Do Not Condem Smokers who had no idea back when as what is known today?
to the person of jirstan2.Why condem??? this smoking thing should of been reconized years and years ago.I suffer today as I was detected by a Pulminary Specialist of having Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Diease and I have written to the National Lung Association 3 times asking for help to stop as it was aired on a News Channel,I never received a call back,nor an email.I also emailed as well and there was no one to respond.As we teach our children today as to how bad smoking is as well as drug use(in which I do not use and haven't for 18 years now) was never taught to us in our 40,s+ when we went to school or smoked in front of our parents,etc...All bad issues have fingers pointed at present,not past! To be honest..I hate smoking,mine is of nervousness and frustration and I can't just put them down and walk away from it.You can not stop an alcoholic cold,nor a deep drug user as it will kill them and from what I read on your end you would be happy if we all dropped dead.Thanks
Answer by blue_girl
I understand it is difficult b/c you did not have the warnings about smoking way back when. I think smokers have to understand why non-smokers don't want smoke around them however, and be respectful of that. In return non-smokers shouldn't preach and hound at smokers who sometimes can't help their habit.
Answer by A lady who loves her Country man
what?!!!!!
Answer by Ann O
I agree with you. When I started smoking in the 1970's it was cool to smoke and there were no warnings of any risks, however I finally managed to stop smoking 7 years ago with the help of an inhalator which is a tube like a small cigarette in which you put special nicotine pads. You reduce these over time and it took me 6 months to do without these but I managed it. Over the years I have tried all sorts of things to help me give up but only these worked for me. I hope you can eventually give up too.
Answer by frugernity
Perhaps I can shed some light on the anti-smoker feelings.
The argument that "I didn't know beathing smoke into my lungs was bad for me" seems a little hard to buy. That seems as plausible as "I didn't know eating rocks was bad for my teeth" or "I didn't know licking toilets could make me sick".
Granted, it might carry some weight for someone who started smoking more than 40 years ago, but for at least that long it has been common knowledge that smoking kills. Anyone who started smoking in the past 40 years simply cannot argue that they were hooked before they knew it was bad for them.
I've always felt anger toward people that smoke but only recently did I examine that feeling. I used to think it was more because they were willing to expose me to their secondhand but recently changes in company policies and laws have almost eliminated that problem. When that was removed I asked myself "why do I still care that people I don't know smoke?". Here are some reasons I came up with:
It makes such a terrible statement about human beings that we would knowingly engage in an activity that most assuredly will shorten our lives. To watch someone whose attitude seems to be "I'm actively killing myself and I don't care" is very hard. It is such a negative take on life.
Seeing someone addicted (to anything) makes human beings seem weak. We like to think we have free will and addiction contradicts that notion. When I see groups of smokers outside the buildings where work I I never see anyone smiling. They look like zombies being dragged along by their addiction. Again, what a dismal statement about being human.
Smokers seem to have a strong disregard for other people. Before company policy changed I had co-workers who had 2 cigarettes lit at their desks at all times even though other co-workers a few feet away suffered from respiratory problems. And if I had a nickel for every time a smoker flicked their cigarette butt out the window. I don't know if it's this "the world can kiss my ass" attitude that gets people to start smoking or whether the addiction creates that attitude but there seems to me to be a high correlation between being a smoker and being self-centered and inconsiderate.
So I've come to realize that I not only don't like smoking but for the most part I don't like smokers. I find the kind of people who smoke not to my liking.
p.s. In response to Ann O's answer:
My experience with people my age who accepted the "smoking is cool" idea is that they were the kids who were too lazy to participate in school activities and were looking for an easy way to stand out. Again. their sense of identity came from telling teh world to shove it.
And as for no warnings in the 1970s that would only be true if you were deaf and blind. By the early 1960s it was well established and well advertised that smoking was related to disease and death. But of course, for those with that chip-on-their-shoulder attitude that message was ignored.
Answer by byron101540
jirstan2.
How about folks that started smoking in the 40's?
No real help in quitting till the late 90's
I quit a 5 pack a day habit after smoking 55 years
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