Benefits of Smoking?
- wadE
The following gambit is in response to this article,
and the ensuing discussion in the forum.
Wow...
I don't think this guy has any decent points. In fact, this guy might be the stupidest person I've ever read anything from.
1)Bars and restaurants are the de facto venues of our society....accommodate the preferences of a large segment of society in utilizing the public venue.
Um...ok, let's accommodate the preferences of the larger segment of society, the ones who don't smoke!
2) No options for ventilation, smoking sections or the like are good enough for the greedy majority to accommodate beleagered smokers?
Greedy majority? Yes, I'm so greedy that I want fresh air to breathe, that I don't want my eyes to burn, that I don't want to smell horrible after a night out. But you are right, ventilation (which in 99% of bars does nothing) and smoking sections (which in many restaurants IS the bar) aren't enough. Not only are you exposing other patrons to the harmful side-effects of your habit, you are also exposing the staff which have no choice (at best limited choice) of being in the smoking section.
Greedy majority? How about I just refer to you as nothing better than a crack addict whose addiction is clouding logic from your mind?
3) Smoking is a stress reducer. Nicotine has "paradoxical effects," calming the nervous person but stimulating the soporific type. Both are pluses in my book.
Smoking isn't a stress reducer... nicotine is a stimulant that raises heart rate and blood pressure. Any "stress release" one is feeling is the same for a drug addict who needs his next fix. (I'm not even going to respond to the idiocy of the movie reference)
4) A related point: Smokers are less uptight than nonsmokers. I always choose the smoking section, even when I'm not smoking, for the better mood and friendlier people.
Yes, such generalizations are always true. I'm sure you have some scientific study to back this up...right? The only reason I would ever sit in the smoking section is because it's the only place where you can get a seat in a crowded restaurant. How many times have you grudgingly said "First Available" because the wait for non-smoking is 4 times the wait for smoking?
5) We're too uptight about health and death. How much will we burden the bulk of our years, footing higher health care costs for a negligible gain at the end? Some foresight would moderate this.
This may be the only spot I could agree with this fool, however, the only piece I agree with is the first sentence. The rest, is gibberish... at best, misinformed.
6) What is the financial burden of smoking on our society? Do cigarette taxes already offset this burden? No easily accessible data on this. I suspect there would be, if antismokers had been able to dig it up by now.
What? No wonder this guy is an unemployed writer. How about doing a little research. In 2 min. on the internet I found that studies show that smoking related diseases cost 6-8% of total health care spending (low end estimate). In 1993 the dollar figure was $53.4 billion. http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/8/3/290.pdf
By all accounts I can find, the taxes brought in from sales are less than $5 billion.
His final two paragraphs talking about "ideal disease" and the "antismoking craze" are absolute drivel.
So his thought is that a disease that kills us off at the point of retirement is a good thing because then we don't have to support all these old people who aren't working, only taking money from the rest of us? And that those older years are no good because we're too old to enjoy them?
That truly is a Denis Leary-eque "take those diaper wearin' years, 'cuz I don't want 'em" argument.
At any rate, if these are the best reasons the smokers have, I look forward to smoke free bars very soon!
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