Cigarette Smoking and Social Change

Its estimated that one billion people smoke cigarettes worldwide.

Every day you see a cigarette butt in the street, on the sidewalk, in your front yard or outside your apartment complex. Everyday people put pointless smoke into their lungs, smoke which they know will kill them. Its been proven and yet, these people do not care for themselves and continue to smoke.

I can understand why people smoke meth and crack and marijuana. But cigarettes? You don't even get high from it. Just back to normal, back to baseline.

My friend paid 8 bucks for a pack of cigarettes the other day. Thats two gallons of gas.

Smokers dont respect themselves, their environment and often times, not even the people around them.

My point isn't to moralize about smoking cigarettes. You can do whatever you want as long as it isnt hurting anyone.

My point is: How can we possibly save the world when so many people don't even care about themselves? So many people are purposely killing themselves. Why? When so many people throw their cigarette butts, their BURNING GARBAGE, out a car window how can we reverse the toxic effects of corporate pollution? Which is a much more complex problem.

Change starts with you. If you smoke, how can you possibly respect and love yourself? If you don't respect yourself how can you respect the planet and the 7 billion other people on it?

Cigarettes breed apathy. Are the billion apathetic cigarette smokers holding us back from true revolution?

One word, addiction, once you start it is incredibly hard to stop and judging by your post you don't really seem to understand that.

I agree with you about the idea of change has to start from oneself. I support people who are trying to quit this bad habit. But I don't support people who make excuses over it.

Want to know something. 9 of 10 males who suffer impotence were smokers. It clogs your arteries and so it's impossible to get blood flowing orderly in your system. That's why men don't have working manhoods if they excessively smoke. Sorry I just had to point it out.

But it's your choice in what you want to do as long as your not hurting anyone by it.

A car puts out more deadly fumes in one minute than a whole pack of cigarettes. Cigarettes draw attention because it's more stinky and noticeable, yet here we have petrol-based car engines spewing out deadly carcinogenic gasses constantly. Who is raging over that? As far as health goes, people are making terrible, deadly decisions for themselves that impact their health constantly. Why do you want to micro-manage people's lives? Are you an adult who can make decisions for yourself about where you choose to be? I see more fast food refuse and tin cans than I do cigarette butts. Maybe that's because cigarette butts are small and deteriorate faster than tin cans, bags, cups, etc.

I have lost at least one family member to lung cancer from smoking, so it's not like I have no personal connection to that. But I have lost more family members, who did not smoke at all, to heart disease from poor dietary choices.

Cars are spewing literal tons of deadly, carcinogenic poisons into the air, most mainstream food is poisoned with industrial waste, chemicals in the name of "preserving" or "coloring", many of which are proven carcinogens and toxins. The pharmaceutical industry kills hundreds of thousands a year with known toxic drugs that don't save lives but make billions in profits.

Focusing on tobacco seems to me to be markedly myopic, and suggests a desire to finger point at a particular segment of the population that you can then feel you are superior to. At that point comes the admonishing and the law making, the persecution and the destruction of individual liberty.

reply to post by doctornamtab


Really??

Have you ever wondered out the one billion people, how many don't actually want to be smoking ?

Your post paints a picture of smokers that want to be smoking blowing smoke in everyone's faces and don't care at all.
I seriously doubt that's the case.
Ok maybe some smokers are like that.

There are people out that that have a far worse quality of life than you and me and maybe there one (expensive) outlet in life is to smoke.

Next time you see a smoker in the street just ask your self, are they smoking because they want to or because they have to ?

Don't get me wrong, I am not sticking up for smokers but everyone should have a choice of what they want to do with their lives.
Not be rail roaded into living a singular state.

I smoke. and if you knew anything about me, you would know just how many people Love me.
As a smoker i know its not good for me or anybody. However i Refuse to stop because i have the right to smoke,eat fatty foods,drink insane amounts of whiskey and have a good sex life. Life for me is good.

I like a little danger it keeps me on my toe's. That my friend is why i am here! to be as free as i can be, without being forced fed rubbish!.

however if i should find the need to give up smoking, i will call apon you for some advice!, as you seem to know better.

Piece...............

Originally posted by doctornamtab
Its estimated that one billion people smoke cigarettes worldwide.

Every day you see a cigarette butt in the street, on the sidewalk, in your front yard or outside your apartment complex. Everyday people put pointless ...

next time bend over and pick it up, or don't you care either?

Cigarettes don't breed apathy.



Pick up a copy of "Political Ponerology".

In it, the author cites a study which showed those who smoke cigarettes are less susceptible to the propaganda of the estate. I've chosen to get my nicotinic acid elsewhere (the vitamin b3, niacin), but it's certainly not a black and white: bad, it'll kill ya ...type of thing.

reply to post by 0001391


that was very well put so i clicked on the star thingy

and to the OP how long were you smoker for when you decide to quit?

You will be attacked in this thread over and over, because some of what you say isn't true, just because you smoke doesn't make you a bad person. But much of what you say is true. The world is full of harmful addictions, addiction to money, addiction to violence, addiction to media, addiction to power etc. And ridding ourselves of one of them can only help. You shouldn't smoke.

as a smoker I say "you know what? I don't care!"

cars polute more then sigs
even cows polute more.
How about the possible dangers of that cell phone you hold to your ear each day?
Or that microwaved food you eat?
How about fat and junk food?
How about that other zillion physical conditions you can have that have nothing to do with smoking?
How about radiation?
Acid rain?
All the stuff the industrial corps blow into the air?
Dioxine chickens?
Genetically modified food?
How about that traffic accident that's lurking behind the corner?
Drowning in the floods maybe?
Deadly violance in the streets?
Do you actually know what your doc is putting in your body with the meds he describes?
Do you really think bio-food is healthy?
Health care products that contain poison?
How about the mercury fillings in your teeth?
...

yeah... smoking is bad...
but I highly doubt that it's the sigs that gonna kill me... or you.
Or are these the excuses you don't want to hear?

My point isnt to tell people not to smoke. I dont care if you want to smoke. So please read the post before you assume I'm on some soapbox about clean lungs. I'm not.

Yes, its addicting. I"m addicted to many things as well. Its human nature. Our brains are wired for addiction.

But how can you smokers say you're ready to change the world for the better when you're unwilling to change yourself? Do most smokers even care about themselves or the world? If they did why smoke in the first place?

Originally posted by doctornamtab
But how can you smokers say you're ready to change the world for the better when you're unwilling to change yourself? Do most smokers even care about themselves or the world? If they did why smoke in the first place?

You imply smokers do nothing good for the world. Epic Fail.

Yeah, smoking is bad and can shorten your life....but imagine how dull life would be without all the things that can bring it to an end...smoking, drinking, bikes and fast women...all can be bad for ya, but they do make life worth living and don't necessarily point towards some form of self loathing.

Originally posted by Volund

Originally posted by doctornamtab
But how can you smokers say you're ready to change the world for the better when you're unwilling to change yourself? Do most smokers even care about themselves or the world? If they did why smoke in the first place?

You imply smokers do nothing good for the world. Epic Fail.

I imply nothing of the sort. I'm asking you for an explanation. So please, give one

Originally posted by doctornamtab

But how can you smokers say you're ready to change the world for the better when you're unwilling to change yourself?

Such a broad statement that it loses all meaning. Should I change the way I brush my teeth as well? Of all the endless thousands of things an individual could be doing at any one time, you choose smoking. Why?

Do most smokers even care about themselves or the world? If they did why smoke in the first place?

The reasoning is garbage. A creative mind knows that self-destruction leads to exceptional growth potentials, both for one's self and humanity as a whole.

Hello doctornamtab,

Firstly, i would like to introduce myself as a smoker, who is well aware of the risks, and someone who has seen the damage it can do first hand, with the death of my grandfather many years ago from aggresive cancer.

I myself, have smoked on and off for over 10 years, this is my choice to make, and i make it everytime i smoke.

I smoke because i enjoy it, it helps me relax after a hard days work. When i am chilling at home, i like to put my feet up and have a smoke. I am fully aware that this may cut my life short or introduce other complications, but so can many things, and i actively choose to smoke because like many other things, it's something i enjoy. People make active choices in their lives all the time, people make a choice to drive a car, to work in dangerous conditions, to eat and drink unhealthy foods, it's life, some things are good for us, some are bad, but the power of choice is what drives us to do what we do, and i will not sacrafice choice.

Something else i would like to add, is the evidence that points towards smoking being bad for you, it's not as black and white as the arguement is produced. As i introduced at the beginning of my post, my grandfather was taken from us because of cancer, the cause of which would be assumed to be smoking. While on the other hand, my other grandfather, who is 84 this year, has smoked since he was 16, and the only thing that may be considered to be wrong with him, is a painful hip due to a fall he had.

Smoking, is a choice made by the individual, in this day and age people are well aware of the risks, as with everything else, unless i am smoking in your face night and day, i'm not harming you.

Originally posted by unityemissions

Originally posted by doctornamtab

Such a broad statement that it loses all meaning. Should I change the way I brush my teeth as well? Of all the endless thousands of things an individual could be doing at any one time, you choose smoking. Why?


The reasoning is garbage. A creative mind knows that self-destruction leads to exceptional growth potentials, both for one's self and humanity as a whole.

If a person can't stop an addiction like cigarettes how can an entire people stop an addiction to oil?

Self destruction leads to self destruction. Creativity leads to growth. Creating is growth, not killing and polluting. So if I cut myself and wallow in self abuse it means I'm growing?

Besides, no one has even answered the question.

All anyone wants to talk about is why they've chosen to smoke. I dont care if you smoke.

I'll say it again.

I DONT CARE IF YOU SMOKE

But how can we change society for the better when people wont change themselves for the better?

Please answer the question and stop attacking me.

I DONT CARE IF YOU SMOKE.