Blowing off steam <smokers rant>

Ok, let me start off by saying I understand smoking is bad for me. I get it! I also understand that there are alot of people out there, who don't want to be around it. No problem. I do everything i can to make sure my cig smoke does not affect others. I don't smoke around my daughter. I don't smoke in my car if there is a non-smoker with me. Hell I go as far as to not smoke in clubs/bars casue I know it's going to thick with smoke soon enough. But if one more comes up to me and tells me how bad it is, I'm going to scream!!

Let me explain: I was OUTSIDE of out local mall having a smoke. Now there are no "smoking areas" outside the mall. So I was standing by the ash tray, so as not to make a mess of the ground. This comes up to me from about 20 yards away, and asks me to put out my smoke casue it's "bothering him". Now normaly I would have, but he was 20 yards away, and stadning up wind from me!!! The smoke was not even traveling in his direction!
Now i wanted to tell him to off, but I refrained, and simply reminded him that while it may be "bothering him" it's killing me.

Sorry for all the remarks, but I had to vent about that. Smokers understand that cig's are not good for us. It's cramed down our throughts every day. If the 2nd hand smoke is indeed bothering you; i.e. it's hitting you in the face; then ok. Most respectful smokers will move to another location, or put it out. But if your x amount of yards away, and UP WIND from us, don't be "that gut" please......again sorry for the rant.

you did well there, i would of been less refrained

lol i don't smoke, but i would probably have gone crazy if that guy acted like that towards me

I admire you for respecting the non-smokers though, the majority of my friends that smoke just blow it in my face absentmindedly.... nevermind eh.

rave: i wanted to be less refrained, but what would that have solved? other than getting my blood presure up

anthrax: i'd spill a drink in their lap the next time they did that.....absentmindedly of course

i'm not saying i would beat them round the head with the nearest heavy object i would just kindly point out that they should *@&K OFF

i did, in a pollite way. trust me the look on this guys face when i reminded him of the obvious, was worth staying calm. it turns out when you point out facts to dumb people, they don't what to do

I'm also generally a considerate smoker - not blowin it nr people, around kids etc etc, and I'd have got [censored] narked if someone had a go when I was goin out of my way to be considerate.

That kind of attitude really bothers me with other people. Now I personally dont smoke, never touched one, but I really dont mind it. There was no good reason for it to bother him, idiot! And you were cleary respectng the people around you.
Its the press that have made it bad, people will belive anything these days. Smoking doesnt purely cause anything, especially passive smoking. So many articals say that passive smoking will cause more of this and that, but its all al load of none of its true!
The way it makes people treat someone so differently in a negative way really depresses me. Damned general public! Remember the 90's? I miss it so much!

Ok rant over!

Man, I totally agree! I get so mad when people are griping at me about smoking! Its my choice to kill myself, so leave me alone about it. I dont smoke around my daughter and people who don't smoke, but gawd! I get preached at everyday about by my mom's boyfriend, so I dont need other people doing it too.

glad to see that i'm not alone in thinking people like this guy are total 's.

and kim, you shouldn't smoke you're to young

"the majority of my friends that smoke just blow it in my face absentmindedly"

Get a majority of new friends

I've never been a cigarette smoker and I can't understand these people who feel the need to rant at smokers. Everyone is informed these days, those who smoke whether they like it or want to quit knows what they're doing and should be left to it when they're considerate smokers.

And don't get me started on pubs and no smoking in public laws, oh well too late I've started now. If you want a job working somewhere that does involve smoke go work in a nice electronics factory or outside or with children or something. Don't get a job where people go to smoke and dont try to change the law cuz a few loud voices think it's their way or no way, which in this case is the same way. I mean if I hated working somewhere cuz I thought it might be detrimental to my health I'd go work somewhere else!

Folks have been smoking in public/bars since almost time irrelevant. I see no harm in having no smoking pubs as well as smoking pubs then everyone is happy but oh no, we'll change the law so only some people are happy when they're trying to wind down in the only fasion some of them know how.

[/rant] I'm with ya str8jakit

The initial rant seems justified- sounds like the guy was out-of-order.

One look at the post though, and I got the feeling that the thread was going to slip inextricably into less-justified compliants

(enter Dunc )

You say if people don't want to inhale smoke, they should not get jobs in pubs.

Problems with that-

1. jobs are scarce- people on benefit may be compelled to work in a pub (or get no benefits)

2. by your own logic (that those who don't like smoke should find a job where there is no smoke) could it not be argued that simialrly, those who object to a culture in which smoking is not acceptable in pubs, instead of making a fuss, should go and live in one of the many cultures where smoking in pubs is still acceptable

Hello Dave Sorry I thought I was in chat where I could rant a little, not discussion where it was open debate But anyway....

1) I find it hard to beleive that in this country there are a sufficient quantity of locations where the only jobs available for entire communities must invovle pubwork/similar environments that are subject to passive cigarrette smoking to justify nationwide cultural change.

Certainly not since the end of the coal era.

2) No, I don't think it could be argued such with my logic. Why should those who engage in current acitivities such as smoking be forced by law to change their lifestyle to appease an new minority?

My opinion is that it is a personal choice and the change of current trends shouldn't force current inhabitants to leave for other shores should a loud minority voice their opinions and I stongly beleive that CHOICE should be available, ie the equal promotion of smoking and non smoking pubs. If it truly was the majority who championed non smoking pubs as a cultural preference then it would settle itself as an issue, if the majority (as I personally suspect don't really mind smoking in public areas such as pubs and some eateries, while being fully aware of the consequences be they proven direct smoking or highly debated passive smoking consequences) chose smoking or both then we would live in a much happier society.

I don't have a problem with smokers, as I'm a smoker myself. I've never had an experience like yours Str8Jakit. I don't often get lectures from friends because most of my friends are smokers too.

I do have the odd 'Don't you know smoking kills?' which gets annoying. I've also had mates come up and ask for a draw and when I give it to them they've put it out.

I'm always careful who I smoke in front of, like I don't smoke in front of anyone who I know will be offended etc.

As of March this year, smoking is going to be banned in all public places here. Which is going to make smoking a lot harder. I know a lot of social smokers, so they will most likely quit. People will start voicing their opinion on it more once they see smokers in public, prices of cigarettes will probably go up too.

They can't make it illegal, but they can make it bloody hard to be a smoker!

Gah!

Long, well thought out posts in a chat thread!

S'all backwards!

I can't deal with this!



Str8Jakit: Good on yer for not spazzing out... You came away the better person (despite the fact you were filling your lungs with vile black gunk )

props to OWD, a year or two ago i read a number of posts by you about smoking and although i've never smoked your posts made me feel sorry for people who try to defend their addiction. after all, it is the nature of addiction to deny, shrug off, laugh, and basically do all that is illogical to convince themselves that there is nothing wrong with what they are doing.

i dont tell people 'smoking is bad' anymore, i just feel inexplicitably sad for them

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