Hollywood "paid fortune to smoke"

[BenPanced]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7632963.stm


Tobacco firms paid huge amounts for endorsements from the stars of Hollywood's "Golden Age".

Industry documents released following anti-smoking lawsuits reveal the extent of the relationship between tobacco and movie studios.

One firm paid more than $3m in today's money in one year to stars.

Researchers writing in the Tobacco Control journal said "classic" films of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s still helped promote smoking today.

[Shadow_Ferret]

And this surprises you how?

[Ageless Stranger]

More importantly, are enough actors smoking in movies today?

I think not! And it had led to a distinct lack of decorum.

[Sheryl Nantus]

this is news?

seriously?

[Celia Cyanide]

They knew what they were doing with James Dean, I'll tell you that much...

[Dawno]

this is news?

seriously?

It doesn't have to be your idea of "news" to be posted - it was interesting to the original poster, it's a discussion starter. Not your idea of an interesting discussion to be engaged in? Then don't engage. At all.

For everyone: stop snarking. If you don't have anything constructive or interesting or at least a lol cat to contribute to the discussion, just move on to another thread.

[Don]

It doesn't have to be your idea of "news" to be posted - it was interesting to the original poster, it's a discussion starter. Not your idea of an interesting discussion to be engaged in? Then don't engage. At all.

For everyone: stop snarking. If you don't have anything constructive or interesting or at least a lol cat to contribute to the discussion, just move on to another thread.
You didn't really just give permission to lolcat in P&CE, did you? :ROFL:

[willietheshakes]

I'm all for payola if it means someone else buying the smokes...

[Ageless Stranger]

Well since they're being MOD-approved and by Dawno no less;

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/lolcat-funny-picture-moderator1.jpg

[Tirjasdyn]

Endorsements. Stupid advertising...it's ruing Eureka for me right now. I don't care how advanced degree solid is...there is no reason every third person in the town should be wearing a degree t shirt.

[Monkey]

I loved the movie "Thank You for Smoking". It hit on this issue, too.

I saw a study not long ago that said that the more exposure children had to smoking, the more likely they were to smoke...even if that exposure was limited entirely to television and movies. It also pointed out the prevalence of smoking even in movies that targeted children; everything from Hook's double cigar holder to Jane's father on Tarzan to Cruella DaVille and others. The study determined that it didn't matter whether the exposure was presented in a negative or positive light; it was the exposure itself that had an effect.

I read the study right around the time I saw "Thank You for Smoking" (maybe it was mentioned in the extras? I don't remember where I heard of it) and noticed that the movie was careful about the issue of exposure, positive or negative.

[Monkey]

As a slight aside... I think Talledega Nights was brilliant in that it allowed for rampant advertising opportunities as part of the plot. It was hilarious, and I bet they got paid pretty well for it.

I loved that he was contractually obligated to mention Power-Ade at every grace. :D

[kuwisdelu]

I loved the movie "Thank You for Smoking". It hit on this issue, too.

I read the study right around the time I saw "Thank You for Smoking" (maybe it was mentioned in the extras? I don't remember where I heard of it) and noticed that the movie was careful about the issue of exposure, positive or negative.

I loved that movie, too. Personally, I loved the irony that not a single person smoked throughout the whole film.

Also, personally, I hate how condescending the anti-tobacco lobby is. I find it far worse than the Big Tobacco lobby itself, and I think it's criminal that an industry can't even advertise or promote its product. Every time I see an anti-smoking commercial, I have to have a cigarette, if only for spite.

[Dawno]

You didn't really just give permission to lolcat in P&CE, did you? :ROFL:

Like my permission or not would actually matter ;)

[Jcomp]

The problem with smoking is that it does look really damn cool.

And that's the only reason I can figure for anyone actually taking it up. At this point there should be no new smokers. I've smoked a cig all of twice in my life. Once because it was called for in a short film I was making with friends, and I'm just method like that.

The other time because that first time didn't burn my chest with toxic fumes and I thought, "Surely that couldn't have been right." The second time rightly corrected this.

Back to my point though, the only reason I can think of to start smoking is for the look. I hang with some smokers and if it weren't for the fact that those are some of my best friends I would have to stop kicking it with them. Good company and all, but there's nothing pleasant about being in the midst of a smoky haze all the damn time. Ugh...

All that to say, there's definitely something to having movie stars smoke a lot back in the day. I'm sure it made an impression. You can only hope that with fewer smokers movies now it'll keep a few more impressionable youngsters off the stuff...

[Don]

Like my permission or not would actually matter ;)
Well... five minutes after that post, I saw my first lolcat ever in P&CE.

...just sayin' :ROFL:

[kuwisdelu]

The problem with smoking is that it does look really damn cool.

And that's the only reason I can figure for anyone actually taking it up. At this point there should be no new smokers. I've smoked a cig all of twice in my life. Once because it was called for in a short film I was making with friends, and I'm just method like that.

The other time because that first time didn't burn my chest with toxic fumes and I thought, "Surely that couldn't have been right." The second time rightly corrected this.

Back to my point though, the only reason I can think of to start smoking is for the look. I hang with some smokers and if it weren't for the fact that those are some of my best friends I would have to stop kicking it with them. Good company and all, but there's nothing pleasant about being in the midst of a smoky haze all the damn time. Ugh...

It's an acquired taste, I suppose, same as liquor. Someone's first gimlet whiskey sour may not be the most pleasant experience if it's the first drink they've ever had, but it sure grows on you. Of course, being addicted to either (or anything, for that matter) is a bad, bad thing.

[Ageless Stranger]

Well... five minutes after that post, I saw my first lolcat ever in P&CE.

...just sayin' :ROFL:


I was the first?

:hooray:

[Dawno]

Well... five minutes after that post, I saw my first lolcat ever in P&CE.

...just sayin' :ROFL:

You haven't looked hard enough :)

[donroc]

Many girls I and my friends dated in high school and college at Cal wanted to look older when we went out in San Francisco and tried to hold their cigarettes like Bette Davis. Even though I refused to smoke, I had to carry matches or a lighter for them so I could appear to be suave and debonnaire.

One of my friends weakened in college when he was dating a girl who smoked Pall Malls, and he began smoking to impress her with the Paul Henreid two cigarette shtick from Now, Voyager. Sad to report, he became nicotine addicted and died from lung cancer at age 67.

[Jcomp]

It's an acquired taste, I suppose, same as liquor. Someone's first gimlet whiskey sour may not be the most pleasant experience if it's the first drink they've ever had, but it sure grows on you. Of course, being addicted to either (or anything, for that matter) is a bad, bad thing.

Yeah, but liquor gives you a buzz at least. Does smoking? I've asked friends but they never give a straight answer. It's like they can't remember life pre-smoking.

Then again, liquor still tastes terrible to me, so I see the similarity. They can add all the flavors they want to Bacardi, it's still damn bitter. And it's another "cool" habit too. I just told myself I was going to cut back on drinking, then I watched the new John Legend & Andre 3000 video with the 50's Hollywood party vibe, and suddenly I wanted a Scotch on the rocks with soda...

[Celia Cyanide]

Yeah, but liquor gives you a buzz at least. Does smoking? I've asked friends but they never give a straight answer. It's like they can't remember life pre-smoking.


Yeah, it does. And all you people who do not smoke, and say, "I can't imagine why anyone would smoke! It gives you cancer!" I equate that with someone who has never eaten chocolate cake saying, "Why would anyone eat chocolate cake! It makes you fat!"

[Jcomp]

Yeah, it does. And all you people who do not smoke, and say, "I can't imagine why anyone would smoke! It gives you cancer!" I equate that with someone who has never eaten chocolate cake saying, "Why would anyone eat chocolate cake! It makes you fat!"

But there's not a sufficient exercise to work off cancer...

[willietheshakes]

Yeah, it does. And all you people who do not smoke, and say, "I can't imagine why anyone would smoke! It gives you cancer!" I equate that with someone who has never eaten chocolate cake saying, "Why would anyone eat chocolate cake! It makes you fat!"

I'll have to remember that...

And yes, smoking does give you a buzz. Or a hell of a head-rush. It all depends on the circumstances (and how much you smoke). It is a genuinely pleasurable experience (and one to be savoured by NOT becoming addicted).

[donroc]

I saw a 1932 pre code film on Turner Classics with William Powell and Kay Francis titled Jewel Thief. In it, suave thief Powell offers cigarettes to his victims that are in reality marijuana. I wonder which industry or company financed that one?

[Celia Cyanide]

But there's not a sufficient exercise to work off cancer...

If you do cardio, your lungs are in better shape.

[Jcomp]

If you do cardio, your lungs are in better shape.

Anti-cancer shape? Because if that's the case then Marlboro needs to just get in the treadmill business and sew the market up...

[Beach Bunny]

Yeah, but liquor gives you a buzz at least. Does smoking? I've asked friends but they never give a straight answer. It's like they can't remember life pre-smoking.

Yes, it does. Nicotine is a drug. And just like any drug there are positive and negative effects. We only hear about the negative consequences (cancer and heart disease) and not about the positive effects. I don't recommend that anyone start smoking, but it does help some medical conditions. I am going to be responsible and NOT state what they are. :)

[Jcomp]

Yes, it does. Nicotine is a drug. And just like any drug there are positive and negative effects. We only hear about the negative consequences (cancer and heart disease) and not about the positive effects. I don't recommend that anyone start smoking, but it does help some medical conditions. I am going to be responsible and NOT state what they are. :)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the positive effects of consuming nicotine via cigarrettes is outweighed by the negative effects... which would account for the disproportionate coverage...

[WildScribe]

The problem with smoking is that it does look really damn cool.


It does? Not to knock anyone in particular, but I see someone with a cigarette and I think something along the lines of idiot/asshole/gross depending on my mood and situation.

The other day I was at the park with my baby when a guy walked up with a two year old in tow, put her on a swing five feet from where my son was playing, and started taking drags of his lit ciggie as he pushed is daughter on the swing. <sarcasm>How touching</sarcasm>. He was also trying to flirt with me, but I'm afraid I didn't waste my breath pointing out how rude he was, I just gathered my son and left.

Never, ever, ever seemed cool to me.

[Celia Cyanide]

It does? Not to knock anyone in particular, but I see someone with a cigarette and I think something along the lines of idiot/asshole/gross depending on my mood and situation.

Even James Dean? No way!

[WildScribe]

Even James Dean? No way!

I swear. I see a cig and my gag reflex triggers.

[blacbird]

Yeah. And Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne and Yul Brynner and Edward R. Murrow, too.

caw

[Beach Bunny]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the positive effects of consuming nicotine via cigarrettes is outweighed by the negative effects... which would account for the disproportionate coverage...
No, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association are very powerful organizations and also have a very powerful lobby. In the current climate, it would be very very difficult to get funding to study the correlations which have been noted. More to the point, I won't say which medical conditions might benefit from doses of nicotine, because it is my experience that the fanatics of the anti-smoking faction will jump all over my ass if I do. :)

To make things even worse, because researchers can't get funding to study these correlations, they can't determine if there is a better route for administration of nicotine for those who might benefit from it's use. In other words, is it something in the smoke or will a nicotine patch or gum achieve the same effect?

[Plot Device]

The discovery of these documents is DAMNED significant because for decades Big Tobacco kept inisting that a) children did NOT immitate what they saw in TV and movies, and therefore b) people seen smoking in movies and TV could not possibly imfluence children to do likewise.

This is a serious smoking gun (no pun intended).

[donroc]

Hollywood has always influenced the behavior of the young. It also made drinking alcohol attractive. Powell as The Thin Man was in a perpetual sophisticated state of inebriation.

Hollywood's influence today may have been diluted some by competition from MTV, TV, and DVDs

[kuwisdelu]

It can give you a buzz. As much as a cup of coffee, at least. Nicotine is peculiar, though, because it seems to have both an energizing and calming effect at the same time.

Anti-cancer shape? Because if that's the case then Marlboro needs to just get in the treadmill business and sew the market up...

I wouldn't say "anti-cancer" shape. But regular exercise, the proper vitamins and nutrients, and copious consumption of water do help keep one's lungs in shape and delay cancer. And contrary to popular belief, even a smoker's body does heal over time; about a decade or two without smoking, and the risks of having been a smoker decline to near-nonsmoker levels.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say the positive effects of consuming nicotine via cigarrettes is outweighed by the negative effects... which would account for the disproportionate coverage...

If you're a heavy smoker, yes. Of course, it's all relative. My girlfriend, for example, has asthma and bad allergies. Curiously, whenever they act up, a cigarette usually helps her breathe better.

It does? Not to knock anyone in particular, but I see someone with a cigarette and I think something along the lines of idiot/asshole/gross depending on my mood and situation.

The other day I was at the park with my baby when a guy walked up with a two year old in tow, put her on a swing five feet from where my son was playing, and started taking drags of his lit ciggie as he pushed is daughter on the swing. <sarcasm>How touching</sarcasm>. He was also trying to flirt with me, but I'm afraid I didn't waste my breath pointing out how rude he was, I just gathered my son and left.

Never, ever, ever seemed cool to me.

In your particular example, yeah, that guy was rather rude. I try not to smoke around small children unless I'm just passing on my way.

There's certainly nothing wrong with you thinking it's uncool.

However, I am rather sickened by the prevalence of discrimination against smokers. We're the only group it's politically correct to hate and treat with unfair bigotry and intolerance, and often it gets rather tiring.

No, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association are very powerful organizations and also have a very powerful lobby. In the current climate, it would be very very difficult to get funding to study the correlations which have been noted. More to the point, I won't say which medical conditions might benefit from doses of nicotine, because it is my experience that the fanatics of the anti-smoking faction will jump all over my ass if I do. :)

To make things even worse, because researchers can't get funding to study these correlations, they can't determine if there is a better route for administration of nicotine for those who might benefit from it's use. In other words, is it something in the smoke or will a nicotine patch or gum achieve the same effect?

Come on, fight the power! I'll name two. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

[blacbird]

However, I am rather sickened by the prevalence of discrimination against smokers. We're the only group it's politically correct to hate and treat with unfair bigotry and intolerance, and often it gets rather tiring.

We're trying to make up for a couple hundred years of discrimination against clean-air breathers. My breathing of clean air in your proximity doesn't affect you, physically. But your smoking in my proximity most certainly does affect me, and not in either a pleasant or a healthful way.

Nobody says you can't smoke, and I wouldn't be in favor of any such prohibition. Smoking regulations only dictate where you can smoke, thereby being no different from alcohol-drinking regulations.

caw

[blacbird]

If you do cardio, your lungs are in better shape.

If you smoke enough, you won't be capable of cardio.

caw

[Jcomp]

Come on, fight the power! I'll name two. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

I'd actually be quite interested in hearing about this. Straight up.

Of course, again, we're talking about nicotine and not smoking, the latter includes lots of funky crazy stuff that at the very least make my clothes less than aromatic...

And of course I'll go ahead and back you up on the whole "idiot" or "asshole" comment. That's going a bit far.

[Don]

I saw a 1932 pre code film on Turner Classics with William Powell and Kay Francis titled Jewel Thief. In it, suave thief Powell offers cigarettes to his victims that are in reality marijuana. I wonder which industry or company financed that one?
That was jointly financed by organized crime, the FBI, and other government agencies who realized alcohol prohibition was on the way out and needed a new form of black market to justify their existance. :D

[dolores haze]

KTC's comment got me thinking about this famous movie image.

Cool? Not cool?

http://blog.photoshelter.com/image/blade-runner-rachel-714793.jpg

[Jcomp]

KTC's comment got me thinking about this famous movie image.

Cool? Not cool?

http://blog.photoshelter.com/image/blade-runner-rachel-714793.jpg

Crazy cool.

I don't think saying it looks cool is an endorsement. I mean, surfing on the back of a great white shark would look incredibly cool, but...

[Don]

KTC's comment got me thinking about this famous movie image.

Cool? Not cool?

http://blog.photoshelter.com/image/blade-runner-rachel-714793.jpg
Mysterious and cool.

There's also something erotically compelling about women with such an obvious oral fetish... :partyguy:

[Beach Bunny]

Come on, fight the power! I'll name two. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
I'd actually be quite interested in hearing about this. Straight up.

Of course, again, we're talking about nicotine and not smoking, the latter includes lots of funky crazy stuff that at the very least make my clothes less than aromatic...


Okay, but I am NOT recommending that anyone who has these medical conditions start smoking. There MIGHT be something beneficial in either nicotine or cigarette smoke that helps people with the following: ADHD, Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, depression, and that's all I can remember off the top of my head.

We're trying to make up for a couple hundred years of discrimination against clean-air breathers. My breathing of clean air in your proximity doesn't affect you, physically. But your smoking in my proximity most certainly does affect me, and not in either a pleasant or a healthful way.
Well, actually there is this little underreported study done by the World Health Organization on the effects of second hand cigarette smoke ... :)

My personal stance on this is that if someone doesn't want to be around cigarette smoke for whatever reason, then okay. There are perfumes and colognes that make me gag. But, beating up on people who do smoke is NOT okay.

[Don]

I just took a poll of the voices in my head. Three to two, they agree that smoking helps keep them quiet. :ROFL:

[poetinahat]

The problem with smoking is that it does look really damn cool.

Yep. If I get lung cancer, I'm suing Jeremy Irons and Dexter Gordon:

http://aycu18.webshots.com/image/15577/2004994831959197886_rs.jpg

http://www.lpb.org/programs/frame/gordon.jpg

[Celia Cyanide]

If you smoke enough, you won't be capable of cardio.

caw

I'm fine with that.

[C.bronco]

It was only a matter of time:
http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/funny-pictures-cat-smokes-catnip.jpg

[BenPanced]

Also, personally, I hate how condescending the anti-tobacco lobby is. I find it far worse than the Big Tobacco lobby itself, and I think it's criminal that an industry can't even advertise or promote its product. Every time I see an anti-smoking commercial, I have to have a cigarette, if only for spite.
I'm a non-smoker and every time I see an ad by "the truth", I wanna light up the biggest honkin' cigar available to man, roughly the same diameter as my wrist, and do a musical number about the delights of a good cigar and some brandy. Ghod, I thought they were insufferable when they first started. Then they started doing the Disney-esque spots.

Where's the barfing smiley when you need it?

But if you do smoke around me, please don't. I've developed an allergy to the stuff.

[C.bronco]

I can't believe that they're trying to raise the sin tax to 156%. That type of taxation is unconscionable (did I spell that correctly?). Let's face it, there are enough smokers in our fair land to make the industry thrive. It has become politically incorrect to admit to smoking, however, which allows this type of squeezing those who are stressed enough as it is without making their pet vice unaffordable.
It's bullying the lower classes who want to smoke because it makes the grim future seem manageable.

If this law passes, I will make it my mission in life to enforce a comparable tax on coffee. How do you think that would fly?

[WildScribe]

In your particular example, yeah, that guy was rather rude. I try not to smoke around small children unless I'm just passing on my way.

There's certainly nothing wrong with you thinking it's uncool.

However, I am rather sickened by the prevalence of discrimination against smokers. We're the only group it's politically correct to hate and treat with unfair bigotry and intolerance, and often it gets rather tiring.


I do find smoking idiotic, and I don't apologize for that. There are better ways to get a buzz than poisoning yourself. If you knew someone who knowingly drinks poison for the "buzz", wouldn't you advise them to knock it off? Worse, smoking affects me. I do believe that second hand smoke is dangerous, but even more than that, I am asthmatic, and cig smoke is one of my only triggers. I like air. A lot. Therefore I do not like it when I am minding my own business and someone blows a cloud at me.

I don't think all smokers are assholes. I think that the ones who go out of their way to stand next to me when they light up are, as are the ones who laugh when I request that they blow their smoke in a different direction, then blow a cloud in my face. Your group may be targeted, but stereotypes exist for a reason. Not every smoker is rude, but lots happen to be.

Lastly... I don't think smoking should be illegal, actually. I just really think that people who smoke should have waaaaay more consideration for the health and wellbeing of people around them. Again, I have asthma, and I don't like it when I catch a whiff of smoke and feel my throat start to swell. It's scary. And painful.

[WildScribe]

I can't believe that they're trying to raise the sin tax to 156%. That type of taxation is unconscionable (did I spell that correctly?). Let's face it, there are enough smokers in our fair land to make the industry thrive. It has become politically incorrect to admit to smoking, however, which allows this type of squeezing those who are stressed enough as it is without making their pet vice unaffordable.
It's bullying the lower classes who want to smoke because it makes the grim future seem manageable.

<firmly tongue in cheek>
Maybe instead of taxing smokers on BUYING the packs, you should just have to pay a tax to smoke them... Like parking meters. Put in your quarter, light up, and stay in the designated parking... uh... I mean SMOKING area!

(Please, all, I was kidding. :) )

[benbradley]

More importantly, are enough actors smoking in movies today?

I think not! And it had led to a distinct lack of decorum.
I forget when this sort of thing started, maybe between two and three decades ago, but Hollywood (and TV networks) all of a sudden decided it wasn't cool to show people smoking. And I think likewise with people drinking, unless it was a significant part of the story (as an alcoholic who later in the movie quits drinking and "finds recovery"). It's a subtle form of Political Correctness. While the rate of smoking has gone down in the US, a lot of people still smoke, and the rate of smoking in the movies has virtually disappeared, or at elast gone down WAY too disproportionately.

So it looks like the pendulum has swung completely in the other direction.
I'd actually be quite interested in hearing about this. Straight up.

Of course, again, we're talking about nicotine and not smoking, the latter includes lots of funky crazy stuff that at the very least make my clothes less than aromatic...
Nicotine can be "safely" delivered into the bloodstream with either the patch or Nicorette chewing gum. It's still not a really 'safe' drug, as I understand too much of it can cause heart problems. Caffeine is a bit like that too.
I'm a non-smoker and every time I see an ad by "the truth", I wanna light up the biggest honkin' cigar available to man, roughly the same diameter as my wrist, and do a musical number about the delights of a good cigar and some brandy. Ghod, I thought they were insufferable when they first started. Then they started doing the Disney-esque spots.
I haven't seen these (I'm an ex-TV-watcher as well as ex-smoker), but I suppose they're on youtube...

[kuwisdelu]

I do find smoking idiotic, and I don't apologize for that. There are better ways to get a buzz than poisoning yourself. If you knew someone who knowingly drinks poison for the "buzz", wouldn't you advise them to knock it off? Worse, smoking affects me. I do believe that second hand smoke is dangerous,

You certainly have the right to your opinion, just like I have my opinion that getting fat, being a Republican, or being religious is idiotic. But I'm sure you, like me, don't let your preconceived notions about certain behaviors color your perceptions of someone's character, and respect their personal choices.

As far as "poison" goes, I'm sure you feel the same way about alcohol, Big Macs, and the arsenic and fluoride in our drinking water?

but even more than that, I am asthmatic, and cig smoke is one of my only triggers. I like air. A lot. Therefore I do not like it when I am minding my own business and someone blows a cloud at me.

And I have sympathy for you, there. I have a friend whose allergic to smoke, and I make sure to be conscientious around her, because she's polite about it.

I don't think all smokers are assholes. I think that the ones who go out of their way to stand next to me when they light up are, as are the ones who laugh when I request that they blow their smoke in a different direction, then blow a cloud in my face. Your group may be targeted, but stereotypes exist for a reason. Not every smoker is rude, but lots happen to be.

Those people are assholes. But you know what? They'd be assholes whether they smoked or not. And yeah, there are reasons for stereotypes, just like those terrorist Muslims, those proselytizing, evolution-denying Christians, those lazy black people, those money-grubbing Jews, those drunk, feather-headed Indians, those cousin-marrying Southerners, those anti-American liberals, and those AIDs-ridden gays keep ruining for the rest of them.

I know that's not what you mean; I know you mean well; but that's how it comes off.

Lastly... I don't think smoking should be illegal, actually. I just really think that people who smoke should have waaaaay more consideration for the health and wellbeing of people around them.

Maybe when Big Pharma stops exaggerating the effects of secondhand smoke and some real, non-bias studies can be done, and we know the truth behind the real "dangers" of the 2% of it that isn't water vapor...

[Ageless Stranger]

And I think we're all forgetting. . .

http://thesituationist.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/humphrey-bogart-by-yousuf-karsh.jpg

And I rest my case, Your Honours.

[Alpha Echo]

It does? Not to knock anyone in particular, but I see someone with a cigarette and I think something along the lines of idiot/asshole/gross depending on my mood and situation.

The other day I was at the park with my baby when a guy walked up with a two year old in tow, put her on a swing five feet from where my son was playing, and started taking drags of his lit ciggie as he pushed is daughter on the swing. <sarcasm>How touching</sarcasm>. He was also trying to flirt with me, but I'm afraid I didn't waste my breath pointing out how rude he was, I just gathered my son and left.

Never, ever, ever seemed cool to me.

I agree. I hate it when I see a mother with her child on her hip and a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. My husband has commented in the past that no matter how hot he ever thought a girl was, once she pulled out a pack of cigarettes, the attraction was completely gone.

I think that one of the best laws are like they have in MD and NY - no smoking in a public place, ever. I can go out and not have to worry about smelling like smoke everywhere or my eyes hurting from the smoke in the room, and the smokers can go outside and enjoy their cigarettes.

I don't think that the people who are smoking are actually disgusting as humans, but I think that their habit is.

And KUW is right - those who are nasty and inconsiderate smokers would be nasty and inconsiderate with or without the cigarette.

[C.bronco]

<firmly tongue in cheek>
Maybe instead of taxing smokers on BUYING the packs, you should just have to pay a tax to smoke them... Like parking meters. Put in your quarter, light up, and stay in the designated parking... uh... I mean SMOKING area!

(Please, all, I was kidding. :) )
I the tri-state area, there are no designated smoking areas, only designated non-smoking areas, which is everywhere you go except for your car.

No legal item should ever be taxed more than 50% of it's cost. It's a horrible precedent to set, whether you agree with smoking or not. The excessive sin tax is wrong. Either make it illegal, or submit the product to standard taxation.

You have a right to smoke or not smoke. You don't have the right to take away my ability to choose. The excessive sin tax is a form of taking away that option from the general public.

Let's tax coffee 156% of it's cost. Go pay ten bucks for a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts, and then tell me how you feel about sin tax. Coffee isn't good for you. I don't drink the stuff, so I don't care how much it costs. It gives people bad breath, makes them irritable when they go without it, and stains their teeth. You'll have to either cut down, or allow more of your income to go to drinking that nasty stuff. Hey, you shouldn't be drinking it anyway! You're better off not being able to afford an incredibly cheap product which would remain cheap if it weren't taxed in such a vile manner. High school kids wouldn't be showing up to high school every morning with large cups of Starbucks in their hands. Maybe they'd drink more milk!

[TsukiRyoko]

Every time I see an anti-smoking commercial, I have to have a cigarette, if only for spite.
Aye to this. You can't take an ad serious if it looks down at you and says, "You are scum and this is why. We're telling the world!".

On the other hand, I've think I've finely found out who those ads are for- kids. It has a "don't be cool, stay in school!" (or, "don't smoke!" rather) tone to it, and it works surprisingly well. I was babysitting the other day and sat the kids down for some TV. Not more than 10 minutes later, the network ran an anti-smoking ad. One of the kids came over and knocked the cigarette out of my hand and began to recite, almost word for word and with meaningful intensity, what the commercial had said.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I can't believe that they're trying to raise the sin tax to 156%.
That's not going to effect my cigars, is it? IS IT?

Cigarettes were socially acceptable back then. Why is it any different for the cigarettes to get actors to smoke their brand then for any other company to try to get actors or whatever to sponsor their stuff.

I'd like to point out that it isn't cigarettes that kill us, is the frequency with which we smoke them.

I worked at a Documentations company and we did a cancer brochure for a well-known cancer hospital. It gave the history of cigarettes and other facinating facts. Cancer deaths from cigarettes jumped exponentially with the invention of pre-rolled cigarettes. Prior to that, when people had to roll their own, they smoked only a few cigarettes a day. Afterwards, because of the convenience, they'd start smoking 10, 20, or more.

Cigarettes don't kill people. Rolling machines do.

[TsukiRyoko]

That's not going to effect my cigars, is it? IS IT?

Cigarettes were socially acceptable back then. Why is it any different for the cigarettes to get actors to smoke their brand then for any other company to try to get actors or whatever to sponsor their stuff.

I'd like to point out that it isn't cigarettes that kill us, is the frequency with which we smoke them.

I worked at a Documentations company and we did a cancer brochure for a well-known cancer hospital. It gave the history of cigarettes and other facinating facts. Cancer deaths from cigarettes jumped exponentially with the invention of pre-rolled cigarettes. Prior to that, when people had to roll their own, they smoked only a few cigarettes a day. Afterwards, because of the convenience, they'd start smoking 10, 20, or more.

Cigarettes don't kill people. Rolling machines do.
I believe they started adding more chemicals when they started coming prerolled as well, no? For preservation? Cigs are evil things. I'm trying to quit now, and it's a bitch of thing to do. I'm sure they're fine in super moderation (one-two a day or less), though.

[whistlelock]

Thank you for smoking.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I believe they started adding more chemicals when they started coming prerolled as well, no? For preservation? Cigs are evil things. I'm trying to quit now, and it's a bitch of thing to do. I'm sure they're fine in super moderation (one-two a day or less), though.
Somewhere along the line they added burning agents to keep the cigarettes lit. People complained they would go out, like a cigar, if you didn't keep smoking it. People hated having to relight cigarettes, so the companies put a chemical in there that keeps them burning. I'm sure that was unhealthly as hell, too, yes.

Thank you for smoking.Actually, I quit 13 years ago. Although I do have a cigar every now and again.

[kuwisdelu]

I believe they started adding more chemicals when they started coming prerolled as well, no? For preservation? Cigs are evil things. I'm trying to quit now, and it's a bitch of thing to do.

You're right about the preservative chemicals. If you smoked your lunchmeat or your hermetically-sealed foods, it wouldn't be all that healthy, either.

Makes me feel a little better about rolling my own half the time. I don't do it for the lack of chemicals, though, just the quality, price, and experience.

I'm sure they're fine in super moderation (one-two a day or less), though.

Depends what you mean by "fine." Take care of yourself, smoke a pack a day, and nine out of ten you won't get cancer. Never pick up a cigarette, and work in a plant that spews asbestos and benzene? Probably much worse odds.

[TsukiRyoko]

You're right about the preservative chemicals. If you smoked your lunchmeat or your hermetically-sealed foods, it wouldn't be all that healthy, either.

Makes me feel a little better about rolling my own half the time. I don't do it for the lack of chemicals, though, just the quality, price, and experience.



Depends what you mean by "fine." Take care of yourself, smoke a pack a day, and nine out of ten you won't get cancer. Never pick up a cigarette, and work in a plant that spews asbestos and benzene? Probably much worse odds.Depends on the cigarette as well- there have been known cases of peole only smoking half a day on a regular basis and they only smoked for a year, and they got cancer. I'm sure that some of these people were probably considerably healthy, at least in the respect that they exercised, didn't stuff themselves full of Twinkies, and didn't load themselves up on commercial medications to cure everything.

I'm what most would consider somewhat healthy. I smoke cigarettes and pot, yes, but I also exercise daily, I'm mostly vegetarian (I only eat white meat if someone's kind enough to make me dinner and they forget that I prefer not to eat it. It's a courtesy thing), I haven't touched any modern medicine in over 4 years, I take vitamins every day and herbal remedies for my illness- and yet, I still wouldn't be surprised if, after trying so hard to keep myself alive, I ended up dying of lung cancer. Why? Cigarettes. I'm tryring to quit now, but if lung cancer pops up in 40 years, I wouldn't be surprised if my last 6 years of smojing contributed to it.

[benbradley]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/graphics/pregnant_small.jpg
http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/pregnant.asp

[TsukiRyoko]

http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/graphics/pregnant_small.jpg
http://www.snopes.com/photos/signs/pregnant.asp
That baby's probably going to have some problems. Not from the smoking. Not from the noise. But probably from that fact that she's a 35 year old woman trying to have a baby.

[kuwisdelu]

That baby's probably going to have some problems. Not from the smoking. Not from the noise. But probably from that fact that she's a 35 year old woman trying to have a baby.

I miss something? 35 isn't pushing it that much.

[Shadow_Ferret]

It isn't until you get into your 40s that they start to get concerned about having babies.

I remember there used to be a cigarette that had a fiberglass filter and it was supposed to be pretty bad for you. Salem?

All this talk of smoking... I need to stop and get a cigar for tonight.

[TsukiRyoko]

I miss something? 35 isn't pushing it that much.
35 is a bit on the brink. Yes, you can still have a healthy baby, but the chances of something messing up is much higher than if you were having the baby ten years ago.

[kuwisdelu]

I remember there used to be a cigarette that had a fiberglass filter and it was supposed to be pretty bad for you. Salem?

In the 50's, Kent once had a cigarette with an asbestos filter. Now that's a cigarette that'll give you cancer!

[kuwisdelu]

35 is a bit on the brink. Yes, you can still have a healthy baby, but the chances of something messing up is much higher than if you were having the baby ten years ago.

I wouldn't call it the brink quite yet. Risk's definitely higher, though.

(My mum had me at 40.)

[benbradley]

I the tri-state area, there are no designated smoking areas, only designated non-smoking areas, which is everywhere you go except for your car.

No legal item should ever be taxed more than 50% of it's cost.
Where do you come up with that figure?

I can think of just one good reason not to have excessively high tax on a product, and that is so organized crime won't start profiting from illegal non-tax-paid distribution of the product. I've heard of this happening with cigarettes due to variations in tobacco tax between states.

When I lived on Long Island I knew smokers, they drove to an (Native American) Indian reservation to buy their cigarettes by the carton, because the reservations didn't have to pay the (hideous NYS) tobacco tax, and the cigarettes were much cheaper.
It's a horrible precedent to set, whether you agree with smoking or not. The excessive sin tax is wrong. Either make it illegal, or submit the product to standard taxation.
I suppose one argument is that such a sin tax unfairly hurts the poor, who supposedly smoke at a higher rate than those with a higher standard of living.
You have a right to smoke or not smoke. You don't have the right to take away my ability to choose. The excessive sin tax is a form of taking away that option from the general public.
You sure sound libertarian. Are you a libertarian?
Let's tax coffee 156% of it's cost. Go pay ten bucks for a cup of coffee at Dunkin Donuts, and then tell me how you feel about sin tax. Coffee isn't good for you. I don't drink the stuff, so I don't care how much it costs. It gives people bad breath, makes them irritable when they go without it, and stains their teeth. You'll have to either cut down, or allow more of your income to go to drinking that nasty stuff. Hey, you shouldn't be drinking it anyway! You're better off not being able to afford an incredibly cheap product which would remain cheap if it weren't taxed in such a vile manner. High school kids wouldn't be showing up to high school every morning with large cups of Starbucks in their hands. Maybe they'd drink more milk!
There's so much to respond to here, for example, since you mentioned milk, when I was in high school I so much wanted to ... okay, I won't go there.
Somewhere along the line they added burning agents to keep the cigarettes lit. People complained they would go out, like a cigar, if you didn't keep smoking it. People hated having to relight cigarettes, so the companies put a chemical in there that keeps them burning. I'm sure that was unhealthly as hell, too, yes.

Actually, I quit 13 years ago. Although I do have a cigar every now and again.
Oh yeah, well I quit 16 years ago, and I haven't smoked ANYTHING since then! :)

Though I did fondle pet a ferret this morning...
Depends on the cigarette as well- there have been known cases of peole only smoking half a day on a regular basis and they only smoked for a year, and they got cancer. I'm sure that some of these people were probably considerably healthy, at least in the respect that they exercised, didn't stuff themselves full of Twinkies, and didn't load themselves up on commercial medications to cure everything.

I'm what most would consider somewhat healthy. I smoke cigarettes and pot, yes, but I also exercise daily, I'm mostly vegetarian (I only eat white meat if someone's kind enough to make me dinner and they forget that I prefer not to eat it. It's a courtesy thing), I haven't touched any modern medicine in over 4 years, I take vitamins every day and herbal remedies for my illness- and yet, I still wouldn't be surprised if, after trying so hard to keep myself alive, I ended up dying of lung cancer. Why? Cigarettes. I'm tryring to quit now, but if lung cancer pops up in 40 years, I wouldn't be surprised if my last 6 years of smojing contributed to it.
The good news is you CAN quit. There have been threads on AW on quitting smoking.

I heard some statistic that something like 10 or 15 years after you quit, your chances of getting lung cancer drops down to that of a non-smoker, and lung cancer is rather rare in non-smokers.

Also, that statistic presumes quitting smoking (ahem) EVERYTHING. Those funny home-rolled non-filter things could well be worse for your lungs than the regular cigarettes you buy in stores. I don't think the physical health effects of that stuff has been studied as much as "regular cigarettes."

[kuwisdelu]

You sure sound libertarian. Are you a libertarian?

Belief in the right to personal choice isn't a solely libertarian idea.

[BenPanced]

Now remember: this show was once considered an adult primetime sitcom:

Fred and Barney shill for Winston! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqdTBDkUEEQ)

In this day and age of uber-political correctness, I remember watching a rerun of Bewitched on Nick At Nite a few years ago. It was an earlier one where Samantha was pregnant with Tabitha. Samantha was getting ready for a dinner party and she sat on the couch to begin filling the cigarette box on the coffee table. They digitally zoomed in on the scene so you couldn't see her actually touching the cigarettes! You could see her taking a pack from the box, opening the pack, and tearing the paper open, but not holding the cigarettes. I didn't know they were that deadly!

[TsukiRyoko]

The good news is you CAN quit. There have been threads on AW on quitting smoking.

I heard some statistic that something like 10 or 15 years after you quit, your chances of getting lung cancer drops down to that of a non-smoker, and lung cancer is rather rare in non-smokers.

Also, that statistic presumes quitting smoking (ahem) EVERYTHING. Those funny home-rolled non-filter things could well be worse for your lungs than the regular cigarettes you buy in stores. I don't think the physical health effects of that stuff has been studied as much as "regular cigarettes."
Oh, I'm sure than certain that I can indeed quit cigarettes. It's tought, but definitely worth doing. Now pot on the other hand.... 1 joint contains 4 times the amount of tar (and 400 less chemicals). People hear this and think, "Ohhh! Bad!" but there's actually a few studies suggesting that the THC in marijuana may actually help prevent lung cancer. How many people have you heard of that get lung cancer JUST from smoking weed? I haven't heard of any. Aside from that, I don't smoke it everyday, but I used to. It turned out to be the only thing that relieved my depression. I went from trying to kill myself quite a few times (almost succeeding, too), being depressed constantly, doing badly in school, having no friends, and fighting with everyone to pulling a 4.0 in college, being able to handle anything that comes my way, having many interests, and being happy again. I absolutely give the credit to marijuana for relieving my depression and strongly recommend the friendly little plant to anyone who wants to use it, not just rectreaionally, but medicinally too. It's a very valuable medicine.

[Don]

Belief in the right to personal choice isn't a solely libertarian idea.
Depends on who's paying for what you personally choose. :D

[C.bronco]

You sure sound libertarian. Are you a libertarian?"

Yes! I LOVE the Library! In never got my degee in Librarianism, however.

[BenPanced]

My older sister's a librarian!

No. Wait. She's a Libra.