smoking or non-smoking?

[chris olivarez]

As much as I don't want to wander too far off topic on this one I couldn't help but think that past and present bans on alcohol and drugs led to lucrative criminal enterprises.I'm a live and let live kind of guy but if everybody in the world decided to quit smoking that would be alright with me.

[BFrank]

I'm really surprised to see the amount of posts supporting non-smoking. As a life-long "non" myself, I'm always happy when I see another government outlaw smoking in public spaces - especially restaraunts. It's amazing how the myth of banning it will hurt business. It's been fine here in CA and apparently no problem in Mass, either.

I don't buy the argument that it's an infringement on personal rights. The smoke is an infringement on the rights of non-smokers. It's just that smoking is so ingrained in society and the lobby is so strong, that it's very hard to beat.

Here's an interesting web site from UC San Francisco: TobaccoScam

[jazzbo]

I will have been a nonsmoker for about twelve years, eight and a half months, but who's keepinig track?

It was the hardest thing I ever did, quitting, but I just stopped and haven't touched a cigarette since. In fact I had for the first few years to NOT HANG OUT where smoking was. That meant most bars and performance venues at the time, and even the homes of a few friends. The smell and the view of smoking would not make me sick, it would tempt me dearly. After the first few years, and about twenty pounds of extra "snack so I can chew" weight, that became less and less of a problem. Smoking doesn't disgust me or really really bother me other than I am afraid to fall back into my habituation. It's a powerful thing that habit!

I too put the money I would have spent on cds into cigarettes. If I had stopped smoking, no cds. Now I'm addicted to cds, big time. . . BIG TIME!

[Parkertown]

Oh yeah, I gained 50 POUNDS!!! But, I really needed it; I had been the same size since high school...135 pounds...28" waist. So yeah, I hover around 180 to 185 pounds these days. 32" waist. I'd like to drop about 20 pounds, but Goddamn it's hard But I also started to eat more regularly, instead of my usual breakfast of coffee and cigarettes. Lots of gum-chewing too.

Quitting smoking and falling in love...pretty hard on the 'ol waistline! But I'm certainly glad both happened. I can't believe I used to smoke those nasty things. I apologized to all my friends and thanked them for actually hanging around me all those years.

Smokers stink! Nasty!

Edited April 9, 2003 by Parkertown

[jmjk]

Shut up, everyone, and let me kill myself in peace!

Quitting smoking is a process. I'd have great success in quitting up until a certain point, and then I'd lose my shit and start up again. My wife actually caught me teary-eyed last Autumn, and allowed me to buy a pack (after 2 months of not smoking). I am ashamed of myself, and my health is still no better.

[Parkertown]

I'll bet Hong Kong Phooey would'nt smoke...

Edited April 9, 2003 by Parkertown

[Jim Dye]

I'd be ecstatic if I weighed 180 with a 32 inch waist. But then again, I'm 6'4 and 280. I put on about 50 lbs since I got a desk job, got married, and quit smoking. I gotta start biking again!

[jazzbo]

Jim, it's actually the reverse order for me: quit smoking, got married, got a desk job. . . . Reverse order, quite similar results! Up to a 38" waist now!

[Noj]

I quit smoking because I ceased to enjoy it. However, I would never count my chickens before they hatch by pretending not smoking will make me live longer. There are no guarantees; life is not promised. Every breath could be one's last, every moment one spends alive is a gift. I've known people who didn't get 20 years on this earth, who am I to think I am entitled to any more than I get? I eat red meat and fried foods, enjoy alcohol and THC, drink caffeinated beverages and eat sweets--and I'd still smoke cigarettes if I still liked to do so.

[Parkertown]

You and me both!

I do occasionally consider changing my ways...adopting new ways...