CJW said...

I honestly can't look at someone who smokes these days without thinking "what a douche". Given the financial penalty, health penalty and general nuisance to other non smokers like myself it's a wonder why anyone does it. Say you spend $50 a week on smokes, invest that over the life of your habit, lets call it 40 years?, compounded at current rates that's half a million $. Who in their right mind willingly pisses away half a mill and gets heath issues to boot....

I'm proud to say I have never, to this day, taken a drag of a cigarette. Even when it was 'the cool thing' to do at school, I just thought to myself....retards.

I apologise for offending anyone in advance but I fell pretty strongly against it. The sooner smokers are confined to only smoking in their homes the better I say :D

/dons flame suit.

I completely agree. I can't stand it one bit. I will always remember my yr 7 teacher getting a 50 out of his wallet, and pretending to alight it. Saying thats basically what smoking is, a waste of money.
Nothing is worse than sitting at the beach, and having the beached whale light up next to you
And then there are the people at work who try to smoke in the corners. Lol, they go out the front door quickly.
I don't see any gain from doing it? Ok in certain situations it looks pretty cool (big loud motorcycle, half face helmet, and a smoke going, haha, thats the only situation i can think of).

What i hate more is the older kids, who buy the ciggies for the <12yr olds to make some money.

Any smokers on here wanting to quit, but don't know when to start, start tomorrow. No loss, big gain.

Dawn Patrol said...big loud motorcycle, half face helmet, and a smoke going, haha, thats the only situation i can think of

I dunno, from someone who rides a big loud motorcycle with a full face helmet I don't think half face helmets look all that cool. Cigarette too? That would just scream 'I have something to compensate for' to me.

To Easty and others who are contemplating giving up the gaspers.
I did it June 26, 2003. I remember this date as it has improved my life for the better.
The big thing is you HAVE to WANT to do it. I prepared for it and was ready for it.
No beers or wine and be ready to sort of fade out for awhile. I did it in winter so that there would less of a temptation to have a beer after sailing etc.
I also made my wife and daughter aware of it for moral support but they still said I was a cranky bugger for a couple of weeks. You start to feel better after awhile and I have NEVER wanted to back slide. Now I am the worlds worst durrie nazi. I can smell them a mile off.
The upside is huge. You feel better, you dont stink, you save a bucket full of cash and you see the pleasure in your kids eyes. Plus your windsurfing improves as you get fitter and your not thinking about the next drag.
The best of luck to all!!!!!!!

ka43 said...

The big thing is you HAVE to WANT to do it.

I ageee, that is the most important thing. If you are trying to do it because you think it's a good idea or because someone else wants you to it'll never happen. If you really want to do it you are not quitting anything, you'll just stop smoking. I'm not sure exactly when I stopped but it was over a year ago. I had quit a few times before, two of those times for nearly 6 months, but never really stopped until last year. The thought of having a cigarette disgusts me now, even when I'm on the turps. A few times recently I've been to the smoking area with a friend while out at a club and the smell was sickening, not inving at all. That made me pretty happy.

Anyway, back on topic, who thinks those ads work? Who are they targetted at? Smokers know the risks, how can telling people what they already know make any difference?

Squid Lips said...

ka43 said...

The big thing is you HAVE to WANT to do it.

I ageee, that is the most important thing. If you are trying to do it because you think it's a good idea or because someone else wants you to it'll never happen. If you really want to do it you are not quitting anything, you'll just stop smoking. I'm not sure exactly when I stopped but it was over a year ago. I had quit a few times before, two of those times for nearly 6 months, but never really stopped until last year. The thought of having a cigarette disgusts me now, even when I'm on the turps. A few times recently I've been to the smoking area with a friend while out at a club and the smell was sickening, not inving at all. That made me pretty happy.

Anyway, back on topic, who thinks those ads work? Who are they targeted at? Smokers know the risks, how can telling people what they already know make any difference?

I agree too. When it gets to the point where you are fraught with shame and self loathing because you are so piss weak that you can't drop the vile habit, then you are just about ready to quit.

As for the adds the cumulative effect of relentless pressure works. TV is somewhat removed from reality and is definitely NOT as effective as peer group pressure but it's pretty effective nonetheless. People are aware of tv. If its on tv its part of the environment, part of the general milieu. It's pretty much inescapable.

Those adds appeal to vanity as much as health. Its one thing to have a disgusting secret. Its another to be openly disgusting. That's powerful stuff.

Dawn Patrol said...

CJW said...

I honestly can't look at someone who smokes these days without thinking "what a douche". Given the financial penalty, health penalty and general nuisance to other non smokers like myself it's a wonder why anyone does it. Say you spend $50 a week on smokes, invest that over the life of your habit, lets call it 40 years?, compounded at current rates that's half a million $. Who in their right mind willingly pisses away half a mill and gets heath issues to boot....

I'm proud to say I have never, to this day, taken a drag of a cigarette. Even when it was 'the cool thing' to do at school, I just thought to myself....retards.

I apologise for offending anyone in advance but I fell pretty strongly against it. The sooner smokers are confined to only smoking in their homes the better I say :D

/dons flame suit.

I completely agree. I can't stand it one bit. I will always remember my yr 7 teacher getting a 50 out of his wallet, and pretending to alight it. Saying thats basically what smoking is, a waste of money.
Nothing is worse than sitting at the beach, and having the beached whale light up next to you
And then there are the people at work who try to smoke in the corners. Lol, they go out the front door quickly.
I don't see any gain from doing it? Ok in certain situations it looks pretty cool (big loud motorcycle, half face helmet, and a smoke going, haha, thats the only situation i can think of).

What i hate more is the older kids, who buy the ciggies for the <12yr olds to make some money.

Any smokers on here wanting to quit, but don't know when to start, start tomorrow. No loss, big gain.

I don't think that it is really fair to "bag" smokers for smoking. Smokers are the first ones to admit that they are stupid and that they regret ever starting. Smokers know that it is killing them and yet all smokers still smoke regardless. The book that I read states the same and also states that "smokers light up because they are dissatisfied and having a smoke satisfies them" The one quote in the book that really hit me was "what were you dissatisfied with before you became a smoker?" my answer "nothing" so why did I ever start to smoke?

Smoking is a drug addiction plain and simple, yet most smokers are dead against drugs. Allen Carr's book made me just look at myself and ask "why?" and I didn't have an answer. By the time I finished the book I just stopped smoking and haven't had a single craving since.

Instead of looking down on smokers for smoking, maybe point the finger at the media because smoking is still "everywhere" including those disgusting ads where they show the effect of smoking. Do you really think that the Government will ever fully ban smoking??? NO WAY!!!! Too much revenue.

I think that even non-smokers should have a read of this book "Allen Carr's Easyway to stop smoking" then maybe you might understand the struggle that all smokers face.

westhammer said...

Puree mixed with a bit of nicco, better than burnin assbestos,or sniffin resin,lung bustin fybro optics

You can burn asbestos? That's gotta be one heck of a fire you got going there :)

westhammer said...

coz ya nova casinover juss got over from dover,wiv a cupla diddy coys,pikies, gyppos,dem boyz luv to burn da tyres hit da steam room then take da plunge

poetry.

elizabethb said...

fatwa said...

I wonder when it will be as socially acceptable to bag out a fat person eating a burger as it is to bag a smoker. Being a fatty is just as bad for you, and the health system.

That summarizes one of the main key points and discussions of SuperSize me!!!!

What is socially acceptable and not....! When both have severe health complications whereas being fat does not alter other people as much as smoking does...

I thought it was socially acceptable to bag out fatties...., if you didnt notice i think i did it in my post above this one.
Dont take offence to what i've said. i dont hate people for it or anything like that, i hate how they do it when it could harm them.

GreenPat said...

lemo87 said...


Now, the next morning, I wake up with a raging headache, sensitivity to light, no tastebuds, and nauseous as, but MINUS a sore throat, due to inhaling bloody cigarette smoke.

Not to mention jeans you might be able to wear again without a wash as long as you didn't spill too much beer on them.

Its not how much beer I spill on the outside that worries me. Its inside.... oops!

The cravings for nicotine are just far, far less than they're made out to be. It's not like you start hallucinating and shaking and stuff. If you just sit around thinking about it, of course they'll grab you, but if you're busy doing things it's just a mild tingle that says "hmm, a cigarette would be nice". I smoked a pack a day for a few years and stopped cold turkey no problems at all. You just have to be definite about it, not half-assed.

IMHO.

I still get a hankering now and then, especialy after a drink, but I can take it or leave it...the main thing is, don't let yourself think about it too much!

While we're sharing quit stories:

I was on two packs a day of Marlboro Reds - the big 16s. I quit half way through a cigarette on NYE, 31 Dec 1999 at 11:59:59. I stubbed it out and decided I wasn't ever going to smoke again. Cold turkey, no patches. Not one drag this century. Like ka43 says: you really have to want to quit.

I hate them so much now that I hold my breath when I'm walking behind a smoker. I put the airconditioning on recirculate if I can smell the smokers in the car in front of me. Sorry, I shouldn't have started. I'm a terrible reformed smoker. You're on a pack a day? What else could you do with $70 a week? Buy a new sail every 10 weeks?

I sit here reading this with an unlit ciggie in my mouth, do i light? do i not?.......might have to find that quit smoking book you guys were on about.
hey if you're finished with it send it to me. It's not the sort of book you read twice is it?
Perhaps i'll just wait for the movie.

Yeah man, don't do it. I know how it feels, do I light it, do I not? When I gave up I would just think for a second 'do I really want this?', then I just thought for a second 'no, they stink, they're bad for me, of course I don't want it'.

Sorry guys i did it

Next break i'm off to Kmart to get a book.