Are people ever going to get the hint and stop smoking?

Question

You see all these non-smoking ads, commercials, everything, yet you still see people smoking. Do they not realize they're killing themselves?

Answer 1

no, probably not

Answer 2

I smoked for 2 years after graduating high school in the 70's. I quit at age 20, after a lingering cold wouldn't go away. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done, even after just 2 years. I felt so lost and just constantly thought about it. I am so lucky.

I have family members who have smoked 30 plus years. Now that we are older I can see it in their skin. teeth and overall health. They constantly have a cough and are just plain unhealthy- have colds and the flu much more than the rest of us.

I am from a very large family. My 45 year old brother always had a constant hacking cough. He caught the flu and couldn't shake it (common with smokers). He aspirated while sleeping and cut off his oxygen supply. After a month in a coma he passed away.

My saving grace is that the hacking cough may have been emphysema or cancer and he would have suffered terribly, as I have seen several of our friends suffer. The worse is when they can't swallow and almost suffocate.

I think a good idea for those who smoke - Let them visit a cancer ward and see the suffering. Its a hard habit to break and maybe this will be the wake up call they need.

Answer 3

Even though I do not smoke I can only imagine how difficult it would be to try to quit smoking. Attitudes do not always predict behavior. The majority of smokers acknowledge the fact that it is not healthy. However smoking is not a habit like bitting fingers it is instead an addiction. Nicotine actually is said to more addicting than many illegal drugs in the way it bonds with the brain.

Answer 4

It's not a god given right to do something that hinder's other people's ability to enjoy life. That's why smoking has been banned in so many restaraunts, because while it may seem the smoker is only hurting themself, the secondhand smoke that other diners inhale is just as deadly as a cigarette.
Cell phones in cars need headsets because talking while holding something with one hand and driving with the other hand is distracting, and the cause of many accidents. I can't tell you how many times I have almost become a hood ornament when crossing the street because some stupid soccer mom in a Lexus is too busy nattering on her cell phone to check and see if there's a person walking across the street.
It's not a right (or left) wing totalitarian conspiracy to drive us all back to the stone age, it's simply a way to try and make us healthier.

Answer 5

Today you pick on smokers....what next? The government is already making the food industry stop using trans fatty oils. Now you can't use your cell phone in a car without using a hands free head set of some sort. And now they are thinking of passing a law where parents can't 'spank' children under the age of three. Can't you people see what you are doing? By your constant whining...you are causing the government to take away more rights every day. You whiners scare me! You need to get a life!! Let's see how you like it when they ban TVs from homes etc. What about washing machines using too much water? Would you like to wash clothes by hand in a tub of a gallon of water? You need to wake up and smell the coffee....before it is too late. And I wonder how long it will be before they take coffee away from us due to all the caffeine??????

edited to add: Why don't they do something about all the harmful chemcials that are released by chemical plants while you are sleeping? And how about stopping the chemtrails from government planes???? You are trying to cover a fatal wound with a band aid.

Answer 6

Some do but apparently if the addiction is great enough, it's too hard for them to stop. My grandfather was put in the hospital because he developed emphesema and when he got home, he was STILL smoking those cigarrettes. The emphesema is what killed him....

I try to tell people that smoking has taken too many of my family members, and though they hear what I tell them, most don't act on it, unfortunately. :(

Answer 7

Well there r some useful products in the markets which can really help to quit smoking but unfortunately some people have no idea of what r they doing ,,,,may it be smoking or creating bombs,,some people do not realize the fact that they r poisoning their own self,,,and the people around them too,,,

Answer 8

The "hint"? Please. Being a smoker is just slightly less acceptable than being a sex offender in our society nowadays.

I'm not a smoker - of cigarettes - but I'm very much anti-anti-tobacco. It's everybody's choice whether to smoke, and it should be every business's choice whether to restrict smoking on its own premises. And guess what - we all know smoking is bad for you. Everybody who picks up the habit is perfectly aware that he's "killing himself." That's why everybody starts as a teenager.

As for second-hand smoke, I honestly think the danger has been overestimated. It's really not hard to avoid smoke in public places that allow smoking in certain areas. I seriously believe that the "no second hand smoke" push is at least partly about non-smokers trying to force their OWN lifestyle and preferences on to others.

Now should smokers pay more in insurance? Absolutely!

Answer 9

Its a decision that people like to make for themselves. I mean really its none of your or anyone Else's business what I ingest or smoke. Despite what some radical right wing, totalitarian governments might want to dictate to people, it is their choice to smoke. The way I see it, you should be thankful that you have the freedom to take up smoking if you choose to do so. Next time you are at a party and wasted, and someone offers you a cigarette, you can smoke it and feel content the next day that you have the God given right to make that choice.

Answer 10

As an ex-smoker, I understand how hard it is to quit smoking. I can not tell you how many times I have tried to quit. It has now been 12 years and there are still times that I would like to smoke. I support anyone who is trying to quit using nicotine. I have spoken with heroin and cocaine addicts who tell me that quiting smoking was more difficult than kicking the drug habit.

Answer 11

Addiction doesn't work that way. Every body who smokes "knows" on an intellectual level that it is ruining their health.

Their addiction works on a more primal level. It tells them that they MUST have the drug or more pressing illness will prevail. It lies and tells them that cancer and emphysema and other conditions are what happens to "the other guy". Failing that, it rationalizes that you might get hit by a bus tomorrow, so smoking is not likely to cause your death.

In combination, these factors seriously outweigh what and addict "knows".