Cigarettes.

[Calvin]

What disconcerts me is when people say things like "god, I need a cigarette", and they're dead serious. They NEED a cigarette. Just to feel normal again. I like to feel normal all the time, unless something is actually wrong with me, without having to do anything.. I guess I'm strange that way.

Everyone has their bad habits, of course, but cigarette smoke is insidious, and it doesn't confine itself or its effects to people who don't mind it.

It's a stress thing. Most often, at least for myself and my friends, when we say "I need a cigarette," it's not driven by the fact that we haven't had a cigarette, it's driven by the fact that we're stressed out by other things, and we're used to that stress being lessened by a cigarette. It's a stress crutch, surely, but everybody has stress crutches, even if they're not aware of them. Smoking is pretty high on the unhealthy end of stress crutches, sure, but it's a very potent one as well. You get what you pay for (with your health as well as money, but the point still stands).

And quit complaining about the second hand smoke stuff, if you're inside, fine you have room to complain, but if you're outside, it's not hard at all to take a few steps back. I was surrounded by friends that smoked long before I started smoking, and it wasn't really that hard for me to avoid discomfort.


And on a similar note, props to the Butt Out episode of Southpark, for so PERFECTLY capturing the social stigma of smoking.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

No, that just makes you a loser for standing next to me while I'm doing it if it bothers you.

You're assuming we're in a place where I cam move to another location far away enough so the smoke won't get to me. I find myself walking behind people who are smoking and I get trapped in their tobacco cloud or in a public building where there are smokers; this being a building where I have business to attend and can't "just walk away". I agree, it would be dumb to stand in a circle of smokers and complain about it when you could just move but the fact is; cigarette smoke lingers.

 

[AndThePickles]

You're assuming we're in a place where I cam move to another location far away enough so the smoke won't get to me. I find myself walking behind people who are smoking and I get trapped in their tobacco cloud or in a public building where there are smokers; this being a building where I have business to attend and can't "just walk away". I agree, it would be dumb to stand in a circle of smokers and complain about it when you could just move but the fact is; cigarette smoke lingers.

I HATE when that happens! I never seem to be able to get away, and lots of times cigarette ash gets all over me as well.

 

[punishermax]

I can't imagine how it is paying $9 for a pack of smokes, here in Wisconsin I'm still paying $3.42 for a pack a Marbs, so HA. My mom's boyfriend goes to the Indian Reservation and buys a carton of Marbs for $25.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

Well, the best way to quit is for a girl. I've quit for girls before, even when I didn't want to quit, and as long as I was with the girl it wasn't that hard to resist. But since I still like it, as soon as the relationship was over, I started smoking again. Not so much because I was driven by the urge, but because I wanted to start up again. Though I might have been driven by the urge anyway had I not wanted to. But the point is, even though I didn't "want" to quit, I could still do it as long as it was for a chick. I'd imagine that if you were quitting for a chick, combined with wanting to quit, that you'd be able to do it. Just need to fall for a chick that hates smoking.

That's how I meet chicks, when they're on their smoke breaks and I say, "Can I get a light from ya?"



the fact that smoking is still legal is reprehensible.
and yet if you do a hit of acid and watch puppetmaster you're a criminal.

 

[lazur]

I kind of fell into the same pitfall with smoking as you, lazur. Yeah, it can be very enjoyable and relaxing. I did it off and on for years and years with very little impact to my health. Hell, I kept on working out and being very physically active during that time. But after I got past 35, I started noticing much more impact to my health from it than I had in the past. My light bit of asthma got much worse. My breathing was more labored and I couldn't get up a flight of stairs without wheezing. I started getting sick more frequently. I was experiencing mild depression, high blood pressure and triglyceride levels that could kill a horse. And, I wasn't even a heavy smoker! I basically just got tired of all that and wanted my full health back. Imagine starting to see symptoms like that at 35 and wondernig what it would be like in ten years if it impacting me that much already at such a young age. I quit cold turkey eight months ago and haven't looked back. Within two months of quitting, all those problems disappeared for me and I'm refocused on my health more than ever. Not because I think I'll live forever, or even longer, but because I feel so much better in general and am able to enjoy life more. That trade-off alone has been better than the brief moments of pleasure that smoking can bring.

If you don't smoke or have never tried it, don't. You might get away with smoking with no negative impacts to your health when you're younger, but it WILL catch up with you. If people want to smoke, that's fine and I won't get on them for it like some ex-smokers can do (my wife still smokes, actually). But, be respectful of other people who don't want to be around it, and think real hard about where you want to be 30 years from now; hooked up to an oxygen tank 24/7 or hiking in the Sierras. Which one sounds better to you?

jag

Very well said. I couldn't agree more.

 

[Kessel Day]

Seriously, death is going to come anyway, and there are a lot worse ways to die than from smoking. And that takes a pretty long time to happen anyway. If you don't die from doing something more dangerous than smoking before that, well, then smoking isn't your biggest problem.

i hope you don't take this wrong, Calvin, but you really don't know what you're talking about here. slowly dying of asphyxiation is horrible (and it's horrible to watch too.)

 

[Mr. Thing]

I smoke occasionally. I smoke about one every week. Have no idea to what the point is though.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

So stop lol.

 

[Calvin]

i hope you don't take this wrong, Calvin, but you really don't know what you're talking about here. slowly dying of asphyxiation is horrible (and it's horrible to watch too.)

That's my point, you should live an exciting enough life that you die from something else first. And even if that doesn't happen, I'll be able to change it around before asphyxiation happens if I have to. If I were in bad condition, then I'd worry, but I've seen people in a lot worse shape than me smoke for 50 years, then quit before it becomes a problem. So I'm not too worried.

 

[Calvin]

You're assuming we're in a place where I cam move to another location far away enough so the smoke won't get to me. I find myself walking behind people who are smoking and I get trapped in their tobacco cloud or in a public building where there are smokers; this being a building where I have business to attend and can't "just walk away". I agree, it would be dumb to stand in a circle of smokers and complain about it when you could just move but the fact is; cigarette smoke lingers.

Well, add this to the list of reasons why life sucks. I don't like running into idiots when I go about my daily activities, or getting squished by fat people on the bus or metro (both of which are always crowded), but there's really nothing I can do about that either. You have my sympathies. But I'm still gonna smoke. That's life, get over it or kill yourself.

 

[New Shh! user.]

Ok, first timer here (like, 5 mins ago) and I was just wondering, why do people enjoy this? More so, how the **** could you get addicted to it? Omg I swear, I had to take a shower because I could smell it on me, I washed my mouth out at least 20 times, I got the worst 'high'(more like... down) ever. My head hurt, I got dizzy, threw up. My mouth smelt like an ash try. I was warm on the inside, in a bad feeling way. Ugh. It was horrible. I just laid down in the shower for a few minutes trying to keep what was left of my dinner down.

Last time for me.... for ever.

I think you ready to take this to the next level. Try marijuana laced with ketamine

 

[Calvin]

Here's a question, sorry if it was answered earlier and I missed it, but Indiglo, what brand of cigarette did you smoke? Because it actually does make a difference.

 

[New Shh! user.]

Davidoff's are like heaven in a ciggarrette. Same with Luckies, my first brand.

 

[Indiglo]

Marlboro Reds.

 

[Equinox]

Marlboro Lights

 

[Calvin]

Marlboro Reds.

Oh jesus, man. Those are the most disgusting cigarettes as far as I'm concerned. I LOVE smoking, but when I smoke those I want to puke. If you're outside the US, try Gauloises, they're strong, but smooth. I like Winston a lot more then Marlboro, though they hit a bit harder, so that might be too strong for you. Parliaments are kinda fun for firsttimers, they hit stronger than marlboro as well, but they're not as gross as Marlboro, and they feel "cleaner." Starting with Marlboro though.... blech. I probably wouldn't have ever smoked more than one cigarette either if I'd started with Marlboro.

 

[Calvin]

Marlboro Lights

Gross as well. Right now I"m smoking Pall Mall's just for money's sake, but for what you pay, they really aren't bad at all. Much better than Marlboro, that's for sure.

 

[FlameHead]

We get a brand here in Canada (at least Newfoundland) that are called Peter Jacksons. I find that very funny and always ask the clerk to give me some Lord of the Rings.

 

[Calvin]

We get a brand here in Canada (at least Newfoundland) that are called Peter Jacksons. I find that very funny and always ask the clerk to give me some Lord of the Rings.

Do they sell gauloises in Canada?

 

[Mr. Thing]

So stop lol.

Yeah

I seriously don't know why I started though.

 

[Calvin]

Cigarettes in particular can taste quite yummy after a meal, or with a cup of java.

Don't forget about the after sex cigarette. It's like a great after-dinner mint.

 

[Indiglo]

If you're outside the US, try Gauloises, they're strong, but smooth. I like Winston a lot more then Marlboro, though they hit a bit harder, so that might be too strong for you.

Im 16, i get what i see.

 

[Calvin]

Im 16, i get what i see.

Get friends with better smoking taste then

 

[Indiglo]

Aha.