posted
�n defense of dying smokers, many are still alive from the generation that was taught that smoking was good for you, cleansed the lungs. Their commercials said so, their doctors said so, the people around them encouraged them. After that, you don't have a lot of courage to avoid it.
posted
Yeah, now those people might have a point, but only if they smoked ONLY during the years that they were told it was good, then stopped when they found it was bad, and can demonstrate that they have medical expenses because of it.
------------------ "Omega is right." -Jeff Karrde, March 18, 2001 08:47 PM
posted
Ronald Reagan used to advertise Chesterfields. . .
------------------ "It strikes me that there are enough episodes of the Simpsons that people could speak entirely in Simpsonese, using references from the show to explain or describe an endless series of situations. Nelson and Apu . . . at Tinagra.
But now I�ve brought Star Trek into it again, haven�t I. Sorry."
posted
Then you have no clue about the powers of addiction and habit Omega. The nicotine is addictive, and the withdrawls can be a bitch, yes, even from cigarettes, and the hand-mouth habit, well, do something for 20 or thiry years, some people up to 60 times a day, then multiply by, say, 20, or more, per smoke.....
25 years of smoking an average of 30 cigarettes a day would give a person 5,475,000 to 8,212,500 repetitive motions. That is something a person gets accustomed to.
------------------ "One's ethics are determined by what we do when no one is looking" Nugget Star Trek: Gamma Quadrant Star Trek: Legacy Read them, rate them, got money, film them
"...and I remain on the far side of crazy, I remain the mortal enemy of man, no hundred dollar cure will save me..." WoV
My dad tells me this story about how back in the early 60's he and some of his friends decided to take up smoking. For weeks, they experimented with different brands of cigarette, and finally cigars and pipes.
Their conclusion, in the end? "This shit is expensive, smelly, and we're not getting anything out of it. Forget it." And they quit, just like that.
------------------ The government that seems the most unwise, oft goodness to the people best supplies. That which is meddling, touching everything, will work but ill, and disappointment bring. - The Tao Te Ching
Orion Syndicate
He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
Member # 25
posted
So because a person gets accustomed to slowly killing themselves, we should let them and then finance their treatment? Fine, there were people who started smoking a long time ago, but their treatment should be based on their desire and proven record of trying to give up. New smokers know exactly what they're doing so it's their own fault.
Tobacco revenue from taxes would inevitably fall, and other taxes would therefore have to increase to fill this deficit. I for one, even as a non smoker would be willing to pay higher taxes in this event if it went on improving education, health services, roads, etc etc.
------------------ The Worlds Ten Greatest 'Fucks' #9
Who let that fucking woman drive? - Captain of Space Shuttle
[This message has been edited by Orion Syndicate (edited April 25, 2001).]
posted
I was talking about the people that were told of all the 'benefits' of smoking, encouraged by doctors, back a few decades.... For those people, yes, since society fucked them, they can fuck back...
Imagine the person that started after the Doc told them that it was what was needed to take care of that breathing problem they had, they took it up, then 30 years later the same Doc tells him to quit smoking, never should have started....
------------------ "One's ethics are determined by what we do when no one is looking" Nugget Star Trek: Gamma Quadrant Star Trek: Legacy Read them, rate them, got money, film them
"...and I remain on the far side of crazy, I remain the mortal enemy of man, no hundred dollar cure will save me..." WoV
Orion Syndicate
He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
Member # 25
posted
The question to ask in this situation is whether the doctors genuinely believed that cigarettes were beneficial or were they just following propaganda despite what research proved. If it's the former, you can't blame the doctors because they were just doing their job. If it's the latter, then they're guilty of professional misconduct and if they're still alive then do what you want with them.
That still doesn't excuse the fact that people should give up if they know it'll kill them. Yes I know it's difficult, but it can be done. My grandfather gave up smoking completely 30 years ago after about 20 years of smoking and my dad gave up in 1991 after about 15 years although he started back again in 1998 after some serious shit going on in the family. No nicorette patches were used, no chewing gum, none of those hand mouth replacement thingies, just self control and a lot of inner strength and will power. I'm hassling my dad to give up again at the moment, and he is folding. He'll have given up again soon....hopefully.
------------------ The Worlds Ten Greatest 'Fucks' #9
Who let that fucking woman drive? - Captain of Space Shuttle
[This message has been edited by Orion Syndicate (edited April 25, 2001).]
posted
Just to be on topic here, one of my professors works in the game industry for children's games. From his company's market research, they found that parents don't actually do what they tell the researchers. For example, when asked about violent games, parents are usually very emphatically against them. But if their kid asks for a violent game, they would STILL buy the damn thing without hesitation. Basically they just want their kids to like them.
------------------ "There comes a time when the mind takes on a higher plane of knowledge but can never prove how it got there. All great discoveries have involved such a leap." --Albert Einstein, on intuition.
Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
Isn't it Ironic, don't ya think? -- Alanis Morrisette
------------------ "In a completely unrelated news story, I have a date tomorrow night." - Omega, in trying to explain why pigs are now flying, why Microsoft products are now working perfectly, hell freezing over, and George W Bush giving a flawless speech. 04/06/01, 12:17AM
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