a question for smokers...

[Last Hugh Alive]

"I smoke cigarettes
He clicks his pen
You bite your nails
We all die in the end"

Forget where I heard that but it rings in my head every time I encounter the smoking topic.

So I'm 22 and been a light smoker since 17 or 18. I follow daily routines so I know I smoke 3-5 cigarettes a day, that's how it's always been and any more than that and I feel guilty, like I've pigged out on way too much food.

At home I'll smoke one every 3-4 hours because I want a reason to stand outside and take a break from games, or if I'm particularly tense I'll go outside with headphones and blow smoke into the wind. Even if you can factually prove to me smoking doesn't actually relieve stress as people are suggesting, this has always been a calming, solitary activity for me.

Outdoors or at work I do smoke more often but not to impress anyone, I'm already not that appealing to begin with. It's more about killing the awkwardness of being out in the open. I personally don't like having my head down playing with my phone outdoors or around others (another irritating habit people generally have and one I find rather rude and inconsiderate, but that's not what we're talking about right?) and having a brief cigarette is just a useful way of scanning my surroundings while doing something with my hands. A cigarette just feels extra rewarding after completing hours of work too.

Also I'm probably in the minority here but I roll my own cigarettes. Those manufactured cigarettes in my experience are overpriced for the amount you get, how quickly they burn through and just taste like chemical crap.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

The only thing that annoys me about smokers, are those that take "extra breaks" at work, everyone gets the same amount of breaks in my country, but some people have to pop out for ten mins every hour or so. Gets frustrating when it gets busy and they're outside not helping in the slightest.

As for people in general, as long as you're not affecting anyone else when you smoke, go nuts I guess.

 

[Ihateregistering1]

Because they like murdering other people and getting away with it.

Giving other people terminal cancer, is the only legal way to kill them.

Seriously you know the government/society is fucked up when a drug that harms and even kills other people other than the user is legal, and yet all the drugs that only harm the user are illegal.

Shit guys, he's onto us! Quick, get the pipes. THE PIPES!

Seriously, nearly everything will give you cancer if the papers are to believed. And smoking, unlike smack, won't make me go on a mugging rampage or rob a house to afford more. This whole "Tobaco is as bad as other drugs" thing needs to stop, it trivialises just how horrifying Class A drugs are.

As for the "Passive smoke is eeeeeevil" thing, It's now illegal for us to smoke inside any enclosed space where there are people except for our homes, which is really the only way you could possibly get cancer from passive smoking alone.

So yeah, your'e argument sounds juvinile. We are not trying to kill you. We just like how awesome we look smoking. Or something

What about the millions of parents who smoke while pregnant/carrying their child/walking their child/non-fucking stop?

They're shitty parents.

Seriously, I think 'millions' might be a little extreme, but what about mothers who drink while pregnant? Or parents who leave their kids at home unsupervised when they are very young? Parents who leave household cleaners unsecured around toddlers? Parents who leave their children in the bathtub to go answer the phone?

There's about 10,000 ways one can be a shitty parent, smoking around your kid is just another way.

 

[SinisterGehe]

Inb4 it relieves stress.

Smoking doesn't relieve stress, it relieves the withdrawal symptoms of not smoking.

That's a very strange way to phrase it.

Eating doesn't relieve hunger, it relieves the withdrawal symptoms of not eating.

That is kinda what it does. Liver can sustain human with enough sugar and fast burning fat for up to 3 days. (Assuming it is healthy) Then if there has been no food for 2 days human starts to burn fat cells for food, then as the very last it starts to burn muscle tissue (Which ironically is turns into toxic chemicals that destroy your kidneys)

Human can live quite long without or with VERY little food. Also so people lack the cells that generate the chemical that makes you feel hunger or full.

So yeah... Food doesn't help with withdrawal of eating.
If you been starving for long, starting to eat all the sudden good portions can be bad for your gut.

Also only withdrawal there is from eating is psychological. Human body compensates for not eating when you sleep.

 

[TehCookie]

I will go with the time honoured answer that non-smokers refuse to accept: I enjoy it.

What do you enjoy about it? The smell? The smoke going into your lungs? That feeling of suffocation that makes you lightheaded?

I'm not sure what you're asking here. Are you accusing him of lying? Because unless every smoker I know is part of some sort of conspiracy, some people really do enjoy smoking!

Just because you don't enjoy something, doesn't mean that no one does.

No, I asked him to elaborate on his answer. Going because I like it is a shallow answer. Going I like it because this reason gives a better understanding.

Where did you get the idea I was accusing him of lying? People enjoy things for different reasons. Just because two people are smokers doesn't mean they like it for the same reasons. I've met smokers who hate how it smells but enjoy the high. He likes the smell and smoke. Some people think it looks cool. Only saying that you enjoy it is too broad of an answer.

 

[romxxii]

you have all heard the warnings, you've seen the labels and you all know the potential fatal risks of smoking.

So why do you continue?

Because it's really hard to quit. The habit-forming hand-to-mouth action, combined with the addictive elements of nicotine, make it difficult to give up cold turkey. My dad went through serious withdrawal symptoms for two weeks when he did. I didn't have the same amount of willpower, so I tricked my body with e-cigarettes and vaporizers. It kinda worked, but I developed chronic respiratory issues throughout my vaping days. Now smoke (and vape) free for more than 6 months now, and I still get the occasional craving for a puff or two. I just keep telling myself that once I start again, it'll be even harder to quit.

 

[Hazy]

I smoke because I don't know what else to do with my hands

"I figured out what to do when I was in my high school production of Grease: I kept them in my pockets. I took them out only to hand jive."

 

[Iklwa]

I enjoy it. To me, it tastes good, it feels good, and it helps keep the memories of a certain godforsaken desert wasteland at bay.

 

[Dascylus]

Passive-Aggressive suicide...

And because I need something to do while waiting for unreliable busses...

It's a great way to show how great the sex was...

It's a "get out of conversation" clause when I meet uppity people who patronisingly ask questions like this and clearly don't understand that it is as simple as enjoyment.
"Excuse me, I just have to step outside for a smoke" and the snooty fuckers will rarely follow.

Oh and if you're all concerned about our health then think about this... For every 10 smokers here who have taken the time to answer at least 3 of them finished their response then thought to themselves "that reminds me, time for a smoke".
Think how many lives you have shortened by the mere act of a polite question.

Speaking of which... See you in 10 minutes.

 

[Jenvas1306]

My father is a smoker, he used to be a heavy chain smoker, even when I was a small child. I grew up in that blueish smoke and couldnt really smell it until my parents got divorced. My father has MS, diabetes and had two strokes and yet he still smokes, even its less than in the past.
Looking at how most smokers hurry to get their dosis, standing in the cold if necessary, they do not look like they enjoy it, it looks more like they must do it.
If you wanted enjoyment you wouldnt smoke that cheap crap, you might go for a cigar or a cigarillo for actual flavor besides the smoke. we have shisha bars around here and I find that the smoke from those is way less offending and I actually understamd how someone can enjoy that easily.
But normal cigaretts seem like the lowest of the addictions, minmal gain and the only reason to do it seems to stay addicted.
I dont smoke, and dont drink. I just dont like it. drunken folks are often violent idiots and id prefer to have them high on MJ.
It has happened more than one that I had to give up my seat in a b us, tram or train b ecause someone was sitting close to me who just bathed themselves in smoke and that cloud was taking my breath.
I find smoking disgusting on so many levels... but if you do it and have the decency to be a little considered about the people around you, then I dont mind.

 

[MrHide-Patten]

you have all heard the warnings, you've seen the labels and you all know the potential fatal risks of smoking.

So why do you continue?

Because it's addictive as fuck. I tried giving up caffeine to the extent I was ingesting it and I wanted to punch a baby by day 2.

Personally I'd be be more interested in asking how people get into it, you know considering all the crap that's associated with the stuff. But as Dylan Moran once said; "I have little sympathy for people who get messed up by drugs. You'd think that by now they'd have heard something bad about it."

 

[DeepReaver]

First i will start off by saying i am not a heavy smoker, i smoke a pipe to help relax and trust me when i say it does really help one relax. There is nothing better than sitting outside on a nice autumn day with a glass of apple juice, smoking a pipe and reading a good book. Also i feel for those who think 'i am not a heavy smoker' means i still smoke quite frequently due to addiction i should elaborate. I smoke once a month at most, it is a reward to myself, a relaxing afternoon.

 

[Unsilenced]

you have all heard the warnings, you've seen the labels and you all know the potential fatal risks of smoking.

So why do you continue?

Because it's addictive as fuck. I tried giving up caffeine to the extent I was ingesting it and I wanted to punch a baby by day 2.

Personally I'd be be more interested in asking how people get into it, you know considering all the crap that's associated with the stuff. But as Dylan Moran once said; "I have little sympathy for people who get messed up by drugs. You'd think that by now they'd have heard something bad about it."

I got offered cigarettes a few times at parties. Decided I liked it and started doing it on my own. It's been an off and on sort of thing for me though. I only smoke once or twice a day, so I doubt I'd be considered typical in that regard.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

I smoke a pack a day. I started because it is enjoyable, I continue because I am addicted and don't care much about living to be old.

 

[Unsilenced]

I smoke a pack a day. I started because it is enjoyable, I continue because I am addicted and don't care much about living to be old.

But what about the money? I swear I could never smoke that much. My wallet would cry.

 

[lunavixen]

I'm not a smoker but my parents are, part of it is:
Addiction to nicotine
People enjoy it
It's helps some relax
For others, it's just habit

The list goes on.

Everyone has some sort of vice, even if they don't call it that.

 

[Murais]

I smoke a pipe. It's classy as all get out, it tastes great, it smells great, and it's an awesome conversation starter.

Also, I really like the feeling of lounging and having a smoke/blowing smoke rings. Makes me feel relaxed.