Why do people think i am evil because i smoke.?

Question

I want to thank all the people who answered my question on smoking ban, I am stll the same person i don't smoke where other people are i smoke in my car or home i hurt no one but myself, but they still treat me like i am evil, i work full time pay my bills and pay my taxes, why am i less than human now. I wish i never started smoking back in the 70s no one said it was bad for you, now i can not quit. BUT I AM STILL A HUMAN BEING I MAKE MISTAKES AN I HURT NO ONE. thanks for letting me vent.

Answer 1

ummm, dear.

it has nothing to do with your smoking.
it has nothing to do with being evil.

its....welll....I need to tell it to you straight....

your zipper is open.
thats why everyone is lookin gat you.

Answer 2

Well, it's good that you take other people's health into consideration when you smoke by not smoking around others. I am against the smoking ban to certain limits. I think if it's a privately owned business that isn't a necessity (like a bowling alley or a bar) then you should be able to smoke. All grocery stores, clothing stores, and all other places that are necessities you shouldn't be able to smoke in, which is the way it is already--well, before the bans started. I think that, however, there should be certain things like DESIGNATED places where you can smoke in these private businesses. Say, in a bowling alley, they should seperate the two areas and say one is smoking and one isn't. Even though it doesn't prevent the people on the non-smoking side from smelling it and possibly getting a headache like my mom does, it is still better than nothing and sitting beside a smoker with no barrier in between.

By the way, I am a non-smoker and have never smoked before, and don't ever plan on smoking.

Answer 3

Smoking is an addiction, and no one should look down on you for that. If you were sitting down next to a family at the zoo and lighting up, I might think you were rude. But when you are respectful of the fact that not everyone has made the choice to smoke and you don't impose it on them, I think it is fine. It is no ones buisness why or how long or anything about it. It is something that only you can deal with and others should butt out. And just a tid bit for you....my dad started smoking when he was 15. He is now 51, and just last summer (after being questioned about it by my 5 year old) he gave it up cold turkey. I NEVER thought he would quit. We harassed him about it when we were kids to no avail- he smoked a couple of packs a day. You can quit, just get the right mindset and give yourself a good reason. There is support for you! But in the meantime, I am sure you are a wonderful person, and smoking does not define you. There are plenty of nice people in the world who know that. :)

Answer 4

Sorry you are having such a hard time as a smoker. There is no need for people to treat you that way, we are supposed to be a civilised nation! I hate smoking because of what it did to my father - it killed him at a young age, smoking sometimes 30 plus a day, ever since the war. He never had any desire to give up or appreciated just how much of the household budget went on cigarettes. Somehow he always found money for fags but not for the essential bills, but he easn't evil. Growing up in a smokey atmosphere I never really noticed it, but now know that it was the passive smoking that caused my astma/chesty problems. I do find it offensive to enhale other peoples smoke and cannot bare to be in a smoky atmosphere. I get cross when people throw their lighted cigarette on the ground or out of car windows treating the ground as some sort of huge ashtray. I am unhappy to see young people, many of whom are older school children smoking and going for the kingsize brands, making a statement of some kind I guess. But I would never describe these people as evil. It is bad when people smoke in restaraunts or other public places including on public transport and this should be banned totally. In war time the Government was responsible for encouraging people to smoke and issued cigarettes with their rations. Even the queen supported it. Thankfully now we know the risks to health and still the government shys away from total bans because it attracts a lot of tax. There is a lot of help around to encourage people to give up smoking, maybe a chat with your GP will guide you in the right direction and what is right for you. The argument you use about paying taxes etc is a common one, but it is rarely said by non-smokers, to whom it applies equally! It sounds from your message as though you are a responsible smoker and I applaud you for that, but I hope you will not be offended by my encouragement to you and all smokers to quit the habit if you can, for all our sakes.

Answer 5

I am not a smoker and I don't appreciate when people smoke around me, or around their children or pets. Since you say that you smoke in the privacy of your own home I would not consider you evil. I would never judge you for the legal things you do in your house. People who think you are evil for that are not worth your time. I do however fail to understand why you continue to smoke when it is obvious that smoking causes many reversible and irreversible health concerns. I know it is an addiction, but if you really want to quit you can join a support group while you use the patch or gum. It will be easier to through the ups and downs with other people who feel your pain. Good luck!

Answer 6

Don't feel like you're all alone. We smokers get ostracized and blamed for everything from the national debt to a bad winter storm. I don't even smoke in the car since you can't get that smell out when it comes trade-in time and have resigned myself to being forced into going outside if I want one, except when I'm at home. Maybe this will make you feel a little better: Did you ever notice that smokers tend to be friendlier than non-smokers? You'll see smokers congregated together and having a good time and no one is antagonistic towards anyone else. But, get non-smokers together and they start arguing and yelling at each other about the most insignificant things you can think of.

Puff away and don't worry about what people say and think! Its only the small minds that think they're better than we are.

Answer 7

Apparently you didn't read my answer to your last question. I'm happy that you don't smoke where other people are, but your stench lingers long after you are gone. If you were actually not offending anyone, nobody would even know you smoked. Yes you do hurt others when you smoke, we all have to help pay your medical bills for one, and smell your ashtray breath for another. There's no way you can pay all your own hospital bills for something like your future lung cancer, society has to cover them for you. And thinking you can't quit is baloney. If you were put in jail where there is no smoking you'd quit, instantly. If you were put in a hospital, let's say for a serious car accident, you'd quit, instantly. Many other people have quit, you could too. Get out of the "I can't mode" and into the "I can mode" for once. Evil isn't the right word for you, you're probably otherwise a nice person, just offensive when you smoke.

I had a neighbor across the street who smoked. If you think a smoker's death is a pretty one, think again. For about a month before he died, in his 50's, I could hear his raw hacking, from his dying bedroom, across the street, and into my house. He must have tore his lungs inside out trying to get air. Finally the ambulance came to take him away, silently.

Answer 8

I sympathize with you. It is like killing a giant. It is a struggle. You are right about the history of smoking. In fact, in WWII, the soldiers tell stories of how Red Cross would actually give them cigs because they thought it was physically harmless and mentally an outlet. When discoveries were made, about harm full effects, it was not until these men had suddenly a large parentage of lung cancer...then they looked at possible causes and linked the cig smoking as a cause. When there are increased smokers, there are increased lung cancer discoveries, when it goes down so does the Cancer. Also, emphysema and other conditions such as asthma, bronchitis etc. What ever the reasons for starting, it is hard to quit. Some have done it successfully and some have not. I hope for your health and well being...that you can quit and be healthy. I empathize with your pain and judgement. No-one has the right to judge because none of us are perfect. We have all made mistakes. You are good and right to respect the health of others and not smoke around them. People may be wanting to care about you and help you and it may seem like they are judging you...when they are just wanting you to be healthy. Best of health to you.

Answer 9

I dont smoke, but I see no problem with smokers. It is a choice. Some people drink. Some people overeat. Some people speed on backroads. Some people eat processed foods. I think THAT does more harm to you than cigarettes do. You have a right to smoke. You are NOT poisoning anyone else. You are not doing something immoral. If you enjoy smoking, and it isn't harming anyone else, than it is your decision whether or not you should. You should never feel guilty about that. Smoking is just not that huge of a deal.

Answer 10

I was talking last night with my boss at our dinner party and she shared with everyone how her mother began smoking in the 70s as well. Now I'm from Virginia, tobacco country and so is my boss. Her mother was hypnotized and that is how she stopped smoking. I don't think smokers are necessarily bad people. I think that their act is selfish and that we now have substantial evidence to support the theory that smoking causes cancer and kills people. I am not condemning you for smoking because as you say we all make mistakes. But I do dare to challenge you when you say you hurt no one. I don't know if you have children or grandchildren, nieces and nephews, sisters and brothers or if you parents are still alive. But if you do develop cancer, these are the people who will have to take care of you. What about your husband or your wife? How will they feel watching you go from mobility to disability and then to the grave? I feel that you can do anything you truly desire. Their is no addicition that can not be stopped. You just have to use your faith. And I'll end on that...

Answer 11

No, you're not evil, unless you intentionally blow smoke in my face, which I'm sure you would never do.

I, too, became hooked on nicotine in the late 70's and finally kicked the habit 5 years ago. I know how strong the addiction is. The truth be told, if my 5 year old daughter hadn't asked me if she, too, could smoke, I probably wouldn't have quit smoking when I did.

I don't consider you to be less than human and I'm sorry if others treat you that way.

Peace to you.