and it breaks my heart because I don't want to watch them die. It's a selfish reason I guess. They want to quit, but it's so hard. My grandpa eventually shot himself (no assisted suicide back then) because he was far down the road of lung cancer from smoking and couldn't take it anymore. My grandma found him. I don't want anyone to have to go through that. Also, the smell irritates my nose and if it's bad enough, my lungs too. I'm pretty sensitive to it. Plus, if you are dating a smoker, it makes them taste bad when you kiss them and it stays in their clothes so you smell it if you are close. I would not want to date a smoker.
Remi
Level 7
May 10, 2018
1
I got blocked ...ha ha. One of the ladies could dish it out but couldn't take it. I don't see her anymore.
BucketlistBob
Level 8
May 10, 2018
1
I hear that. For me, the smell of coffee makes me sick at times, and it's everywhere. Also, coffee drinkers tend to be a bit self-righteous, when you get down to it.
BrianBixler
Level 2
May 10, 2018
0
I hate Smokers as much as religious persons, enough said ?
VAL3941
Level 8
May 10, 2018
0
Well that's a ridiculous and stupid bias. Do you also hate left handed people and people that eat kale?
@LadyAlyxandrea
No, they don't try to contaminate me ? Put that in your pipe and smoke it, but far away from me please !
@VAL3941 just walk away... no one is holding you captive.
@BucketlistBob
Why ? When I get there first.Smokers are the most inconsiderate people I know, with exceptions, but very few ?
@BucketlistBob Back in 1973, when smoking on aircraft was still allowed, stuck beside a smoker all the way from San Francisco to Sydney. Ghastly! (No non-smoking seats were available.)
@Coffeo ... ive been there. Ive also set by people that stink from body odor. Or stink from perfumes. You ever been on a subway... stink is stink.
@BucketlistBob
See ! There are some sensible laws ?
@VAL3941 .... stupid law's from fear. A couple of puffs of smoke aint going to give you cancer. Thats what this is all about.
@BucketlistBob
No, it is about general health ! Walk into a smokers home and everyfhing stinks of smoke, so it is not just about a few puffs, you idiot !
@VAL3941 .... you aways got a choice. Dont walk in a smokers home... its all about cancer. Thats why these assholes are doing away with smoking. Oh BTW you asshole... KMA.
@BucketlistBob
Thanks, appreciate it !
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