Attitude towards smokers

[glassmanoak]

I seem to see a lot of negative comments about smokers on this forum. Most of us used to be smokers and if you were like me you probably despised people that would make little snide comments and gestures to us when we are smoking. When I was a smoker I always told myself that if I ever quit smoking I would never become one of those people. Even after I quit I would still let people smoke in my house because I always hated visting that friend who tries to quit smoking for a week and won't let you smoke in their house anymore and makes you go outside. I guess my point is that even though we no longer smoke and may not enjoy the smell of it, we should still be tolerant of other peoples freedoms. Being tolerant of something doesn't mean you have to like something, it just means tolerating it. I am not saying that you should let people smoke in your house but if you are going into a restaurant and have to walk through a big cloud of smoke to get in the front door, be a little tolerant. Just because we no longer smoke does not mean that we are better than those that do.

What are your opinions, feelings, and overall attitude towards smokers? If you hate them, then say so. You have every right to hate them, whether it be right or wrong.

After putting up with the Anti-Smoking Nazis for all those years, I'm not going to become one. All I have become is a "quit smoking-- start vaping" advocate. I just try really hard not to come on too strong because I don't want to alienate people like the Anti-smoking Nazis did me.

 

[18SixFifty]

Sad to say but there will always be some self righteous ex anythingers. Ex drinkers, ex smokers, ex promiscuous, ex other kinds of smokers, ex republicans, ex meat eaters, etc etc etc. When some people (not all by far) give up something they enjoyed they make themselves feel better about their past history or their current cravings by looking down on others. It's the whole, "I must be better than them because I overcame my addiction/beliefs/behaviors and they haven't." kind of thing.

I guess I'm simply a little to self centered to give a rat's rear end what other people do.

I will say this though. I see much less of this type of behavior on this site than I expected. Go on an ex-smoking site and you will see ten times more of this. Ex smokers are worse than people who never smoked when it comes to looking down on smokers. I would say most vapers are not even close to that level and possible even less self righteous than non-smokers.

It's not that I agree with any level of hypocrisy or self righteous indignity. It's that I do understand some of the psychology behind it. I think for many people it's not enough to simply quit, they NEED to become an ANTI. This in a way keeps their motivation levels up. That easy girl who ends up at church every Sunday needs to feel superior or she might begin to question why she can't go out and have a good time again.

 

[Absintheur]

When I smoked I knew it smelled bad to non-smokers, I wouldn't smoke in their cars or houses. While I have not turned into a smoking nazi I expect the same respect for my property I always showed to others. As for folks smoking outside that's fine...I know how to move upwind. I am a bit of a .... about some things tho, I grew up in the military and served myself...you don't throw cigarette butts on the ground. You either find a receptacle for it or you field strip and pocket the filter. You don't tap ashes on the floor and you don't grind it out against a surface it will scar.

And don't blow smoke in my face and ask me if I miss it....

 

[negrete35]

I agree with pretty much everyone here. So obviously I don't really have a side. For me, since the biggest reason I quit was for my wife, I just keep hanging out with the smokers. Since so many of my friends and family are/were smokers, I just go outside with them. We all sit out back on the patio and have a few beers and smoke/vape. I don't particularly like the smell of smoke and never did, but since it wasn't the reason that I quit, I tolerate it just fine. I think when I go outside with the smokers and just "smoke" with them, more of them tend to want to know more about vaping. I have only been vaping now for about 5 weeks, and in that short time I am proud to say that I have converted 6 smokers to vaping. Keep on vapin'!

 

[kiwivap]

The government and a large number of the public here are so anti-smoking that it makes this forum look like peace valley. The latest law, which comes into force in December, is that cigarettes have to be sold in plain packaging. I think they are still also going to be required to have the pictures of cancerous gums and clogged hearts etc on them. They also have a continual price rise plan. A packet of 20 is currently $14. All government buildings, workplaces, bars, shops, cafes, and restaurants are required to be smoke-free.

People around me who smoke have gruesome pictures on every packet they carry.

I don't like that I have to go outside with the smokers at work because I don't smoke and don't like what I do being lumped in with the very thing that was destroying my health - and it was destroying my health. Fortunately a huge number of people I work with are happy I started vaping.

When I smoked 40-50 a day I went outside to smoke at other peoples houses, even if they said they didn't mind. I knew it stank up the room.

I'm not anti-smokers at all. I started smoking when I was 10 years old. My parents smoked around us kids for years. I picked up the habit because I thought it was grown up. I have damaged lungs - fortunately not severe, but its still damage. I have reduced lung capacity - just enough to make me afraid to smoke again, and not enough to cause any real impairment day to day. The biggest problem I had for years was denial.

I certainly want to help anyone who wants to quit. I'm not the kind of person that can have a couple a day - once I start I go the whole hog. I haven't smoked for over 5 months. I can hardly believe it sometimes.

I come to this forum to celebrate being off smokes, and for support, and to support others who are also vaping. I'm not here to support smoking. But, I do understand what smoking is like. I do know what it's like to smoke so much that I'm not really even tasting them anymore, just dragging down a fix. I do understand that people on tight budgets spend money they don't have on something that is harming, and in some cases killing, them. I do understand being locked into a habit and feeling like the government and the public consider me an inferior person because of it. I do understand alternating between shame and denial over being forced to carry around gruesome pictures from smokers autopsies on every packet.

I tried nicotine patches and had to stop using them because I developed a nasty rash. I was ready to climb the walls four days into quitting anyway. Vaping has done it for me. I see on this forum what it's done for others. Since I started vaping 2 people I work with have quit and another has cut right down, and three people outside of work have started vaping. One was denied an operation he needs because he smoked 50 a day. Since he started vaping he's at 4 cigs a day and back on the list for the operation. Without the operation his life expectancy isn't good. I'm not anti-smokers - the people. I'm for living.

I know I wasn't the only smoker who had the secret desire at times to quit, but felt like I just couldn't. I am particularly interested in people who also feel that way - because there is an alternative.

 

[Kopfstimmen]

I don't think I've ever seen a negative comment about smokers on this forum. Negative comments about cigs and smoke, sure, but not about smokers. As a matter of fact, I think you guys are the most understanding people I've ever "met".

Regarding smoking in my house or car, I never smoked in my current apartment, so nothing has changed. I vape inside, but when I have smokers visit, I go out with them. My car had never been smoked in (I quit when I bought it), but I've let my friend smoke in it. He just had to keep the window open and ash outside, since it doesn't have a ashtray.

 

[glassmanoak]

the government and a large number of the public here are so anti-smoking that it makes this forum look like peace valley. The latest law, which comes into force in december, is that cigarettes have to be sold in plain packaging. I think they are still also going to be required to have the pictures of cancerous gums and clogged hearts etc on them. They also have a continual price rise plan. A packet of 20 is currently $14. All government buildings, workplaces, bars, shops, cafes, and restaurants are required to be smoke-free.

People around me who smoke have gruesome pictures on every packet they carry.

I don't like that i have to go outside with the smokers at work because i don't smoke and don't like what i do being lumped in with the very thing that was destroying my health - and it was destroying my health. Fortunately a huge number of people i work with are happy i started vaping.

When i smoked 40-50 a day i went outside to smoke at other peoples houses, even if they said they didn't mind. I knew it stank up the room.

I'm not anti-smokers at all. I started smoking when i was 10 years old. My parents smoked around us kids for years. I picked up the habit because i thought it was grown up. I have damaged lungs - fortunately not severe, but its still damage. I have reduced lung capacity - just enough to make me afraid to smoke again, and not enough to cause any real impairment day to day. The biggest problem i had for years was denial.

I certainly want to help anyone who wants to quit. I'm not the kind of person that can have a couple a day - once i start i go the whole hog. I haven't smoked for over 5 months. I can hardly believe it sometimes.

I come to this forum to celebrate being off smokes, and for support, and to support others who are also vaping. I'm not here to support smoking. But, i do understand what smoking is like. I do know what it's like to smoke so much that i'm not really even tasting them anymore, just dragging down a fix. I do understand that people on tight budgets spend money they don't have on something that is harming, and in some cases killing, them. I do understand being locked into a habit and feeling like the government and the public consider me an inferior person because of it. I do understand alternating between shame and denial over being forced to carry around gruesome pictures from smokers autopsies on every packet.

I tried nicotine patches and had to stop using them because i developed a nasty rash. I was ready to climb the walls four days into quitting anyway. Vaping has done it for me. I see on this forum what it's done for others. Since i started vaping 2 people i work with have quit and another has cut right down, and three people outside of work have started vaping. One was denied an operation he needs because he smoked 50 a day. Since he started vaping he's at 4 cigs a day and back on the list for the operation. Without the operation his life expectancy isn't good. I'm not anti-smokers - the people. I'm for living.

I know i wasn't the only smoker who had the secret desire at times to quit, but felt like i just couldn't. I am particularly interested in people who also feel that way - because there is an alternative.

excellent post!!

 

[crazygolfguy]

I think it interesting. Being new to this group I feel we look down on smokers. Smoking we all look at as a bad time in our life. Also we call a cig a anolog. I remember when I first heard that I thought it was a cool new e-cig. So I think nebulas is right we should take care in how we treat smokers becuase I have already been pushed into the break room to vape. Soon we may all be in the smokers shoes.

 

[recidivus]

I haven't seen much of any, if any negativity towards smokers. Towards the smells and the cigarettes yeah. Towards BT and BP, hell yea. But not to the people who are smoking. As you say, most of us were smokers at one time.

I try to not walk through their smoke, not because I look down on them or anything, but because I don't enjoy the smell much any more. If they want to view that as me being high 'n mighty then so be it, but it's just me avoiding a sensation I don't like. Same reason I avoid overwhelming perfumes and don't pull my fingernails out.

 

[ricklynchcore]

My wife still smokes, does it bother me? Sure Does. I can't convince her to switch to vape like I have, does it bother me? Sure Does. Do I from time to time try and cajole her into switching to vape, I do. Does it do any good? Sure does not. Have I become more sensitive to smoke in general? Sure have. That said, there is a lot in the world that I don't like: Rudeness, bullying, avarice, materialism, lack of justice, war, and a host of things to numerous to mention. Would the world be better if Everyone simply thought like me? I know so. Does any of the above make one bit of difference to the way the world will work tomorrow?
Nope! So learn to live with those who smoke, are rude, greedy, selfish, unjust, and intolerant. My new response to all that ails is to try and be KIND. Sounds hokey, but it works. Crazy as it seems, when faced with the myriad of ills we all face daily, I try to relax and be kind. Darn, if I don't feel better. Its kind of like vaping instead of smoking, I just feel better. And my just feeling better, is enough for me. This thread is about attitude, the above is mine.

Sent from my cm_tenderloin using Tapatalk 2

 

[Iffy]

As soon as I apologize to everyone that I've 'offended' through my 46 years of smoking, I'll then reevaluate my current stand of accepting smokers.

 

[bjannr]

I can't say I look down on smokers but when I see someone smoking I do feel sorry for them. I think they also smell bad. The smoking smell is harder for me to deal with than the smoker. I do have one friend who I allow to smoke in my car if we go on a trip lasting more than an hour. She tried vaping but didn't stick with it.

 

[xanderxman]

I don't dislike smokers at all. I used to be one. I do try to at least mention vaping to them, when I feel it is appropriate. I don't preach to every person I see smoking but I have converted three people where I work. I can actually smell a smoker now and I realize that I used to smell that way. I would never want to smell like that again. But I in no way think smokers are a lower life form.

 

[JENerationX]

I wish my best friend would convert, but she's tried and it didn't stick. I do load up a nice juice and let her vape it for a night, and it does cut the smoking down because she does enjoy it. I don't know whether she's intimidated by the equipment or like I was and just not ready to give up the smokes. I don't look down on anyone that's smoking though. I can't.... because I've been there. Quite a few have seen me vape and realized that I'm completely of cigs and asked for help in starting to vape, and I'll offer that help and support to anyone that needs it, but looking down on anyone or nagging them never did a damn thing for me, and I won't do it to someone else.

 

[DC2]

My new response to all that ails is to try and be KIND.

I might give that a shot when I retire, but as long as I'm still working there is no way I can pull that off.

 

[James416]

I seem to see a lot of negative comments about smokers on this forum. Most of us used to be smokers and if you were like me you probably despised people that would make little snide comments and gestures to us when we are smoking. When I was a smoker I always told myself that if I ever quit smoking I would never become one of those people. Even after I quit I would still let people smoke in my house because I always hated visting that friend who tries to quit smoking for a week and won't let you smoke in their house anymore and makes you go outside. I guess my point is that even though we no longer smoke and may not enjoy the smell of it, we should still be tolerant of other peoples freedoms. Being tolerant of something doesn't mean you have to like something, it just means tolerating it. I am not saying that you should let people smoke in your house but if you are going into a restaurant and have to walk through a big cloud of smoke to get in the front door, be a little tolerant. Just because we no longer smoke does not mean that we are better than those that do.

What are your opinions, feelings, and overall attitude towards smokers? If you hate them, then say so. You have every right to hate them, whether it be right or wrong.

When i did smoke i didnt in my house or car to begin with LOL, even though i smoked i still knew the horrible smell it caused and didnt want that for myself, 2 bad i smelt like it though. And the restaurants i tend to go to has designated smoking areas that aren't near the front door, even if i was still a smoker id be pretty peeved walking through a cloud of smoke on the way in, just saying if me and the wife are spending 100$ on a nice meal i want luxury, not smelly smoke....I also wouldn't want my children exposed to that, I respected ppl when i smoked and i expect the same from others, not saying ill be a douch but i wouldn't even vape in the doorways..sorry not me....

 

[Techwipe]

I remember the packs with the disgusting pictures on them when I visited there. I had never seen anything like it, but people were still all about it. The other thing that blew me away while I was there was the fact that they sold cigs in packs of 30, wouldn't even fit in my pocket half the damn time.

The government and a large number of the public here are so anti-smoking that it makes this forum look like peace valley. The latest law, which comes into force in December, is that cigarettes have to be sold in plain packaging. I think they are still also going to be required to have the pictures of cancerous gums and clogged hearts etc on them. They also have a continual price rise plan. A packet of 20 is currently $14. All government buildings, workplaces, bars, shops, cafes, and restaurants are required to be smoke-free.

People around me who smoke have gruesome pictures on every packet they carry.

I don't like that I have to go outside with the smokers at work because I don't smoke and don't like what I do being lumped in with the very thing that was destroying my health - and it was destroying my health. Fortunately a huge number of people I work with are happy I started vaping.

When I smoked 40-50 a day I went outside to smoke at other peoples houses, even if they said they didn't mind. I knew it stank up the room.

I'm not anti-smokers at all. I started smoking when I was 10 years old. My parents smoked around us kids for years. I picked up the habit because I thought it was grown up. I have damaged lungs - fortunately not severe, but its still damage. I have reduced lung capacity - just enough to make me afraid to smoke again, and not enough to cause any real impairment day to day. The biggest problem I had for years was denial.

I certainly want to help anyone who wants to quit. I'm not the kind of person that can have a couple a day - once I start I go the whole hog. I haven't smoked for over 5 months. I can hardly believe it sometimes.

I come to this forum to celebrate being off smokes, and for support, and to support others who are also vaping. I'm not here to support smoking. But, I do understand what smoking is like. I do know what it's like to smoke so much that I'm not really even tasting them anymore, just dragging down a fix. I do understand that people on tight budgets spend money they don't have on something that is harming, and in some cases killing, them. I do understand being locked into a habit and feeling like the government and the public consider me an inferior person because of it. I do understand alternating between shame and denial over being forced to carry around gruesome pictures from smokers autopsies on every packet.

I tried nicotine patches and had to stop using them because I developed a nasty rash. I was ready to climb the walls four days into quitting anyway. Vaping has done it for me. I see on this forum what it's done for others. Since I started vaping 2 people I work with have quit and another has cut right down, and three people outside of work have started vaping. One was denied an operation he needs because he smoked 50 a day. Since he started vaping he's at 4 cigs a day and back on the list for the operation. Without the operation his life expectancy isn't good. I'm not anti-smokers - the people. I'm for living.

I know I wasn't the only smoker who had the secret desire at times to quit, but felt like I just couldn't. I am particularly interested in people who also feel that way - because there is an alternative.

 

[kiwivap]

I remember the packs with the disgusting pictures on them when I visited there. I had never seen anything like it, but people were still all about it. The other thing that blew me away while I was there was the fact that they sold cigs in packs of 30, wouldn't even fit in my pocket half the damn time.

They used to sell 10s - but I think that got stopped because the biggest buyers of 10s were kids. So yeah, 20s, 25s and 30s. All with horrible pictures.

 

[rosesense]

I try to be respectful of smokers (and all others) but I am not going to allow smoking in my house or car. I try to help everyone who is interested but I don't preach to them or put them down for their choice to continue smoking.

 

[HOPS]

I don't feel anything negative about smokers (having only been a vaping non-smoker for a couple of weeks now). If a friend wanted to smoke in my house, I wouldn't care at all. However I did just get a brand new car a week before I started vaping, so I'd never allow anyone to smoke in my car (looking forward to this being the first vehicle I'll own that will have new car smell for longer than a month lol). The only thing I think now about my friends that smoke is that I wish I could make them realize how much more awesome vaping is. Most just think its weird lol...