It's our right to smoke bullshit!

^ Go ahead, probably still oodles healthier for you too. I'll be sure to buy you some breath mints. :P

Personally I believe it's someone's right to do whatever they want to their own body. If someone wants to freebase black tar heroin I say they should be able to. It's a horrible decision and I don't think anyone should do that but they derserve to be able to choose. So as long as someone isn't smoking tabaco around kids or being a bother to other people they should be able to eviscerate their lungs in peace. /end moderate libertarian rant

If it had no effect in anyone else, I would agree with you. The problem is the huge financial burden caused by smoking. Billions of dollars/euros/whatevers are spent annually treating smoking-related diseases, every single one of which is preventable. That money could be better spent on anything else.

There is a time and a place to smoke. The people that abuse it are the ones that have health problems.

hope you don't eat junk food or drink diet sodas

*You

Go directly to jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.

outside* to* Next* minute* Thumb's* Even with these corrections, your comment would still be terrible.

All smokers are dicks...

Of course smokers know it's bad their health. People are just expressing their opinions is all.

42- So I'm a 'dick'? Lol I'm a smoker. I smoke almost a half a pack a day. And people scream 'Quit smoking! It's gross and bad for your health!' What about all the people who drink and all the people who smoke weed and do drugs? Why is it always the tobacco smokers that get all the shit? Drunks kill other people, cause alot of commotion, and it will kill someones liver faster than anything you've seen before. Drinking is extremely bad for your health. I'm not saying that smoking isn't bad. I know it is. But give us a break! It's completely legal. I only smoke at my house outside on the porch. I hate when people attack me for my bad habit. It's MY bad habit! And as long as I'm not affecting anyone else with my smoking, then people should leave me alone about it!

49- We do not intend to attack anyone personally- it's just a lot of people hate smoking. The smell, the nasty cough. And they perceive smokers as being rude, and irresponsible. Allbeit, some are rude, lighting up right in front of you, blowing smoke in your face. But not all smokers are. I admit I used to smoke for a bit, and was treated like crap by the public. People hate smoking, so they voice that. You dont see a crack addict smoking in public, or a heroin addict shooting up on the sidewalk. Think about it

Hey now, I eat peanut butter and crack sandwich's out In public ALL the time

Desiree, yes smoking is legal, but it's stupid. Bashing your head against a brick wall is also legal, but it's stupid. The difference is that no sane person would bash her head against a brick wall because she KNOWS it's stupid. You know smoking is stupid, so... You also are discounting all the healthcare costs smokers will incur over their lifetimes. Billions upon billions.

Yes Doc, that is true. I have to pay all of my medical bills out of pocket and I smoke at my own home and I make sure that it's not an inconvenience for people or my children. So am I really wrong or disgusting for smoking if I'm being completely responsible about it? I do believe that smoking should only be for the responsible and it is a privilege, if you will. Just like I think drinking alcohol is for the responsible and is considered a privilege. All I'm saying is that if I am handling my habits responsibly and not bringing anyone except myself down, should I really be bashed for it?

Arrogant much, Doc? Judge me by my habits, and I will judge you by yours.

Let's just say I had a habit that was dirty, smelly, expensive, and hazardous to my health, but that I did it privately and it affected no one else. Like, say, inhaling race car fumes. Would you call me smart for doing that? Or would you call me an idiot for inhaling exhaust fumes? Of course you would. Why should I treat you any differently for inhaling toxic fumes from a cigarette?

96 - I would do neither, for that would be the same as the pot calling the kettle black. You're a doctor, of all people. You should understand better than most the errors of judging others. Remember: everybody has an addiction.

Doc, I respect you very much. I, truly, do! But please don't be crossing any lines. Everyone has their choices that they're entitled to make. I am of age and it is legal for me to smoke cigarettes, if I choose to. I don't harm anyone else in any way, with my smoking cigarettes. I have enough respect for others to do it at my home where it won't 'pollute' the air of other people. But that, by far, doesn't make me stupid, disgusting, or an idiot. Like I said, I respect you a lot. But let's not be calling names or pointing fingers based on legal, legitimate decisions of others...

Des, while I usually agree with you, I'm with Doc on this one. You at least do it in the privacy of your own home which I really thank you for, because I cannot stand smokers in public. When you think about it though, there's no reason to smoke. It does nothing but irreversible harm to your body. Drinking in moderation doesn't cause any harm. I do get that it's an addiction though and that smokers know it's stupid. I have family that smoke and they've tried to quit many times but can never quit for good. I say if you want to smoke, you have every right to wreck your own body if you have no family or friends. But when mommy gets lung cancer and her kids and her husband have to watch her die, that's just plain wrong.

104 - If that's all your argument, you're very close-minded. Drinking in moderation does no harm? Sure it does; you may not notice it, but it still does damage to your liver. Not to mention the majority of idiots that don't know the word moderation. Or those that drink and drive and cause accidents, killing others. While we're at it, what about modern fast food/restaurants and the links to obesity. Diabetes runs rampart un my family, am I'm the only one lucky enough not to have it, because I've earned my good health and fitness. Have you ever watched an extrmely obese person die before 35 from it? Don't get me started on smoking, it's a drop in the ocean compared to more important issues.

PresAgent, I'm afraid you terribly misinformed. Drinking in moderation does NOT damage your liver. There are numerous studies which show that a drink or two daily has health benefits. Liver damage doesn't occur unless you binge or drink heavily often. And smoking is NOT a drop in the ocean! The health care cost for tobacco-relayed illnesses is over $31 billion per year. In Australia. Add $73 billion per year in the US, etc etc etc. A drop in the ocean? Hardly.

Like Doc said, unless you drink heavily, there's no liver damage. As for fast food and obesity? You can eat fast food in moderation and not gain weight OR if you do gain weight you can lose it through working out or surgery. When you smoke, the damage is totally irreversible and there's nothing you can do about it. For people who smoke in public, it's a good thing assaulting another person is illegal because if I could I'd smack the shit out of someone smoking around me. Ironic though that you can't cause harm to another person and yet, second hand smoke can easily cause harm but it's not illegal (yet). It'll be a nice day when smoking in public is banned altogether.

Yeah I see your point, but that wasn't the scenario we were given. If it weren't for OP's smoking then his/her thumb wouldn't have caught on fire. End of story.

But OP WASN'T using a match to light a stove, he was lighting a cigarette, which is inherently a stupid thing to do. So your argument is moot.