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

I wish I were an ex-smoker.

It's too easy to un-quit when there are a half-dozen places to buy them within a few city-block radius.

When I was in high school, a snack-truck came on campus every day at lunch and sold pop, candy, chips, and tobacco. Smokes for $0.75 US a pack and no ID check. Students could smoke outside on campus and there were ash-trays everywhere. The same school used to have an indoor smoking lounge for high school students.

Then in the Army, every AAFES bldg on base sold smokes; there was a cigarette dispenser at the Rec Hall even. Smokes and ashtrays were everywhere.

I was weak and followed the crowd.

I'm glad it's tougher for kids to obtain tobacco these days.

And to reiterate, I'm still a good Dad and my girls would agree. (qualify that with our teenager's tendancy to love/hate me based on her chores list and if she get's to go out on the town with her friends or not).

reply to post by TarzanBeta


I mean we as individuals, I refer to the Gubmint as 'THEY'.

My mom smokes, my brother smokes, and I've had tons of ex girlfriends who have smoked. Also, ALL of my friends smoke. Do I?

No. I find it pointless but to each their own.

Why should a parent be deemed unfit because they enjoy a cigarette? I thought this was ....you know...America?


Some people, I swear

Originally posted by Maslo
reply to post by TarzanBeta

 

I strongly disagree. Your child has a right to not be harmed, and you should not be allowed to smoke around children, period. I dont see how being a parent is relevant to this. Being a parent does not give you any authority do harm your child, and certainly does not give you any authority to give him rights or not. Your child is not your pet. You should not even have a right to harm your pet, while we are at it.

I have the POTENTIAL to do as I please. Legal rights are not an issue with me and will never be.

No law will tell me what I think is good and right for me child.

Like I said, I do not NEED to tell you that I do not smoke in front of my kid AT ALL EVER. What you need to know is that it is none of your business. At all.

I should not be "Allowed"?! I am not your kid. But you are obviously someone else's kid. And they didn't do a good job with your mind. So it's time for you to take personal responsibility for yourself and learn to correct your mind.

Because I ain't gonna pay my government to wipe your butt. My government is for preserving public peace and serving those in immediate danger. That's IT.

Learn how to be a human being with talents instead of one who wishes to delegate - because that is exactly what is wrong with this world.

Delegation of responsibility!!

I was a little bit angered by this thread. Firstly I'd just like to state that my wife didn't smoke whilst being pregnant. Secondly we smoke once a night and on the balcony outside, and taking steps to quit. It's pigheaded of you to paint all smokers with the same brush.

reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

Way to miss my point... does smoking cause a loss of motor control? Delusions? Hallucinations? Loss of inhibitions? Violent tendencies? (Well, maybe toward anti-smokers, so I'll concede on that last one. )

As far as lowering intelligence... just say as a smoker for 40 years with a two-pack-a-day habit, I guess I am the poster-boy for the anti-smoking campaign...

TheRedneck

Originally posted by TheRedneck
reply to post by Benevolent Heretic

Way to miss my point... does smoking cause a loss of motor control? Delusions? Hallucinations? Loss of inhibitions? Violent tendencies? (Well, maybe toward anti-smokers, so I'll concede on that last one.

)

As far as lowering intelligence... just say as a smoker for 40 years with a two-pack-a-day habit, I guess I am the poster-boy for the anti-smoking campaign...

TheRedneck

ROFL on your "Mood: Calm-Smoking."

Yeah, I suppose I should take a "chill pill".

reply to post by JaxonRoberts



I agree and disagree. The affect of smoking are not good for the individual. That is nothing new or any kind of Revelation. But, to say that a parent who smokes is unfit, is highly judgmental at best. I never smoked in the house and and never littered. ( littering goes for all things ). So to tell me I am a bad parent, is really not cool. I have since quit do to the fact I do not want to pay outrageous prices. But, I still friends ( as we all do ) that smoke. NONE of which smoke around their children or in their houses.

Smoking is a health risk and health issue that should be left up to the individual to CHOOSE.

Who cares let the smokers ,smoke time will deal with them..sooner or later they will be pushing up grass blades and the next generation will get smarter and the smokers will shrink...no need to panic of fight it. It will eleminate it's own need for consumption..

reply to post by TarzanBeta

The really ironic part of this thread is that since I started reading it, my smoking has picked up at least another pack a day...

I'll also take this opportunity to relate the tale of one of my great uncles.... the guy lived alone way back in the woods, smoked cigars (and inhaled the smoke ), loved to drink iced gin, and believed as I do that cooking = frying in grease. He didn't even know how old he was, just that he was in his 90s, the day he literally worked me down... and I was in my prime!

He died at the age of 99 of stomach cancer, primarily because he refused to see a doctor until it was too late. The day he passed on, I am told he was lying in bed smoking a cigar, drinking his iced gin through a straw, eating a piece of greasy fried chicken, and when they found him dead, he had this big peaceful smile on his face.

Everyone dies. If that is my fate, then I choose to at least try to go out with the happiness, dignity and self-pride he had. The OP of this thread and his supporters can make their own choice.

TheRedneck

Not all poison comes from cigarettes. I've probably had lung cancer since the 1st time I rode my bike down the street behind a bus. Can someone show me how much of a decrease in non-smokers getting lung cancer there's been since the bans? No? Ok then. I NEVER smoke around kids btw but plenty of parents have parked their babies next to me the chain smokin dj back before the bans and id actually have to say "get your baby away from my cigarette". Parents who bring children and babies to bars should be found unfit.

reply to post by tsloan

Be careful what you ask for....

The last time I had my cholesterol checked (on a lark), it was 361. My blood pressure stays high, typically around 160/100. I love grease and fat in everything... would pour it on a salad if it wasn't so expensive. I eat tons of meat, including pork. Water's for washing; Mountain Dew (pure poison, admitted) is for drinking. I smoke like a chimney and used to drink like a fish.

Every doctor I have ever been to has told me I was going to die soon if I didn't change. The vast majority of those doctors are now dead, and I'm not. I have actually survived two stress-induced heart attacks without medical intervention. And no, I have no artery congestion problems, medically verified.

So much for medical science...

TheRedneck

Originally posted by tsloan
Who cares let the smokers ,smoke time will deal with them..sooner or later they will be pushing up grass blades and the next generation will get smarter and the smokers will shrink...no need to panic of fight it. It will eleminate it's own need for consumption..

Sooner or later we'll ALL be pushing up daisies, my friend - whether we smoke or not.

Personally, I think there are more serious things in this world to concern myself over, rather than sticking my beak into people's private lives and wagging a disapproving finger at them.

Originally posted by loves a conspiricy
Im sure kids breath in more poison than second hand smoke as soon as they step outside the front door.
Smoking is NOT hard to quit....i have quit several times in my life....for years at a time. Its more to do with personality....like some people cant be hypnotized.

Think of all the toxins in the air outside...all the fumes from cars, all the chemicals from industry....these are more harmful.
Even when cooking on a gas stove your releasing unburned gases into your house...all hype me thinks

EDIT: Certainly NOT grounds to have your children taken away from you.

edit on 20-2-2011 by loves a conspiricy because: (no reason given)

EDIT2: I love the way it tries to scare people....you will be more likely to become a drug addict if your parents smoke....hahaha too funny

My grandad has been smoking since the age of 14....hes 87 and NO CANCER...my nan smoked for over 50 years....NO CANCER. My great nan died at 98....smoked for 60-70 years....NO CANCER.
My parents arent drug addicts....neither am i

edit on 20-2-2011 by loves a conspiricy because: (no reason given)

I agree, I had an uncle who passed away, he smoked 2 packs a day for 40+ years and when they did the autopsy they said his lungs were as pink and healthy as a little kids. I guess a lot of it may be genetics?


Deebo

Here are some examples of how bad of a parent I am.

My son is 14 months old.

He says, "Please" and "Thank you." He sits when and where I tell him to. He knows what moving forward, backward, LEFT, AND RIGHT means. He stops whining when told "Stop whining." He, in fact, stops doing whatever he is doing that we say, "STOP" immediately. He gives us hugs and kisses all day, of his own accord. He PREDICTS the next pages in books we read to him. He knows the words and sounds (although he is slightly confused on color, but that is because we haven't taken the steps to properly identify). He HITS INDIVIDUAL KEYBOARDS NOTES -- IN TIME. He puts his toys back in his toy bag BY HIMSELF when told to do so. He high fives everybody all the time, he laughs at everything, and he (usually) waits patiently for his food and does not beg for yours. He knows the difference between roughhousing and actual hitting and knows why one is okay and the other is wrong. He PUTS HIS DIRTY CLOTHES INTO THE HAMPER. He sits on his potty (although, he still hasn't mastered the not crapping his pants part.) He loves learning. He asks what the word for EVERYTHING is and then repeats the words frequently and actually improves his speech daily, becoming more aware and fluent every morning. He asks for music to be played by saying, "Muse?!" He asks for his diaper to be changed by saying, "Uh oh! Poop." and comes to us. He runs wicked fast around the room, doesn't cry when he falls but only says, "uh oh!" and gets back up and goes back at it. He knows how to open doors but cannot reach and he won't be allowed to until he is much older anyway. He brushes HIS OWN TEETH (we put the flouride-free toothpaste on his brush for him -- and he spits into the sink!) He -usually- does not climb, but he likes to climb into his walker (which is obsolete now). He does pull ups while in his play pen... Pull ups people. He learns new sounds and imitates them immediately. He imitates body language immediately. When told that something he did is bad, he only does it one more time to make sure that what he was told is true. We discipline him, and then he remembers what is bad and only does it IF he feels like being truly defiant. And when he is truly defiant, he already knows to go to his time out spot, sit there, and shut up! He even automatically puts his hands on his knees and waits until I say, "Are you ready now? Are you relaxed?" He shakes his head up and down and says, "Aye! Aye!" And then I say, "Are you sure?" And he bows his head a couple more times and then I say, "Okay, go, go go!" And he runs around saying, "Go go go!" and finds a new mission or adventure.

Such as... playing with his doggy toys, duck toys, car toys, he sometimes uses his vacuum toy (lol - not my choice) and puts A, B, C, D letter shapes into their respective valves inside his toy barn and opens the barn door, pulls them out, and does the same thing... while empirically trying to put them in other slots and then coming to the conclusion that matter will not bend to his will all the time.

When you meet my son, he doesn't just stare at you and be shy. No... he looks you up and down. Your hair, your eyes, your nose, your facial hair/ lack thereof, your shirt, your pants, your shoes... and he points out things about you after watching your body language and speech for a bit. People who act overly childish with him, he literally rejects. The people who say, "But animals and kids love me..?" He usually is literally afraid of those people. The people who say, "Ah no, kids don't usually like me. it's okay.." he walks over to them and actually TOUCHES their pants, pulls on their pants, holds his arms up to be held, plays with their name tags and tries to pretend say what is written on them, waves violently, and even sometimes points and laughs at funny things about people... these are people who are usually strangers to him.

I could keep going - but all this, at 14 months. He is a 1 year old.

And I smoke 5-7 cigarettes a day, outside where he is never near me.

I am sure he smells something different about me than momma in that way, but I also know that he identifies with that smell.

He may end up making a connection with that smell way later in life and decide he likes it. That is his choice. Until then, he is not allowed to smoke ever, at all, in any way shape or form until he is responsible for himself. But then that is on him.

And he knows that whatever HE does is his responsibility and only his. Whenever he judges us for being stern with him about things, we make sure he is told, "These are the consequences to this action. If you choose to do this action, this is what the result is. This is on you."

Because of this, he usually makes the decision to be happy and respectful, because he knows the result is that we are overjoyed to be around him and enjoy his wonderful imagination.

The End - Adventures of Baby and His Daddy Who Happens to Smoke.

After re-reading this post, I feel I left so much out, I love my son so much, he is way more brilliant than I can put into words here. It would bore a lot of people I bet. I think the thing that bothers me the most is that people actually become jealous that my son acts focused and humane and then they want to accuse us, the parents, of doing something wrong.

At which point my only response is , "Aauuugh?"

reply to post by KAOStheory


9 out of 10 cases of lung cancer are caused by smoking. Smoking rates are generally decreasing in developed world, and lung cancer incidences follow this decline, nicely illustrating the correlation:

reply to post by JaxonRoberts


First of all let me state that all your FACTS about smoking is not 100% true. 2nd of off maybe you could not do this but others can. i did never smoke when my kids was in the room. as a matter of fact we had this house built and even me and my wife as a smoker we dont allow our selfs to smoke in the house or anyone. i built a little room to go outside to smoke. but we still smoke. people like you are a complete idiots who dont look at anything but what they want. according to your better then everybody speech. your kids should have been took away from you long time ago and put in foster care. you going to sit there and tell me next that you would have had a better life with out your parents? (maybe you yes) being raised in a system like we have today? btw i drink also not that much but when i do i go out or wait for my kids to go spend the night someplace my son turned 17 before he even knew i drank. and your LIES about gateway drug. is SICK. you are what we call a blind sheep. anymore today you can connect and show relations about 2 complete different things had originally had no relationship to each other. its like me showing you a glass then telling you, you can not drink out of this glass, its a gateway to drinking. If you drink out of this glass u should have your kids took away. AND guess what i have a 20 year old daughter who does not smoke. put that in your little fact book. my son turns 18 this month who does not smoke. and yes i do believe them not just cuz they are saying what i want to hear. But i know this is FACT. one thing about being honest with your kids and showing them to look out for people like you. is the fact i have built a trust with my kids. my kids have told me what types of drugs they have experiment with and when they have used them last and what they liked about it and what they did not like about it. and then we talked about it. and my kids know at what points in life i have did drugs and when. so they know i can relate. wile your teaching your kids so called facts on lies i teach my kids the truth. and that will turn on you. when your kids find out your so called facts are lies they will not trust one word out of your mouth from that point on. maybe you and your parents is ok with bringing more sheep. but i teach my kids how to exorcise there rights. and to stand up for what they believe in. you know like freedoms and rights? something you have forgot about. or is it something about us having that a right you just want to take away? i feel sorry for your kids man. you need to go live in some 3rd world country. where the government tells you how to place your feet when you walk. getting really sick of the sheep anymore....
10 out of 10 car crashes are caused from people getting into the driver seat. so dont get into a car
10 out of 10 alcoholics say they have drank out of a glass before. not allowed to drink from glass
the list can go on....

I agree with everything you said except that parents should be considered unfit. This seems drastic. I could never imagine being taken away from my parents when I was a child because my mom smoked. To say that my parents were unfit because of this is to say that someone out there would have been better parents for me. I wholeheartedly disagree with this.

When you say "unfit" you literally mean that they should not have their children in their care and should have them taken away and placed under the care of somebody who is "fit". I'm shocked that anyone could have this mentality.

Originally posted by tom goose
there is a difference between a parent that smokes and a parent that smokes in the house. We have a smoking table outside and only go there when child is busy. I enjoy a cigarette and cup of coffee, but obviously choking your child out with smoke is stupid

My parents smoked with me in the car, at the table, in fact if you remember the smoking laws 20 years ago, we were all subject to second hand smoke on buses in malls, on planes, in theaters... you name it, i guess anybody alive back then should have lung cancer by now so we are ALL going to die now...

Yes now were the only country thats not aloud to smoke in a park... freedom and all that I suppose. What a #ing joke.

Ex smokers and their uppity bull# are worse than non smokers.

as the son of a mother that smokes i completely disagree with you. my mother smokes outside and never around me or my siblings.