Smoking

[schmunk]

Care to educate him then?

Pros of smoking:
It's addictive

Cons of smoking:
Cost
Health
Dedgradation of senses (taste/smell become altered)
Environmental Impact (ie makes you stink, most smokers don't realise how badly they smell to nons)

Is being addictive a Pro?

[schmunk]

Oh dear, your poor poor under educated man.

I agree with greenalien. Care to call me under-educated?


(p.s. I'll laugh at you if you do.)

[rufeo]

right seems like this thread is turning into some sort of bashing match..... so, even though i do smoke, i thought i'd try and give a balanced opinion.

smoking is bad, yes there is no denying that. but so is alcohol, even if you don't drink heavily. a bit above the reccomended weekly allowance is still bad, also taking your weekly allowance in say a couple of days is also bad there are fundamentally a lot of things that are bad for us. how many of us go on holiday and try and achieve that glowing tan before we come back? how many people lecture those that do about the risks of skin cancer?

hell, if we take it to the extreme, drinking too much water isn't just bad it'll damn right kill you off very quickly. what i think we have to take into consideration is the matter of the majority. that is smoking accounts for a minority in this country, but drinking is the opposite. just because more people do it, does it mean its more acceptable? if you do, then well there's no point in even trying to talk to you.

the media has a very very huge influence in shaping the publics view on a range of matters. but we really need to start questioning the relevance and actually quality of the info that we're given. how many of you know that alcohol is actually more harmful than ecstacey? well it's true according to a survey done for the government by various medical professions. in that same study alcohol was more harmful than smoking as well! the media also has a habit of giving out the worng/twisted view on some medical issues, some of the ones highlighted in our lectures were quite laughable.

smoking is yes annoying if you don't smoke, and also the smell is some what off putting. but i'd rather trade that for a) getting into alcohol related fights b) craking your skull because you tripped over c) liver cirrhosis leading to liver cancer and failure, i could go on all day about the risks of X and Y. there's always a risk in everything we do, its balancing the risks out. if you think that if you don't smoke then you're risks of getting cancer are reduced then you'll be in for a big shock. just because you don't have a higher risk of lung cancer doesn't mean the other cancer risks are lower too! it's a sad that many of us will die of cancer no matter what we do.

so why don't let people do what they what as long as it doesn't affect you? we're not a complete nanny state now are we? last time i checked as long as you're not breaking the law then you can do anything you want.

the people who are 'under-educated' are the ones that have a overwhelming reason to hate something without understanding things from all side, in fact i think narrow minded would be a better phrase.

[staffsMike]

I some what a agree that people should be able to do what they want but take this one for example.

Have you ever sat in traffic on a hot day, with either your fans blowing or your windows open. The person is front is smoking and you suddenly get a disguting gust of smokey cr@p in your lungs.. Where do you go then? Do you shut the windows, turn your fans off.. and boil?

This coming from a non-drinker/smoker/ errr tanner lol

The point is there are unavoidable situations where you are forced to passively smoke, and it's frickin annoying!

[SmileyUK]

hmmm rufeo, by your reasoning there then, you may as well do heroin as well then as its bad for you

in fact if you inject nicoteine into the bloodstream you will die instantly, at least with heroin you stand a good chance at survival


i am interested for people to list the true positive benefits that they gain from smoking though...

[MadduckUK]

hmmm rufeo, by your reasoning there then, you may as well do heroin as well then as its bad for you

in fact if you inject nicoteine into the bloodstream you will die instantly, at least with heroin you stand a good chance at survival

and yet your walking around breathing air right now..try injecting that

[rufeo]

nope, heroin was near the top of the list for most harmful if the top. what i was trying to say was that the risks are no where near as bad as people say. now injecting nicotine into yourself isn't smoking the route by which you take the specific substance always has a huge affect on the outcome, eg cocaine vs crack cocaine. smoking is addictive but don't put smokers in same category as junkies! when was the last time you heard of anyone selling their bodies on the street, killing or stealing to their next fix of cigarettes?

@ MadduckUK lol

[staffsMike]

i am interested for people to list the true positive benefits that they gain from smoking though...

Fighting a losing battle there.

They are cool

They get to talk to other cool people (apprently better educated as well)

it calms them down.. which annoys me because surely you started because you thought it would be cool and calming effect is only you satifying your own addiction.

try a glass of tepid water and slow long breaths (if you can do it wihtout coughing your guts up) that calms non addicts down quite nicely

I really did want to stay neutral.. damn.

[SmileyUK]

dont actually want a battle at all, was just asking a question

[rufeo]

it calms them down.. which annoys me because surely you started because you thought it would be cool and calming effect is only you satifying your own addiction.

try a glass of tepid water and slow long breaths (if you can do it wihtout coughing your guts up) that calms non addicts down quite nicely

yeah thats true i started by at school because it was 'cool', but now its not. so many of my non-smoker friends say i stink of smoke, when a girl at a club is interested me they start sniffing around and ask 'do you smoke?' when it's so blatant. for me its the action more than the nicotine that calms me down.

your other suggestions are valid, but again they are choices that people can make. given the choices i choose smoking however stupid or bad it is. at least i'm old enough and understand the risks of what i'm doing. not understanding the risk and then siding for either side is worse imo

[Merlin4458]

Fighting a losing battle there.

They are cool

They get to talk to other cool people (apprently better educated as well)

it calms them down.. which annoys me because surely you started because you thought it would be cool and calming effect is only you satifying your own addiction.

try a glass of tepid water and slow long breaths (if you can do it wihtout coughing your guts up) that calms non addicts down quite nicely

I really did want to stay neutral.. damn.

The man talks sense...


I personally think its moronic, if u actually stop and think about what the cons are of it. I mean, what is a possitive?

[0iD]

Never smoked, never saw the point really. Had a few when I was a kid, but then I grew up.

[rufeo]

Merlin, protection from parkinson's? the amount of protection you get from smoking against parkinson's is much more many times than the risks of cancer. you can look it up if you want....

[staffsMike]

That may be a positive side of smoking (I don't actually know either way) but it's not the reason anyone smokes

[rufeo]

well no i suppose no one has ever started because of it.... but a positive is a positive nevertheless in my books

[Main]

I've grown up in a household where both parents are smokers who've been doing so for longer than I've been alive. I've never smoked, and never intend to.

t calms them down.. which annoys me because surely you started because you thought it would be cool and calming effect is only you satifying your own addiction.

So true, and easy to demonstrate too. Just hide a heavy smoker's cigarette packet. Watch as Jekyl turns to Hyde the moment they realise that they don't know where they are when they want their next one, and how the change is reversed when they light up. It's disturbing to watch, and happens without fail if you do this to my parents...