The why smoke thread

BrYaN19kc · Post by **BrYaN19kc** » 2003-11-11 01:15pm

I think I've smoked an entire 4 cigarettes in the past year. I don't really even call it smoking. I only puffed around on them.

I don't mind being around smokers. What really does irritate me is when NON-smokers come into smoking sections and GRIPE at people. The one sports bar we go to has a smoking and non-smoking section. A couple of my friends smoke, so we always sit over in the smoking section. It never fails that the non-smokers will come over to that section (because the big screens are better) and bitch about the smoke. If non-smokers don't like the smoke, then they don't have to be around it.

The Kernel · Post by **The Kernel** » 2003-11-11 01:27pm

Chardok wrote:You have got to be kidding me. I am the only smoker on this board?

Nope you're not. I smoke, just not cigs. I quit them a few years ago, but I still love tobacco (it helps me work/study) so I still indulge in the ocassional cigar as well as a bowl or two for my pipe each day.

Do I think it is good for me? No. Do I think it is going to kill me? Probably not, and I'm about 130% more efficient when I'm smoking anyways so I figure I'm making up for it.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2003-11-11 01:35pm

BrYaN19kc wrote:I think I've smoked an entire 4 cigarettes in the past year. I don't really even call it smoking. I only puffed around on them.

I don't mind being around smokers. What really does irritate me is when NON-smokers come into smoking sections and GRIPE at people. The one sports bar we go to has a smoking and non-smoking section. A couple of my friends smoke, so we always sit over in the smoking section. It never fails that the non-smokers will come over to that section (because the big screens are better) and bitch about the smoke. If non-smokers don't like the smoke, then they don't have to be around it.

Oh, Bryan. the force is strong in you for bringing this argument here. I, sadly will not participate as my feelings are strong and overwhelmed by the dark side would I be.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2003-11-11 01:51pm

I smoke 1 to 2 cigarettes per day. On weekends when I'm drinking with my friends, I'll usually smoke more. But I've never really gone through an entire pack in a day. I've avoided American tobacco companies' cigarettes because they throw a ton of extra shit in their product to make it more addictive. I smoke Djarum clove cigarettes, which contain nicotine, but aren't as addictive as regular cigarettes. In fact, I don't ever once recall having a physical craving for a cigarette the way I do for food. Hell, if I need to, I can go for days without a smoke and not be bothered.

For me, to psychological aspect of smoking is far more significant than the physical aspect. While cloves give a great buzz, having a smoke at the end of the day is a way to wind down and relax. Even something as trivial as the clink of a lighter and the first puff can just calm you down.

Also, cigarettes serve as a sort of socialization tool. A group of completely random smokers will automatically have something in common, whether it be at a bar, outside a dorm or whatever, and will socialize more easily. All you have to do to strike up a conversation is ask someone for a light. That's why they're good for parties. After drinking a little, people are always more talkative, and smoking cigarettes sort of gives them something to fill the random silences in conversations with.

I guess I'm something of a unique case, though. I treat smoking as an indulgence, and I'm pretty conscious about it. If I ever feel like smoking, I just ask myself, "Do you really need to have one now?" Most of the time, the answer is "no," so I just don't have one. It helps keep the habit in line. I've been trying to find information on some sort of fatal dosage of cigarettes that significantly increases the lung cancer risk, but I can't find any. This isn't surprising. If there was an established fatal dose, it'd be a lot harder to keep children away from cigarettes. Right now though, I figure that 1 or 2 a day with occasional weekend splurging isn't much.

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2003-11-11 01:54pm

BrYaN19kc wrote:I think I've smoked an entire 4 cigarettes in the past year. I don't really even call it smoking. I only puffed around on them.

I don't mind being around smokers. What really does irritate me is when NON-smokers come into smoking sections and GRIPE at people. The one sports bar we go to has a smoking and non-smoking section. A couple of my friends smoke, so we always sit over in the smoking section. It never fails that the non-smokers will come over to that section (because the big screens are better) and bitch about the smoke. If non-smokers don't like the smoke, then they don't have to be around it.

To be honest, they may have a point, depending on how isolated the smoking section is. If I was to open a restaurant, I'd put in some sort of physical barrier between the smoking and non-smoking sections. Smoke travels easily, and the smell even more so. There's no reason why those in the non-smoking section should have to deal with second-hand smoke or the smell. However, they really should have bitched to the bar's owner.

And if the screens are better in the smoking section, that's something that should be fixed. I'm sorry, but it's not fair to force non-smokers to sit in a room with smoke to get decent picture quality.

StarshipTitanic · Post by **StarshipTitanic** » 2003-11-11 01:59pm

After about 10-11 years since someone has smoked in my house, I developed a strong dislike of the stench.

StarshipTitanic · Post by **StarshipTitanic** » 2003-11-11 02:00pm

After about 10-11 years since someone has smoked in my house, I developed a strong dislike of the stench.

Bertie Wooster · Post by **Bertie Wooster** » 2003-11-11 02:00pm

Goddamn Djarum Cloves!

Thats what got me addicted at first!!!! I eventually got sick of them then moved onto regular cigs. I'm not entirely sure that djarum cloves which are made in indonesia and also include perfume to make them smell better are any less harmful than other cigs. I remember after smoking one, I'd be buzzed dizzy for a good 15 or 20 minutes afterwards. No other cigarette ever did that to me.

I always pictured someone sweeping up the floor on a cigarrette facory, taking all the sweepings, adding gunpowder and perfume, abd calling it cloves.

Post by **Kuja** » 2003-11-11 02:01pm

I once smoked a pack just to find out what it was like. Never smoked since.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-11-11 02:02pm

I've been a smoker for nearly twenty years.

I don't pretend to defend it, it's merely a very powerful addiction. I do enjoy it, and only smoke outside for other people's benefit.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2003-11-11 02:09pm

I smoke between a pack a week and a pack every three days, depending on the company I'm keeping. I'm pretty much like Durandal--smoking is a pleasureable indulgence, not a habit, though I will admit that after three or four days without a cigarette, I do start to get a little twitchy.

Is it a bad habit? Yes it is. Can I defend it? Not really. Do I give a shit? No. I make it a point not to try not to bother nonsmokers with it, not to litter, to make sure my butt is always out before I throw it away (if there's no ashtray around), to not do it around my younger cousins, et cetera. As far as I'm concerned, that's the extent of my obligations--I don't have to justify what I do with my own body to non-tobaco smokers any more than I have to to non-drinkers or non-marijuana smokers.

BrYaN19kc · Post by **BrYaN19kc** » 2003-11-11 02:39pm

Durandal wrote:
BrYaN19kc wrote:I think I've smoked an entire 4 cigarettes in the past year. I don't really even call it smoking. I only puffed around on them.

I don't mind being around smokers. What really does irritate me is when NON-smokers come into smoking sections and GRIPE at people. The one sports bar we go to has a smoking and non-smoking section. A couple of my friends smoke, so we always sit over in the smoking section. It never fails that the non-smokers will come over to that section (because the big screens are better) and bitch about the smoke. If non-smokers don't like the smoke, then they don't have to be around it.
To be honest, they may have a point, depending on how isolated the smoking section is. If I was to open a restaurant, I'd put in some sort of physical barrier between the smoking and non-smoking sections. Smoke travels easily, and the smell even more so. There's no reason why those in the non-smoking section should have to deal with second-hand smoke or the smell. However, they really should have bitched to the bar's owner.

And if the screens are better in the smoking section, that's something that should be fixed. I'm sorry, but it's not fair to force non-smokers to sit in a room with smoke to get decent picture quality.

The smoking and non-smoking section is separated by doors and there are even two separate bars... It is as though you were in two different establishments. Even the non-smokers comment that there is no "Stench"... BTW: I'm a non-smoker and I sit on the smoking side. They only gripe because when the non-smoking side is full - they want to come to the smoking area and make demands. The management did the non-smokers a favor by remodeling that section specifically for them - so yes they should stay on their side if they do not like the smoke. This has happened at a few other places as well. One bar owner built a really fancy covered (all year around) deck and enclosure for smokers and then turned the rest of the place into non-smoking. It wasn't a week before the non-smokers were standing out on the deck complaining about the smokers. GEEISH...

I'm just saying that non-smokers can't have it both ways. I'm a non-smoker and I don't mind sitting in the smoking section at all. My only rule is NO SMOKING IN MY CAR! ROFL!

Post by **Colonel Olrik** » 2003-11-11 02:45pm

BrYaN19kc wrote: I'm just saying that non-smokers can't have it both ways. I'm a non-smoker and I don't mind sitting in the smoking section at all.

And still, in the situation you mentioned, the non-smokers are given the crappy seats. That's a valid reason to complain.

Frank Hipper · Post by **Frank Hipper** » 2003-11-11 04:16pm

Colonel Olrik wrote:
BrYaN19kc wrote: I'm just saying that non-smokers can't have it both ways. I'm a non-smoker and I don't mind sitting in the smoking section at all.
And still, in the situation you mentioned, the non-smokers are given the crappy seats. That's a valid reason to complain.

In Kansas sports bars, or at least the one I worked at, smokers generally spent more, and tipped their servers better. This was shown, and discussed, night after night.
The smoking section got better seats because they earned them.
Not that the non-smoking section was crappy by any stretch of the imagination, however.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-11-11 04:33pm

I don't smoke; never have, never will. But smoking is still undeniably cool.

Rye · Post by **Rye** » 2003-11-11 04:37pm

Nope, don't smoke, but i know alot of people who do, and i don't bother about it, beyond rubbing my eyes or whatever when it gets too much.

Actually, i rarely smoke weed with friends, like once every few months if i'm at a party and we share a joint.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2003-11-11 04:54pm

Every blue moon, I surrender to the urge for a clove cigarette. A couple LARPer friends got me hooked on the silly things, and for a while I was bumming off them every week.

I got better.

As for regular cigs, BLEAGH! I hates them, yes, hates them, my precious.

Howedar · Post by **Howedar** » 2003-11-11 05:00pm

I have never and will never touch tobacco. I get addicted to stuff easily, which is why I don't drink either.

Post by **Ghost Rider** » 2003-11-11 05:16pm

Don't smoke.

I know plenty friends who do, and don't think poorly of them, though wished they would quit for health...but we have our vices.

Chardok · Post by **Chardok** » 2003-11-11 05:16pm

It's a bar. I know you know the argument which comes afterwards.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2003-11-11 05:58pm

I don't smoke, I tried it a couple times and that was it. As for people who smoke, I don't care unless they smoke in my house, my car, breathe smoke on me, or toss butts at me, bad things happen then. Bars & clubs, I don't care, go ahead & smoke all you want, I don't have to go to a bar and I can always choose a non-smoking one. Clubs I don't go to so I don't care. Wanna use cancer sticks that's your choice.

Beaker · Post by **Beaker** » 2003-11-11 08:34pm

I used to smoke 20 a day for 10 years...but it will be two years in January since I quit...

I never thought it possible...but I got some patches prescribed from the Doctors after my Dad suffered a major Heart attack due to smoking...he gave up...and it gave me the willpower to make the break myself...

I still crave one every now and then...but I am amazed at how much money I have managed to save...It was costing me about £35 a week...I have put on a bit of weight...but I think the pros far outweighs the cons

Durandal · Post by **Durandal** » 2003-11-11 08:44pm

BrYaN19kc wrote:The smoking and non-smoking section is separated by doors and there are even two separate bars... It is as though you were in two different establishments.

Yes, one which is habitable to non-smokers, and the other really not. That's how I think it should be. It would be enough to stop most of the complaints from non-smokers. Of course, you're always going to have assholes who manage to get smoking in bars and restaurants legally banned, like in New York and California. Sorry, but as much as these people may dislike smoke, the place is a private establishment, and you can't tell them to not have their patrons smoke any more than you can tell a homeowner that people can't smoke in his house.

Even the non-smokers comment that there is no "Stench"... BTW: I'm a non-smoker and I sit on the smoking side. They only gripe because when the non-smoking side is full - they want to come to the smoking area and make demands. The management did the non-smokers a favor by remodeling that section specifically for them - so yes they should stay on their side if they do not like the smoke. This has happened at a few other places as well. One bar owner built a really fancy covered (all year around) deck and enclosure for smokers and then turned the rest of the place into non-smoking. It wasn't a week before the non-smokers were standing out on the deck complaining about the smokers. GEEISH...

Honestly, I'd have to see the place to really make a judgment call. If the non-smoking section is utter shit, then there's reason to complain. Ultimately, it's a private establishment, and the owner makes the rules. If you don't like them, you're free to leave.

Hyperion · Post by **Hyperion** » 2003-11-11 09:11pm

Non-smoker, however, I will smoke when I get drunk, and if someone has cloves. That adds up to like half dozen cigarettes in a year.

TrailerParkJawa · Post by **TrailerParkJawa** » 2003-11-11 09:28pm

I dont smoke and Ive never tried it. For about 10 years now, smoking has been banned from many public places. The ban has gotten more strict over the years. Its funny, when we drive to Reno it is always a shock to remember there are smoking/non-smoking sections. Once you are away from public smoking as much as we are you really notice the smell quickly when you are around it again.

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