Parents who smoke should be found unfit to be parents...

Originally posted by schawalski
well if the kids of smokers were to be taken away then shouldn't all kids be put in to care, after all, all adults are truly bad role models.

If parents are going to make the choice of smoking poison and take the chance of getting sick later on down the road, they may as well find someone to take care of their kids anyway. Everyone that I know who smoked when I was growing up has either died or is suffering with health conditions. My grandmother had emphysema from smoking all of her life. When she was diagnosed, it didn't stop her from smoking. She kept on. And when she started having alot of trouble breathing she switched off to menthols. She died at 55. It's a shame she didn't live to see some of her grandchildren be born. I have an aunt who has to live on oxygen because when her doctor told her to stop when she got a smokers cough at 33, she didn't stop. She has to carry an oxygen tank everywhere she goes and has to sit in a wheel chair cause she can't breathe good enough to walk too far.
An uncle died last year from lung cancer. Literally this is a hot button issue for me.

Smoking is a selfish habit that hurts others around you.

Eurgh - former smokers.

The worst type.



PEOPLE IGNORE THE OP.

Just be sensible, don't let fools dictate how to live your lives. Use common sense and don't let the opinion Nazi's tell you what to do.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Ha! I don't want government inferance. Far from it. But I do hold strong opinions on the subject, and since it's been brought up, I'm speaking my peace. It's the kids and family of smokers that suffer in the long run. There's nothing worse than watching someone who was extremely active in their youth, now having to be confined to a wheel chair and oxygen tank. Yep, painful to see.

reply to post by JaxonRoberts

This is not even considering the financial impact that such an addiction has, and once your children have grown up, they then get the increased chance of having to take care of an ailing parent who has emphysema, heart problems or cancer. Considering the myriad of problems the nicotine addiction inflicts upon the children of those addicted to this legal drug, it most certainly SHOULD be considered grounds for finding such parents as unfit to raise children... So what's more important, your kids or your habit?

It is a good thing that we live in a place where personal opinion does not become law because, if this were the case, you would likely not have the right to come here and talk about denying rights to others.

Smoking is a personal choice and not all smokers who are also parents, force their smoke on their children. I am a smoker and a father. My kids grew up to be good adults who do not smoke. That was their choice.

To suggest that the children of smokers will grow up to be smokers, is just ridiculous and no more than a means of leveraging an argument.

Smoking will eventually die of a combination of old age and education. There's no need to inflict our society with a personal brand of tyranny when smokers have already been so negatively stigmatized and rendered into lepers as it is.

PS - I hope you are not a veggie person because... if i were to be clapped in irons and thrown in a dungeon for smoking, I can imagine what awaits for a ribeye, medium rare lol!

Originally posted by Thunder heart woman



Smoking is a selfish habit that hurts others around you.

*insert addiction here* is a selfish habit that hurts others around you.

It doesn't matter what it is because we all treat our own habits and addictions as a part of ourselves and tend to overlook those around us. Smoking, drinking, techno-gadgets, video games, fat, caffeine, sugar, driving, money....you name it, it has an affect on more than just you, even if it doesn't seem apparent or immediate.

Do you have one or more of these habits/addictions? How does it affect you? How does it affect those around you?

I'm thoroughly addicted to my laptop. I use it for my job, I use it for my hobby, I spend way more time on this forum than I should, I can't go anywhere for more than a couple hours without it. Right now, sitting here typing this, my little ones (day off from school) are starting to nag for my attention and want to go out and play.

I am doing them no good by sitting here and I know it. Call Child Welfare.

I smoke. Have children. They adore me and I them.
Of course I smoke outside and never in the cars.

I think those who are always looking to point the finger at others should be deemed unfit parents because we don't want the next generation to be "turn in your neighbors" types.

Amen.

Children of parents who smoke are more likely to smoke themselves when they are older. They see there parents doing it, so they think it's an acceptable thing to do. I've seen it with quite a lot of my friends.

I used to smoke (from 17-20), although my mother did smoke when she was similar age to me, she had long given up before she had me

Fat people are worse than smokers, not only does it effect their child's upbringing by their peers taking notice, but they are an eye sore that everyone has to deal with even if they are across the street where i couldn't smell the smoke if they had one.

they are a drain on the medical community, our global food supply, and a stain on humanity.

If you are fat and on here making statements about smokers.... move on... your worse.

Originally posted by Thunder heart woman
Ha! I don't want government inferance.

And I didn't say that you did. But some here clearly do. And the OP stated that smoking be grounds for finding the parents unfit. That is government interference. When the courts find parents unfit on the grounds that they smoke, that's getting the government involved.

Opinions on the subject are fine. I don't have a problem with that and I am a friend of the OP. We just disagree on this one point.

There's nothing worse than watching someone who was extremely active in their youth, now having to be confined to a wheel chair and oxygen tank. Yep, painful to see.

Been there.

Comparing illegal drugs to cigarettes is laughable at best.

As for smoking and someones children, if the parent smokes outside away from the children, how now, can that be or at the very least pose a health problem for the child(s) in question?

As for government intervention, thats a HUGE NO!

Taking a " professionals" alleged conclusions as fact is rather elementary. Yes I agree with the stats of deaths caused due to smoking, but comparing cigs to illegal drugs is lunacy. Addiction? Yeah, I'll give you that, but if the parents are knowledgeable of the risks, and take their habit outside, away from kids, people altogether, then I seriously have to question these " professionals " conclusions. Especially when these " professionals" have a degree in liberal arts or something!

reply to post by Griffo

Children of parents who smoke are more likely to smoke themselves when they are older. They see there parents doing it, so they think it's an acceptable thing to do. I've seen it with quite a lot of my friends.

I have to disagree. Children see their parents doing a lot of things... and even though we may hold them to a higher standard, they are still humans and every bit as flawed and imperfect as we are.

We learn that as we get older... the curtain comes crashing down. Then things like drugs and smoking and drinking all become personal choices. Our parents may have never touched a drop of liquor, but we may someday become an alcoholic. Our parents may not have smoked, but as an adult, we may choose that for ourselves.

I do agree that parenting has become a lost art, with today's versions often being no more than people who make brief appearances at bed time and over coffee. But still and all, if you subscribe away your right to individual choice, don't do it for everyone else as well.

We like to make our own choices, thank you.

To what extent are we going to let State stretch its arms of law to regulate our lives? Technically LIFE already is just a Government concession, for gods sake.

I think that being a smoker is better than being a non-smoking control freak trying to force everyone else to live the way they do.

Just my opinion of course

Originally posted by Whereweheaded
Comparing illegal drugs to cigarettes is laughable at best.

Not really. There's only one difference. One is legal and the other is not. That's the ONLY difference. The fact that something is legal makes it no more safe to use. And the fact that something is illegal doesn't make it more dangerous.

Smoking in the presence of children should be illegal....even in private. Also there is some hypocrisy in some of the states that have anti smoking laws in public but are not enforced in casinos. Why? because the government gets a cut and a lot of the losers that are habitual casino junkies are also chain smokers.

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


Just don't smoke around yours or other peoples kids.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

There's only one difference. One is legal and the other is not.

There's another difference. Tobacco is not mentally debilitating. It acts as a depressant on the nervous system and a stimulant on the circulatory system.

TheRedneck

reply to post by JaxonRoberts
I agree with everything you have posted regarding the dangerous effects of smoking on children, but what you say about parents who smoke is wrong! Most are probably wonderful parents who just need an education concerning all the negative effects of smoking. What about those parents who don't smoke, but will sit down and consume alcohol in front of their children? Are they unfit parents? Although it doesn't pose the same dangers as smoking in front of the kids, it does have negative effects on children. They see Dad come inside on a hot day after a couple of hours of mowing the grass, go straight to the fridge and grab a cold beer. What about the social as well as physical problems caused by alcohol, yet millions of parents across the country are showing their children it's alright to consume it. There is no need to start calling folk who smoke in front of their children "unfit parents", just a need for education and the use of common sense.

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


Although I agree that many people are indeed unfit to be parents, saying all smokers, or in a sense, generalizing that ANY group of individuals is unfit because of one particular personal trait is a lame cop out. It's honestly on par with saying all blacks are criminals, or all asians do math, or all arabs are terrorists.

Take my brother for example. He's the father of 3 fine boys. He works hard every day, like any father would, in order to provide for his family. He's not rich, he doesn't have all that much, but his family is fed, the bills are paid and they have a roof over their heads and clothes on their backs. One of the three boys isn't even his biological son, but he's loved him as his own more so than the 'real' father ever came close to doing. To label my brother as an unfit father because he's a smoker is one of the most laughable ideas I've ever heard. He's obviously aware of the risks of second hand smoking, so he makes sure to never smoke inside or around his kids. It's called taking responsibility... and contrary to popular belief, there are people out there that do it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to condone the habit of smoking. I'm a smoker myself and really wish quitting wasn't so "easier said than done". Yes, its disgusting and yes, there's absolutely no benefit to it (the 'relaxing' feeling is ALL mental). However, the only thing that would determine if I'm fit or not to be a father would be how I deal with my habit in front of my own (theoretical) children, not the fact that I have a habit. If I'm constantly lighting up around a new-born baby, of course I'd be an unfit parent. That's equivalent to someone who decides to spray paint a baby's bedroom with the baby still in it. But to generalize and say that ALL smokers should be deemed unfit parents is ludicrous and borderline scary. I'm just imagining social services going to my brother's place, taking my nephews from their loving family, only to be brought to some freaks house who's only fostering kids in order to get a government check to pay for all of his/her prescription medication.... all because (*GASP* God forbid...) he smokes...