a question for smokers...

[Murais]

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.

Hey, do you mind if we be friends forever? Because yes to all of this.

(Though I often substitute the apple juice for scotch. Both are good, though.)

 

[DeepReaver]

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. Makes me feel relaxed.

Ah Ha it is good to have a fellow fan of the pipe.

Hey, do you mind if we be friends forever? Because yes to all of this.

(Though I often substitute the apple juice for scotch. Both are good, though.)

Yes this sound like a great plan, we will sir it up.

 

[Bara_no_Hime]

Saying false equivalence doesn't make it a false equivalence. You have to explain why it is a false equivalence.

No, being a false equivalency makes it so.

You aren't addicted to food - it is required for your survival. Food does not have "withdraw symptoms" - hunger is an entirely different biological function and in no way associated with addiction or withdraw. They are entirely dissimilar from a biological perspective, which is what we're talking about here.

Thus it is a false equivalency to say that hunger ~ withdraw, which you did, which started this whole thing.

Note: That ~ is supposed to be one of those wavy equals signs that means equivalent rather than equals.

Edit: Oh, almost forgot.

OT: Nicotine kinda smells nice. Well, before it gets smoked anyway. I used to think cigarette smoke smelled sexy, but that was mostly due to positive association (my first lover smoked) rather than the actual smell being good.

Note2: I do not smoke, but I have had several friends who did. I say did because I think all of them have since quit (or gone electric).

 

[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.

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

Cigarettes are my biggest expense other than necessities, but beyond tobacco and one other smoking hobby I don't care to do many things requiring money, so the cost doesn't bother me.

I would have about $40 extra a week without cigarettes, but I generally would rather have the 140 cigarettes.

 

[Jaythulhu]

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

You could masturbate

And how would one explain that to the boss? "I'm just going to nip out the back for a quick wank"?

As someone who's smoked since early teens (early 90s, back when it was still cool), I can say that I still smoke for 3 main reasons:

1) I enjoy it.

2) After the latest batch of arsebandit fucksmear customers at work, the relaxing effect of the nicotine is a gawd-send.

3) I enjoy it. I may have already mentioned that, but since it's such an important point I think it's worth mentioning twice.

That said, I certainly wouldn't encourage people to start, just because in Australia it's fucking retardedly expensive (tax, tax, tax, tax, tax and more tax. in fact, the government ups the tax whenever it thinks it needs more money to give to rich people and the scumbag lobbyists they employ). It's cheaper to smoke half an ounce of weed a week than it is to smoke a pack of cigs a day for a week.

 

[Tallim]

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

Do that many people really refuse to accept that answer? I am a non-smoker, aside from the very rare cigar. And that answer seems perfectly valid to me. It's the same reason I drink pop, eat junk food etc.

Most people don't really care as long as you aren't an ass about it. It's the more "militant" anti-smokers that seem to have a major issue with it. I used to live in a place where there were a lot of people like that so I used to get asked questions about smoking a lot.

 

[MetalMagpie]

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.

I think it was just that you seemed to have quite a negative tone. Sort of like the way some people say to me "What is it you actually like about going to the gym? Getting all hot and sweaty? Running on a treadmill for hours?"

Sorry if I read that wrong. It's hard sometimes without having someone's expression or tone of voice.

 

[Whispering Cynic]

The only thing I smoke is the occasional cigar (we are talking one cigar per month at most) and the reason is that I like the taste / smell. Plus it is a lovely way to relax with your friends.

 

[Alleged_Alec]

I like the smell, I like the brief high I still get from it (although not as much now I smoke half a pack a day) and it gives me valuable me-time, which I sorely lack. As for why I don't smoke cigar or pipe: I hate the smell of cigars. Pipe's all right, but I tried it once and it's a bit too much of a hassle for me.

Oh, a fourth reason: I've stopped smoking twice. Got past the two weeks of constant craving, crabbiness etc etc (patches really help, for those wanting to stop!), past the few weeks of mild depression and basically stayed clean for several months. However, both time I noticed I was after such a long time still angry/jealous at smokers. I didn't want to become one of those stuk-up ex smokers. There'll be a time when I get a good health scare or actually get cancer or something, and I'll probably stop then. Sounds like a bad plan to me as well, but I didn't really care about my health before I started smoking either. We'll see. In the mean time, I get to fuel my (only) addiction.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

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.

I don't care if you smoke or not, I was just saying passive smoke is still a thing. If your kid drank bleach and died, you would be arrested for neglect of some kind. What if they got cancer early in their life? A chest infection? They were born deformed because you smoked?

I also really don't think millions is an exaggeration. an estimated 43.8 million people smoke in America alone. No offence to any smokers, but it really does tend to be the lower end of society that does smoke (Please note I am not saying all or even most people who smoke are stupid or in shitty jobs or whatever, rather the other way around). What about less developed countries where education on the dangers of smoking isn't as prevalent? out of the 3 pregnant people I have met recently only one of them quit smoking while pregnant and they started up again right after the child was born.

 

[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.

Cigarettes are my biggest expense other than necessities, but beyond tobacco and one other smoking hobby I don't care to do many things requiring money, so the cost doesn't bother me.

I would have about $40 extra a week without cigarettes, but I generally would rather have the 140 cigarettes.

But that's, like, a videogame a week! That's enough to be drunk the whole weekend, every weekend! That's enough to be significantly stoned every day!

Why would you pass up any of those things in favor of cigarettes?

 

[Flames66]

Inb4 it relieves stress.

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

It also gives smokers access to smoking breaks whenever they like which probably helps with stress.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

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

I have no idea why this is considered invalid. I smoke too and that's precisely why.

I can get fat if I eat candy, I can get cancer from processed foods. I do the things I enjoy. I only get one run on this sphere, and if it means trading something I enjoy so I can stay longer and not enjoy my time.... Well, get bent

 

[Tallim]

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

I have no idea why this is considered invalid. I smoke too and that's precisely why.

I can get fat if I eat candy, I can get cancer from processed foods. I do the things I enjoy. I only get one run on this sphere, and if it means trading something I enjoy so I can stay longer and not enjoy my time.... Well, get bent

It really depends on who you interact with. A lot of non-smokers I know acted weird when I said I enjoy smoking. They kept saying that I didn't really enjoy it as it was just the addiction being satisfied. I did note that the people most likely to say that were binge drinkers :/

 

[Juste Goose]

I don't smoke, never have, (my grandpa died of lung cancer when I was six, so I've always had an aversion,) I just wanted to say I'm surprised how many smokers are on here. (I don't mean that in a bad way, for the record.)

I'd imagine they do it because they like it and figure they'll worry about the consequences later. Like people who eat junk food.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I smoked for a while as an excuse to follow pretty girls outside of bars where there was less competition, but honestly I never felt compelled to continue.

 

[Joccaren]

'cause I can?
Friends got me into smoking after they got me into drinking. I used to oppose that sort of thing because I cared about my body and such, but I stopped caring a year and a bit back. I smoke, I drink, and I've started eating healthy.
Yeah, that last one seems weird, but I've never liked healthy food. Always 90% sugar in my diet. And fat. And meat. Now I actually enjoy eating healthy too, and find it tastes nicer than it used to.
But basically, why do I drink, smoke and not give a crap about what happens to my body?
'cause its fun in a social way, I don't hate the feeling/taste, and I'd rather live fewer, more enjoyable years than more, less enjoyable ones. I don't want to end up like my great grandfather, who spent 3 years from 84-87 years old lying in bed, unable to do anything except roll himself out in an attempt to kill himself each morning 'cause life was just shit when you can't do anything 'cause it might kill you. That is the worst possible way to... exist I can think of. My Nanna's friend on the other side of my family, however, was a heavy smoker and drinker. A few years back he died of emphysema. Until then he was smoking several packs a day, drinking often, eating purely ice cream [Seriously, that was all he ever ate. A McDonald's ice cream sunday for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and just the one. We all wonder how he survived as long as he did like that...] and you know what? He enjoyed life. He was out doing what he wanted to do. He died at the age of 65, and he spent 3 months in hospital before that. Its still not perfect, but he did what he wanted, and enjoyed life until he couldn't any longer, and then he spent 3 months - not 3 years, 3 months - in hospital before dying. Less time in torture, more time enjoying himself.
I smoke because I want to. Its not necessarily my goal to die early, but I don't care if I do. The consequences don't bother me, and at times I have a reason to smoke. Hence, I smoke.

 

[Daveman]

Well as a casual smoker it's because it smells really good second hand and when I'm drunk I tend to say fuck it. Then I have one and I regret it because my mouth winds up tasting like shit.

The other thing is I really thought about how much I was drinking at university and the serious health implications of that and realised I was a hypocrite for criticising smokers.

 

[Baldry]

Oral fixation? It's just an enjoyable past time when out with friends for myself. I hardly ever smoke on my own but that's probably because I smoke a pipe and there are different variables to take into account. But even then when I do have a cig it is literally just something to do. Also whenever I do have a pipe/cig on my lonesome it's usually because I wanna do something while sitting outside and enjoying nature, it's a good little framing device for deciding how long I wanna be outside for.