Smokers have become second class citizens. Parents pull their children away and we receive those looks that kill. My own nephews pronounce to me that I am bad and educate me on the sins of cigarettes.

I've spoken about this before Cherie, but an update locally. We have the typical $1 tax for the Feds (I think its $1). We have a State tax now of $3. The City of Anchorage liked it so much that they imposed a $2 tax. This is PER PACK. My Cig's are over $8 American Dollars here in Alaska.

I have never had an illness due to smoking. I have health care and don't need State or Federal aid. The Taxes were SUPPOSED to go to education of raising a non-smoking society locally. HUMPFH!!! Haven't seen a dime spent that way. Instead it pays for local roads and projects.

Therefore I OWN THE ROAD and everybody better get out of my way

We have to smoke 50 feet from any public building. No smoking in ALL public places including bars and restaurants. (Local bars here have build outdoor smoking houses to keep people out of the cold).

I get ID'ed every time I buy. I look older than 19 I assure you. This is harrassment. One lady ID's me every day....its a power trip she has. I want to slap her every time...for heavens sake, MY BIRTHDATE HAS NOT CHANGED since yesterday!!

I have a love hate relationship with smoking. I hate the smell, I hate the addiction....but I ENJOY smoking. I like to do it.

There are no freedoms for smokers and if this kind of treatment were perpetuated on ANY other group....it would end up in the Supreme Court. I have more rights on gun ownership and possession than than I do as a smoker.

I may quit someday, but being forced out of the market justs "PEAS" () me off...and like a defiant child....I refuse to be bullied

I quit smoking 23 or so years ago, not that I was much of one to begin with, only had an occasional one and it was to mess with my now late husband who was a non-smoker. If I didn't want him "bothering" me, I lit one up, he couldn't stand the smell of smoke and it worked, kept him in another room and away from me. He was the victim of a drunk driver and died a few days after his 35th birthday.

If the smell from someone smoking bothers me, I don't say anything, I leave. I don't have to sit there and let someone blow smoke on me. My present hubby quit on Nov. 14, 2006 and it probably saved his life. and he'd go outside and smoke not wanting to bother me with it in the house....but he'd chain smoke when we were in the van going someplace...makes no sense!

When we brought the dogs home from the vet, from getting them fixed, was the last time he smoked, he went to a hypnosis seminar and for him, it worked! It was the same evening of the day the pups came home....the dogs can't stand to be around smokers....they make it real obvious!

The justification for people’s right to not have to be exposed to smoke is never-ending. Do you remember how it got started though?

68% of the population in the US smoked in the early 1960’s. When our governments (in EVERY country) started this “war against smoking”, they said it was because it was costing the health care system a lot of money. That is certainly untrue now, because of the amount of taxes that are collected from smokers. In the meantime, the number of people smoking has been reduced to about 25% - 30%. We are definitely the minority now.

The next argument used against smoking was the dangers of second hand smoke, especially for our “children of the world”. I don’t believe most of that, but I am still respectful of the perception and don’t smoke in indoor areas where children frequent. I smoke in my own car with my own children occasionally, but unless I am going a long distance, I don’t smoke with other people’s children in there. I have never had a parent say that their child could not take a trip or holiday with me because I smoke though.

The recent argument, now that we are all smoking outside or in our personal confined spaces (where non-smokers do not have to frequent), is ridiculous and prejudiced. This is no longer about “health issues”, as clearly people can not be DAMAGED or HARMED by smoking that occurs in wide open air in such places as a park or beach. The complaint now is that people don’t like the smell.

There are plenty of smells I don’t like, or am allergic to, but I don’t wave my hand in front of my face, nor would I have ever endorsed a law that persecutes people for smelling offensive or because of my personal allergies to their smell. Where is this level of intolerance leading to? Are we going to start banishing people to their homes because of bad breath, body odor, ethnic food smells oozing from their pours, perfumes, fabric softeners, etc? Shall we start being as rude and condescending to less then perfect non-smoking “stinkers” as we are to smokers?

Now that the gears are in full motion to banish smoking virtually everywhere, and it is deemed socially unacceptable in most environments . . . the government and health associations are changing their focus. The talk now is starting to focus more on the number one health cost in the US which is OBESITY . . .

While MOST people with an obesity problem do not have it because of genetics or a thyroid problem (some do, but not the majority), MOST people with a smoking habit do so because they are addicted. Addictive predisposition is also genetic.

Smokers have been prejudiced for a long time, including often paying double the healthcare premiums. We also pay for our health care costs, as well as the cost of many non-smokers, due to amount that is paid on taxes for cigarettes. We ARE paying for the right to smoke. Obese people are not currently paying for their right to be unhealthy.

People have to eat, but not to the point of "unfit obesity”. They can control their behavior just as easily as smokers can control theirs. Even if they do have a genetic problem, there are ways to stay reasonably fit and healthy, by exercising, etc. Look at those people on The Biggest Loser. Some of them are still over 200 lbs by the end of the show (obese, by most standards) . . . but they are fit and can hike up a mountain or climb a retaining wall. Fitness, not fatness, is the issue . . . and anyone can choose to be that way, except maybe those who are disabled, like yourself.

I am disabled too (not from cigarettes, from MS), and I can’t walk 2 blocks to have a cigarette every time I want one OUTSIDE, where it is causing no harm to anyone. I pay higher insurance premiums, and am shunned from society for my lifestyle choice. What about when we start making the obese people walk 2 blocks to eat their french fries and burgers, because that is “repulsive” behavior and an unhealthy example for our kids? Most of them have no excuse for their habits either.

Obese people cost our health care system more money, so should they be paying double premiums. They also cost employers more money to have on staff, because they are usually unhealthy in other ways too (lacking vitamins, sick/hurt more often, etc.). Quite often, due to their weight, they are more prone to accidents and they are not as physically capable as fit people. Is it fair to discriminate against them because of that?

Be careful what you wish for, and welcome to our world, obese, perfumed, laundry-sheet users . . . etc!

None of us are perfect, so why not let people be? The war on smoking/non-smoking is two-sided, and there will be a fight by smokers to retain the rights they pay for. That is where I'm headed, I assure you. I am a very tolerant person of others, so long as they are tolerant of my imperfections too. If I am forced out of wide open air space to smoke, or have to quit because of the laws, I will start getting in other people’s faces about their unhealthy, offensive, and/or “bad example” behaviour.

And, rest assured, once the government is done with smokers, they will be moving onto obesity.

Cherie

Take it easy on the chubby people, Cherie. . You see that chubby little Grandma in my Avatar. I earned every pound and didn't have to overeat to get them.

I'm not morbidly obese, and I actually feel healthier than I did when I was skinny..(my formar Avatar...LOL)

I know you don't mean us, who are slightly overweight..... or too short, whichever fits. But we are very touchy, so back off, ya little twitt.

SALLY SAID: "I know you don't mean us, who are slightly overweight..... or too short, whichever fits. But we are very touchy, so back off, ya little twitt."

I was "obese" for a few years too.

I really don't mean to single out anybody, or any group of people. It just happens to be the obesity is the number one health cost in the US . . . so it's easy to pick that group to make an example of.

Some people are following along like sheep on this smoking issue, because they believe everything thing they are told, they feel smokers can do something about their bad habit, and/or they feel justified (cause smoking STINKS!). THIS smoking issue is not their problem to contend with, so these prejudicial laws are really of no consequence to them . . . at the moment.

I am just trying to make a point . . . It's a sad commentary on our cultural mindset, when the government starts pitting people against each other, like what's happened with smokers/non-smokers. When the tables turn though, and the government starts honing in on the costs associated to other unhealthy habits, then many people will start to feel what it is like to be in the hot seat, like smokers have been for years.

I really didn't think it would ever to the point that smoking wouldn't be permitted OUTSIDE, just as obese people probably don't YET know what they are headed for either. They ARE the next target of the government (and perhaps society).

Yes, it's definitely rude and prejudicial to single people or groups of do-badders out.

Cherie

I am not a smoker but I do agree with you. I think common sense should be used when smoking like not smoking while in the car with children. But I think these types of bans are crazy.

I think alcohol, drunk driving, is a MUCH bigger problem. Much more dangerous than smoking when some one is drunk and driving...or who is drunk and beating his wife and children. I have two sisters who are married to men with alcohol problems.

Hey Cherie, I guess you don't need me. You are doing much better over here, lol.

Dang girl, I am so jealous. I only wish I could do it this way, tried many times but wasn't ever successful. Easier for me just to quit, sigh.

Awww, Jules, it wasn't easy believe me. Jim and I had to be very disciplined. For us it all boiled down to do you want to quit completely and be miserable or be able to at least smoke something, if only four a day? Someday we plan to quit completely, just not right now. Trust me, four is great when I look at the alternative. It makes me appreciate my cigs so much more! haha

Some say we're in denial and just scared and blah blah blah. Maybe. So what if we are? lol

Wow Cherie tell us how you really feel! You go girl!!! LOL!!!

I totally agree. The thing with smoking is that it CAN cause cancer, but so can pesticides, food and the air we breath. How many old farts have you seen smoking like a chiminey? George Burns comes to mind. He didn't get cancer. I believe in the theory that people are predisposed to cancers, others heart disease, etc. Sure, smokes MAY contribute...but are all people going to quit eating and breathing the air to avoid cancer? I don't think so

Your arugument gets me thinking on the obese issue. Sure, sure...some people have a miswired gene that makes them fat. But as you pointed out, The Biggest Loser has PROVEN beyond doubt, that all, young and old, can lose the weight. It's about WHAT we choose to eat and how much. You can't consume 5000 calories a day and then wonder why you are fat, why you BECOME Diabetic (Study in Austrailia found when weight was lost, Diabetes went into remission) Why you need knee replacements....oh....the list goes on from obesity.

Within my Health Insurance Carrier (Union/IBEW) we had a big fight a few years ago regarding the Gastric Bypass surgery (HELLO...CUTTING YOUR STOMACH OUT!!) Okay, I know its needed for some...but within our Union it became the goal of many to get this done. Our Insurance covered it for years. After the surgeries, many lost most of the weight, some lost and regained....90% ended up with post-surgery complications that will follow them the rest of their lives....costing millions to those within our plan.

At one point this surgery was so 'IN' that women who could not meet the minimum qualifications (i.e. not fat enough) literally went on eating binges to GAIN the weight to hit the majic number...They got their wish

About 18 months ago, our carrier dropped ALL Gastric Bypass unless it was life or death. Further, anyone choosing to do it anyway would not be covered for the life long complications that were inevitable. These 'victims' claim we owe it to them to take care of them....the majority stands in union and says too bad so sad.

I gained 20 lbs this winter. I ate my way to it. It's not the drugs I take (I've already researched it) its the fact that I like chocolate, milkshakes and Carbs in mass during the winter. It's my fault, and I can control it. The smokes? I chose to smoke at a young age and I PAY for the right to smoke! In my house, in my truck, outside at work.....If folks don't like it...leave my space! (Note: I am a very considerate smoker, I'm venting here)

To avoid cancer, I'll quit smoking, quit eating, quit breathing the air and stop using chemicals around the house. For extra good measure, I'll never let the sun touch my body...by eliminating the potential hazards...I should be covered